Lines 187-271

We now have Januarie’s voice. What further reasons does he give for marriage?

Januarie presents marriage as a way to gain:

• Sexual fulfilment - legit outlet for his sexual desire

• Companionship - wants someone to be with him in old age

• Domestic comfort - a wife can care for him and his household

• Legitimate heirs - marriage provides children and therefore continuation of lineage

• Social respectability - marriage makes his sexual desires socially and religiously acceptable

• Control/ownership - he imagines a wife as someone who will belong to him and fulfil his needs

Argument for Januarie’s sexual desire and self fulfilment

Januarie disguises sexual desire and self-interest as rational arguments for marriage

How does Januarie’s motivations for marriage echo the attitudes of Moral Purity in the fin de siècle as explored in An Ideal Husband?

• Both texts expose the tension between public morality and private sexual behaviour

• Januarie argues that marriage is morally legitimate because it provides a socially acceptable context for sexual desire

• Similarly, in An Ideal Husband, Moral Purity represents the expectation that respectable men and women should appear morally impeccable

• The connection is that marriage can become a mechanism for maintaining the appearance of respectability, rather than necessarily representing genuine love or moral purity.

Socially constructed and private desire topic sentence

Both Chaucer and Wilde expose the gap between socially constructed morality and private desire

What are some of the issues with the fact that Januarie’s friends are urged to find the right wife for him?

• It makes marriage seem like a transaction arranged by men, rather than a relationship based on the woman’s choice.

• The men are effectively choosing a woman according to Januarie’s requirements, reducing her to something that must fulfil his needs.

• This also highlights the patriarchal structure of medieval marriage: Januarie has agency; the future wife is effectively the object being selected.

Absence of woman’s voice topic sentence

The absence of the woman’s voice is significant - May has no say in whether she wants Januarie

How does Januarie highlight the certainty and speed of his marriage

• Januarie is extremely decisive

• He rejects hesitation and moves rapidly from deciding that he wants a wife to actually arranging the marriage

• His certainty is emphasised through his confident, authoritative language and his refusal to seriously consider the objections of Justinus

Why is it significant that Januarie is certain about his marriage

• It makes his decision appear impulsive rather than rational, despite his attempts to construct elaborate religious and philosophical justifications for it

• Januarie’s apparent certainty contrasts with the uncertainty surrounding whether his motives are genuinely moral

What is Januarie’s ideal wife like? What do you make of the imagery he uses to describe her?

• Young

• Beautiful

• Sexually attractive

• Chaste/reputable

• Obedient

• Domestic

• Socially appropriate

• Able to give him children

How are Januarie’s descriptions of a perfect wife like?

• His descriptions are often based on natural imagery, particularly flowers, fruit and precious things

• This is important because it objectifies women: May is described almost like a beautiful possession or desirable natural object

• The imagery also creates an ironic contrast between the idealised wife Januarie imagines and the independent actions May eventually takes

Can you identify the dig at the Wife of Bath?

• Januarie’s discussion of marriage contains an attack on women who have multiple husbands and who challenge conventional ideas of female sexual behaviour

• This recalls the Wife of Bath, who openly defends her multiple marriages and sexual experience in her Prologue

• Januarie’s attitude therefore represents the male anxiety surrounding sexually experienced women: he wants a wife who is sexually available to him but morally controlled and respectable

Chaucer creating an ironic connection with the Wife of Bath topic sentence

Chaucer creates an ironic connection with the Wife of Bath - Januarie wants female sexuality under male control

What arguments are made for limiting the education of women? How does this link with attitudes expressed in An Ideal Husband?

• Januarie argues that women should not have too much intellectual independence because knowledge could make them more difficult to control.

The underlying assumption is that a good wife should be:

• obedient;

• modest;

• sexually faithful;

• domestically useful;

• dependent upon her husband.

This links to An Ideal Husband because Wilde also explores a society in which women are expected to conform to rigid moral standards, particularly regarding sexual behaviour and respectability

Importance difference between Chaucer and Wilde’s fin de siècle

Chaucer’s medieval world explicitly limits women’s agency, while Wilde’s fin-de-siècle society exposes the hypocrisy of imposing such standards

Can you identify Januarie’s concern for superficial appearance of virtue achieved by marriage? What financial considerations does he have for marriage?

• Januarie wants a wife who appears virtuous and respectable

• His concern is therefore partly about reputation, not simply genuine morality

• Marriage provides a socially legitimate way for him to satisfy sexual desires while maintaining the appearance of respectability

Financially, marriage is also connected to…

• Wealth/property

• Inheritance

• Social status

• Children/heirs

• Securing his possessions within a legitimate family line

Contextual AO5 link to superficial appearance and virtue achieved by marriage

• Sheila Innes argues that both the Merchant and Januarie are concerned with “chevissaunce” - goods/property - suggesting that marriage is connected to economic self-interest as well as sexuality

How else does Januarie use religion to legitimise his plan?

• Januarie uses Christian teaching and biblical authority to make his decision to marry appear morally legitimate

• He presents marriage as an institution sanctioned by God, rather than simply a means of satisfying sexual desire

• He effectively takes religious arguments that support marriage and uses them to justify what he already wants to do

• This is ironic because his motivations are clearly not entirely spiritual

Januarie does not use religion to determine his decision topic sentence

Januarie does not use religion to determine his decision; he uses religion to legitimise a decision he has already made

What might be the significance of the language of fruit and trees in lines 248 onwards?

The fruit/tree imagery is highly significant because it evokes Genesis and the Garden of Eden

This introduces associations with:

• temptation

• sexual desire

• sin

• knowledge

• the Fall

The imagery therefore foreshadows the later garden scene involving Januarie, May and Damian

Key point about the garden and fruit

• It also connects May with fruit, potentially objectifying her as something desirable that Januarie wishes to possess

• The Edenic imagery transforms Januarie’s apparently respectable marriage into a narrative already associated with temptation and the Fall

How does the Merchant emphasise the diversity of opinions about marriage?

The Merchant presents multiple competing voices rather than one authoritative view

We have:

• The Merchant → strongly anti-marriage.

• Januarie → argues enthusiastically in favour of marriage.

• Justinus → offers a more cautious, rational perspective.

• Placebo → agrees with Januarie and tells him what he wants to hear.

This creates a marriage debate in which different attitudes are placed alongside one another

Important AO5 context for the merchant emphasising a diversity of opinions about marriage

Jenny Stevens argues that the Merchant’s “anti-feminist sentiments” are complicated by his “stirring encomium to marriage”.

What is the significance of names Justinus and Placebo?

• The names are almost allegorical

• Justinus derives from justus = just/right/fair

• He is therefore associated with justice, reason and honest advice

• Placebo literally means “I shall please”.

• His role is to please Januarie rather than challenge him

• This makes the names themselves to form of characterisation and irony

Memory trick

Justinus = justice —> honest advice

How does Placebo flatter Januarie? What might we therefore assume about his advice?

• Placebo repeatedly agrees with Januarie and reinforces his belief that his decision to marry is wise

• Rather than challenging Januarie’s motivations, he praises his judgement and effectively tells him that he is right to marry

• Therefore, we should be suspicious of his advice

• His name “Placebo” = “I shall please” signals that his priority is pleasing Januarie rather than giving truthful advice

• This creates a contrast with Justinus, whose advice is more cautious and critical

Key interpretation about Placebo

Placebo demonstrates how flattery can reinforce male authority and self-delusion

How is the poem deliberately constructed?

As a debate about marriage, with different voices exposing different assumptions