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The Merchant's Tale Analysis

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The Merchant's Tale Analysis
January

The Merchant’s Tale

He is a wealthy, elderly knight and marries May.

Poor old january longs for a young wife to fulfill God’s wish that man and woman marry, and to produce an heir to inherit his estates. After covering with his friends, January decides to marry a young girl named May. January is very contempt with their marriage even after his old age warrants him to become blind. He doesn't let May out of his reach and they continue to live (as he thought) a faithful life. One day January regains his sight (thanks to Pluto) surprised to find his squire, Damian, and his dear wife, May, making love up in a tree in his secret garden. But it was all just a plan May hatched for January to get his sight back, right?

May

The Merchant’s Tale

She is a beautiful, eighteen year old woman who marries January and has an affair with Damien.

Beautiful young May marries a wealthy man that could theoretically be her father. Their relationship starts of great with a huge wedding and feast but takes a turn when May meets Damian. Poor sick Damian receives a visit from May on the request of (now blind) January, May’s husband, providing the perfect situation for Damian and May to plot their plan for love. It's …show more content…
The Hag offers to tell the knight what women most desire if he promises to grant her next request. After the knight agrees, the Hag tells him what women most desire. On her request, the Hag and the Knight marry. When the knight complains that his wife is so old, ugly, and low-born, she lectures her husband on the origins of gentility and the virtues of poverty, ugliness, and age. The Hag offers her husband two choices: he can have her ugly but faithful, or beautiful but with no guarantee of fidelity. When her husband tells her to make the decision, she transforms into a young, beautiful
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