the merchant's tale critic quotes

indeed every character in this tale is a projected aspect of january’s fantasy

mary c. schroeder on the characters

tone of the tale is mordant venom

t w craik

shopping for his bride

stephanie a. tolliver

a level of happiness is possible through folly and self deception

norman t harrington

the relationship between january and may is unnatural and is rooted in opposite kinds of seasonal imagery making may’s triumph inevitable

peter brown

relationship to overturn his sour expectations

aisling murray

such chauvinism was probably an ideal among chaucer’s high born contemporaries

aisling murray on society

the merchant like january objectifies may and portrays her only in terms of her appearance

tina davidson on the merchant

marriage was primarily a transaction organised by males to serve economic and political ends

david aers

may functions within a money-dominated system, seeking security in a loveless marriage

sam brunner

fabliaux allowed the disempowered to triumph over the powerful

tina davidson on fabliaux

simply another piece of livestock, bought to fulfill a specific sexual and procreative purpose

sam brunner

by the time chaucer was writing the poem in the 1380’s pilgrimages were already less devotional than commercial; they were a form of entertainment

cathy o’neill

january is subjected to the most unblinking scrutiny throughout the poem

john burrow

the pilgrim merchant is little more than a stock figure. the merchant’s tale warns us to trust the tale and not the teller

c david benson

placebo’s claims are laughable once january’s nature is revealed more fully

jane bathard-smith

early critic reviews of may as ‘a completely unfeeling wife’ is because many are unable to accept her vanquishing over the senex amans

elaine henson

in chaucerian comedy, there are no values, secular or religious, more important than survival or satisfaction of the appetite

dr barrie saywood

demonstration of the reprehensible folly and lechery of men

wentersdorf

cynical narrator contemplating a scene of moral desolation

burnley on the merchant

damian’s hast emphasises the falsity of his pretensions as a lover

burnley on damian

may is devised out of january’s, just as eve is out of adams

elaine henson on may

garden is a representation of may’s body

brown

mutual love between spouses is notably absent

h.a kelly

all good feelings chaucer’s audience might have about love and marriage are demolished

jay schleusener

chaucer’s garden is no longer a place of courtly love or intellectual debate but of lust and sexuality

laura varnam

gentle, tolerant chaucer

bertrand h. bronson

wob is an idealist

mary c. shroeder on wob

in january, the merchant ridicules a self-enclosed mind, a fool who create a hellish opposite to the paradise he desired

mary c. schroeder on january

what is described is not may but a vision of january’s ideal woman projected onto apparently any suitable candidate

mary c. schroeder on january’s vision

placebo is an image of his own thought

mary c. schroeder on placebo

the speaker gives a jumble of opinions and observations

joan acocella on the merchant

she exemplifies the kind of woman…that…has excited hatred since literature began

joan acocella