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Merchant’s Tale Study QuestionsDescribe the trickery and deception used to dupe January.January, an elderly knight, wishes to find a beautiful woman to marry during the beginning of the tale. He ends up falling in love with a maiden that perfectly meets his criteria for a wife, or so it seems. The woman, May, is at first equally in love. She is young, beautiful, and one “who looked as fresh as bright the summer day” (556). As the story progresses, however, she becomes the means of sexual satisfaction and constantly submits to the demands of her husband. January, so in love and protective, mentions that he does not even want May to “be no other’s love or wife” (738) once he has passed away. After January loses his sight, May realizes that her husband’s life is soon to end. The Merchant introduces an envious squire by the name of Damian, who is a youthful assistant under January. He too is dangerously in love with May and begins writing love letters to her in secret. Damian grows weary and sick until “underneath his pillow cunningly she (May) slipped this note”, writing him back (662-663). Soon after he had read the letter, his sickness had left him and he intended to find May. May had already plotted to meet alongside Damian in the heavenly-like garden “that he who wrote The Romance of the Rose could not with words do justice to its beauty” (692-693). However, January had only intended for this garden to be for his and his wife’s pleasure. May, disregarding the exclusivity of the garden, “in secret had this key then duplicated” (781) to allow Damian to come in. When both May and January are walking throughout the garden, Damian is signaled to go up on a pear tree. May exploits January’s blindness and begins mentioning her side hurts and that she has “got to have some of those pears” (991) or she will falter. As she is hoisted up onto the tree with the help of January’s back, she begins frolicking with Damian on top of the tree. January is granted his vision by Pluto and sees what his wife is doing. However, May cleverly mentions, “there was no better thing to make you see than struggling with a man up in a tree” (1033-1034). She dupes January once again and says that she did it for his benefit when, in reality, it was for hers. January “leads her homeward to his place” (1075) still believing May truly loves him. What is the literary genre of The Merchant’s Tale? According to a variety of sources, the Merchant’s Tale is best described as a fabliau (a short, usually comic, coarse, and often cynical tale in verse). The tale itself is relatively short, with no major character development and a brief resolution. The merchant states the dilemmas of each character however, does not go into depth about the emotional turmoil each is facing or how exactly things come about. It is more from a general perspective and a brilliant method of telling a story that is meant to have a succinct point. The text is not offensive but nonetheless, crude. The merchant does not hesitate to mention the details of how January and May frolic in the bedroom and the deceptive tactics of May and Damian behind January’s back. Chaucer was cynical of woman as well as men who are in love. It can lead you to act foolishly and selfishly.Sources: What elements of romance are incorporated? The merchant begins talking about the beauty of being married, despite his miserable circumstances alongside his wife. The reader can assume this is what the merchant envisions marriage should look like if it were healthy. He continues on to say “a wife is truly God’s gift” (60) and constantly references the Bible to reinforce his idea of a perfect union. A man and woman should never forsake one and another throughout the good and the bad and they should reproduce to “honor God above, not just because of passion or of love” (199-200). The superficiality and blindness of common romance is also seen throughout the course of the tale. January is introduced and he wishes to find someone to marry and is only focused on whether the woman is young, gentle, and popular. He, however, is very old. He disregards the advice of his brother Justinus who states, “a wife demands so much to fullest measure” (224), especially one who is young. Strangely and quickly enough, he finds that woman and falls deep in love. As he progressively grows fonder of his wife, she begins to fall for another man who is young like she is. The merchant highlights the positive factors of love in the exposition but begins to show its ugliness. January’s wife uses deception and kindliness to achieve what she pleases even though she is still with him. The tale leads up to the negative aspects of romance: over-protectiveness, infidelity, shallowness, and secrecy. The merchant portrays romance very clearly and uses the Bible to show what it should be and a tale about three lovers for what it should not be. What is the theme of this tale?Love, marriage, and deception are the three themes of the tale. Love and marriage are not to be taken lightly because they both can result in negative consequences. In the tale itself, deception was what resulted of a shallow and lustful decision of knight who only wished for youthfulness and pleasure. At the end of the Merchant’s story, one can conclude that blind love is neither smart nor beneficial. For a more detailed response, view the theme essay under the “Essays” tab. What is this story saying about marriage? Two different spectrums of marriage are seen within the Merchant’s Tale. January’s two brothers represent the good (Justinus) and the bad (Placebo) matrimony brings. Both try swaying January’s thoughts but in the end represent one idea of marriage. A man must have good intentions for marrying someone or else something negative will come of it. The tale shows this perfectly. January is looking for someone incredibly superficial and fails to look for what is truly beautiful and meant for him. He ends up being constantly fooled and lied to because of this and still cannot see behind the facade of his wife, even in the end. He is blinded by his lustfulness when marriage should be more than just sex. It is about harmony with another person that was created to be with you. The story could possibly be satirizing what people believe will bring them happiness in marriage: looks, popularity, fake personality, etc. Marriage is meant to highlight blissfulness, truth, and compatibility. What does the Merchant reveal about his own marriage in his prologue? The Merchant reveals that his marriage is most definitely not one of the best. He is dissatisfied and absolutely miserable. He has only been married for two months and wants to break from his wife’s oppression. Escape from his marriage is what he pleases and “how he could thrive if only I (he) were free!” (14). He states that “ we married men live sorrowfully, in care” (16). The Merchant mentions that even though he has very little experience with marriage, he has apparently already seen all the negativity it could bring living with his “wife’s cursedness!” (27). Who sympathizes with him? The Host says “as God may bless you, since you know so much about that art, I heartily do pray you’ll tell us part” (28-30). Whoever may sympathize with him is not directly stated, but the Host expresses his sympathy by having him share this experience through a story to avoid others from falling within his present situation. I also assume that the reader sympathizes with him since no person would wish to be as miserable as he is so early into his marriage. 8.What is the significance of the names of the husband and wife in this tale?The husband is introduced as January and “elderly” (215). The wife is commonly referred to as the “freshest May” (546). The significance of both the names is how they coincide with their ages. The month of January is cold and often brings death of many plants while the month of May is a time of rejuvenation and growth. What is the function of the advisors to the old knight?Justinus and Placebo function to offer the knight perspective on a delicate subject. They both argue whether or not marriage with a younger woman is the best idea for January and give reasons for why it is or is not. Justinus argues that no man will "ever find a creature that is of a perfect kind" (196-197) and that January should be cautious of the reasons he wants a younger woman. He warns January that he won't please a young woman for long since "a wife demands so much to fullest measure" (224). Placebo says that January is smarter and that "his counsel rates above his master's wit" (164). He agrees that the knight should do what he pleases and that nothing is stopping him. They both serve as counsel to him while he intends to do something incredibly serious so quickly. Each give two different outlooks and the reader realizes that only one will end up being true. Which one that is serves to keep us interested on the events that follow. Why is it appropriate that this tale be told by the Merchant?The Merchant is miserable in his marriage and the story gives him the opportunity to portray its cruelty that he claims to know so well. It is appropriate because he can discuss what he wants in a marriage and how it contradicts to the story and his own relationship. His ideology about romance and marriage is seen vividly throughout the course of the tale. He shows the wickedness that can derive from marriage in a crude story of deceitfulness and hypocrisy. ................
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