• Excellent bargain skill.
• Always brag about his
business.
• Rich and powerful, middle
class man.
• appear to be very cunning and
successful.
• Elegantly dressed
• No one could tell that he has
quite a serious financial crisis
(in dept)
During the Prologue
• The last tale of the marriage group.
• He began to told his story after the Clerk.
• Give an opposite point of view of marriage from the
previous story.
• After many years of bachelor he then got married .
• His wife mistreated him and his life became miserable.
• Story about bitter and agony view of marriage.
• Give high praise of marriage and role of wife. (maybe
the merchant is being sarcastic.)
The Merchant’s Tale
• He claim that he can not share his own experience so
he come up with another story.
• The protagonist of the story is a noble knight name
January.
• Decided to get married at the age of 60.
• Search for a young wife to give him his heir and to
fulfill the bible statement of marriage.
• January’s best friend Justinius disagree with the idea
of getting marry.
• Justinius point out that women are deceitful and
malicious and that he should be careful.
• Another friend, Placebo state that January should
make his own decision.
• After the search, January married a virgin girl name
May.
• In the ceremony, a handsome the knight’s squire name
Damian, instantly felt in love with May.
• Damian became ill so January sent his wife to pay him
a visit.
• May got a secret love letter form Damian.
• She reply Damian’s letter which made him well again.
• January lose his sight and was unaware of his wife
affair with Damian.
• May invite Damian to January’s secret love garden.
• Two mythology characters Pluto and Proserpine
appeared in the story.
• Pluto want January to see what his wife has done
behind his back , therefore he restore January sight.
• Proserpine took May side and granted her the power
to defense herself when the truth emerge.
• When January’s sight was restore.
• May told him that she wanted to pick up some pear
from the tree so January help her clime up the tree.
• He caught his wife having an affair with Damian on
the tree and was mad.
• May lied that she know the best way to cure
blindness is by struggle with the man on the tree.
• They both argue for a while until January is convince
by her lies.
Conclusion
• The pear tree affair incident (during the last scene)
was in fact a scene which appear in many folklores.
• January (Winter=old man with white hair like a
snow.)
• May (Spring= young, serene, and cheerful)
• Merchant tale supported Clerk tale of a husband and
his deceitful young wife.
Credits
• http://www.helium.com/items/1171704-the-merchantsprologue-and-tale-from-the-canterbury-tales-by-geoffreychaucer?page=2
• http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/TheCanterbury-Tales-Summary-and-Analysis-The-Merchant-sPrologue-and-Tale.id-52,pageNum-70.html
• http://www.gradesaver.com/the-canterbury-tales/studyguide/section11/
• http://www.librarius.com/canttran/gptrfs.htm