English The Merchants Tale

The Merchant Quotes

“Hye on horse” appear successful

“Worthy man” ironic, in debt

“Worste that may be” contempt, warped view on marriage

“Wolde him overmacche”

“Rive unto the herte” marriage is upsetting him, hyperbole, brutal imagery, highly emotive

“Rebekke” references bible to give authority on his views of marriage

January’s voice is narrated by the Merchant - January is his alter-ego

January Quotes

“Sixty yeer a wyfless man” selfish, marrying for heaven,

“Haste I kan” urgent to redeem, marrying not for love, artificial

“Yelde hir dette” mercantile language, transactional relationship, pay through sex

“Lyk sarra and rebekke” wants a wife like them, ironic, May not like them

“Ful of blisse” at feast, perfunctory marriage then lavish ostentatious feast, immodest

“I moot trespace” mercantile, property, ownership, objectifying

“Warm wex” irony, wants wife he can mould but May controls him, traducio

“Dien on a knyf than thee offende” dramatic, hyperbole, violent imagery, emphasis her infidelity

“Me thoughte he dide thee so” manipulated by May, backing down, submissive, irony

Placebo Quotes

“You’re wordes alle and you’re opinioun” flatterer, no personal input,

Justinus Quotes

“Wyf withouten avisement” consider carefully, bias about own marriage,

“Trotteth hool in al” as if buying a horse not wife, mercantile, pragmatic vision of marriage

Everyone else like Justinus’ wife, sustained irony, he is a poor judge, superficial understanding of women

Similar relationship to the Merchant and his wife

May Quotes

“Which that Mayus highte” only named at wedding, her identity is irrelevant,

“She was feffed in his lond” gaining status, mercantile, May is bought

“His pleying worth a bene” has had sex before, merchant criticises her

“Fresshe May” epithet, she’s not fresh, ironic

“Rente it al to cloutes atte laste” dismissive, irony of femininity, vilgar, fabliau, parody of romance

“Knave that koude climbe” fabliau, phallic, humiliating degrading January,

“I did it in ful Goode entente” doesn’t talk until end and when she does it’s lies, manipulative

Pluto and Proserpina Quotes

“Shal yeven hire suffisant answere” Proserpina supports women, Pluto defends men

Scene is a narrative interlude, extends tension of Mays infidelity

They mock the pretensions of courtly love

Compare a fantasy to a reality, pretentious of grandeur are toned down to be ordinary

Elevated place (garden of Eden), prosaic couple (king and queen) yet bickering

Context

Chivalric code, courtly love, fabliaux, societal views, class, three estates, sermons/fables, biblical/mythical context, sustained irony

Derek Pearsall

“Reduces all human behaviour to oust and greed”

Beidler

“January is emasculated by a wife who plays a knightly role he should be playing”

H.A Kelly

“Mutual love between spouses is notably absent”

Chaucer notes

Chaucer lacks meaningful values

raises provocative and challenging issues from various standpoints

grasp of personalities and relationships are as fresh and relevant today as it was then

discussion of 14th century attitudes and contemporary parallels

Tales are witty, clever and approachable, and raise interesting parallels with life today

Words to describe the merchant

Vain, self conscious, facade, unreliable, exploitative, condescending, jaded, bitter, naive

Words to describe January

Narcissistic, child-like, dictating, demanding, foolish, indulgent, ostentatious, predator, possessive, emasculated, humiliated, pathetic, undignified

Words to describe Damyan

Infatuated, passionate, obsessed, chivalrous, foolish, mocked, pitied, immature, ridiculed, pretentious

Words to describe May

Objectified, superficial, perfunctory, vulgar, meek, duplicitous, desirable, deceitful, untrustworthy, manipulative, unfaithful, commanding

Sustained irony

Used to challenge/question the narrative that shapes our lives

gives alternate view/ideas/perspectives

To entertain, we think the opposite, funny

Presents more than one message

Examples of sustained irony

“Warm wex”, J wants to shape May but she controls and exploits him

“Fresshe May”, she’s had sex before, epithet (Fresshe)

January’s sight, even when he gets his sight back he’s blind to May’s deceit, was metaphorically blind and became physically blind (trajectory)

Different interpretations, merchant tries to tell a story about how awful women are yet May is triumphant

Chivalric code

Honour code of the knight, was understood by all, chivalry included courtly love

Courtly love

Romantic relationship between 2 unmarried people, not physical but based on flirting, dancing and chivalrous efforts

Fabliau

Ridicules those in authority and their pretensions, comical, often bawdy and scatological

Societal views

Women expected to be submissive to men, if woman is raped and conceived she must’ve enjoyed it, known for their marital position

Class

Highly stratified society, patriarchy, January a knight but doesn’t act as one, Damyan a squire but acts as a knight

The three estates

Land, pray, nobility (work, pray, fight)

Fables

Stories with a moral point

Bible context

Garden of Eden, man + woman + temptation (snake/Damyan), woman succumbs to tempatation, women are the downfall of mankind

Song of Songs, January quotes it “my wyf, my love, my lady free”, allows him to use romantic and elevated courtly language, yet the anomalous book of erotic poems are not meant to be interpreted literally, January fails to understand it, profoundly ironic, seen as profane and blasphemous

Casual bible references, rebekke who tricked her old blind husband to help her son

Classical context

The garden is paradise but Pluto is god of the underworld, heaven and hell

Reminded that Pluto is a rapist god, like January, “ravisshed”

Christian wedding but references classical past, appeals to those of authority yet mocks them

May compared to Helen of Troy, “Fresshe May”, Helen was the most beautiful woman, Helen abducted by Paris which triggered the Trojan war, similar to January and May yet January sees himself as Paris not Menalaus, her original old and foolish husband

Suggests

Exacerbates, signifies, counteracts, evokes, connotes, eludes to, challenges, indicates, displays, accentuates, depicts, establishes, conflicts

Women in medieval times

Galens law, women’s wombs are cold and need constant warming by hot male sperm

Share the power of their husbands position

If a man wants to accuse of her adultery, he has to admit that he’s in a cuckold

Men over 60 are seen as an embarrassment, no longer masculine

Old women have lost no strength and have gained wisdom

Marriage vows include her having to stay faithful but he doesn’t have to

Plot points/events

\-merchants prologue

\-January wants wife, Justinus/placebo

\-wedding feast and night

\-damyan’s letter and May

\-P+P, Garden of Eden