Ashley Modrynski and Johanna Spangler
Ms. Kingsley
AP English 12
1 May 2008
The Shipman's Tale
Summary: The Shipman's tale is about the Merchant, a controlling man obsessed with business and making money, his beautiful wife, and the monk. The monk, Don John, became a frequent visitor, even to the point of calling the merchant 'cousin' despite the absence of any filial relation. The monk approached the merchant's wife one morning, while she was in a frenzy and her husband was away for hours counting his finances, to help her with her troubles and gain her trust. She revealed her detest of her husband and his cheapness, asking for a favor of 100 francs to spend while her husband was gone on a business trip the following morning. She assured the monk that he would be greatly rewarded, in any way he pleased, if he were to come to her aid. Promptly the monk kissed the wife and exclaimed that he would do anything for her, even to give her 100 francs.
Before the Merchant left for Flanders on Sunday, the monk approached him and asked, cousin to cousin, for a favor of 100 francs with which to complete a trade and purchase the animals. After the merchant eagerly relented, the monk used this money to give to the wife, in exchange for sleeping with her throughout the night that the merchant was gone.
When the merchant returned, he made a visit to the monk, inquiring about the purchase and his loan of 100 francs. The monk exclaimed that he had given the money to the merchant's wife and that she would surely know. The merchant went home and scolded his wife for not telling him, to which she exclaimed that she spent it all
Chaucer'sView: Chaucer is satirizing the portrayal of women in The Shipman's Tale. He represents the beautiful wife as very materialistic and unhappy with her husband majorly on his unwillingness to buy her expensive clothing and jewelry. She is manipulative and willing to do anything for monetary gain, for example to sleep with the monk that provided her with enough money to blow on clothing. Chaucer is somewhat satirizing women in general for their attempted gain of power during this time (Medieval time period). Women were seeking equality with men and by this they were unrecognizably demoralizing and disrespecting themselves through their actions. This is obviously a generalization considering not all women were willing to solicit themselves in order to gain monetary comfort and other forms of materialistic treasures. Chaucer also uses the monk's character to portray corruption within the church. He was clearly not fond of the people involved with the church of any rank because he believed that they were quite corrupt and The Shipman's Tale was an opportunity for him to express these thoughts without being incredibly blunt. This entire collection of tales was a tool to express Chaucer's political, religious, and cultural criticisms.
The monk is used to ridicule the religious, considering his very non-pious behavior in The Shipman's Tale. He is cunning, but is also very unmoralistic on the grounds of his ruthlessness in the attempt to get what he wants.
Character Analysis: The Merchant is portrayed as a wealthy man who is admired by friends and neighbors because he is assumed to be wise. He is hospitable and enjoys company to his house. Although he is open towards friends and neighbors he is very closed off to his wife because he is often times preoccupied with his accounts and income and he fails to provide for her the items which she desires. The Merchants wife is a beautiful woman who draws quite a bit of attention because of her beauty. She comes off as a free spirit who feels cheated by her husband who is cheap with him money. The wife also comes off as somewhat permiscuous as she tells the Monk that he will be "greatly repaid" for his loan. Obviously, this led to sex, so she is also unloyal to her husband. The Monk is a friendly man, maybe overly friendly considering he slept with his dear friends' wife. He also appears to be corrupt in his morals.
Ms. Kingsley
AP English 12
1 May 2008
The Shipman's Tale
Summary: The Shipman's tale is about the Merchant, a controlling man obsessed with business and making money, his beautiful wife, and the monk. The monk, Don John, became a frequent visitor, even to the point of calling the merchant 'cousin' despite the absence of any filial relation. The monk approached the merchant's wife one morning, while she was in a frenzy and her husband was away for hours counting his finances, to help her with her troubles and gain her trust. She revealed her detest of her husband and his cheapness, asking for a favor of 100 francs to spend while her husband was gone on a business trip the following morning. She assured the monk that he would be greatly rewarded, in any way he pleased, if he were to come to her aid. Promptly the monk kissed the wife and exclaimed that he would do anything for her, even to give her 100 francs.
Before the Merchant left for Flanders on Sunday, the monk approached him and asked, cousin to cousin, for a favor of 100 francs with which to complete a trade and purchase the animals. After the merchant eagerly relented, the monk used this money to give to the wife, in exchange for sleeping with her throughout the night that the merchant was gone.
When the merchant returned, he made a visit to the monk, inquiring about the purchase and his loan of 100 francs. The monk exclaimed that he had given the money to the merchant's wife and that she would surely know. The merchant went home and scolded his wife for not telling him, to which she exclaimed that she spent it all
Chaucer's View: Chaucer is satirizing the portrayal of women in The Shipman's Tale. He represents the beautiful wife as very materialistic and unhappy with her husband majorly on his unwillingness to buy her expensive clothing and jewelry. She is manipulative and willing to do anything for monetary gain, for example to sleep with the monk that provided her with enough money to blow on clothing. Chaucer is somewhat satirizing women in general for their attempted gain of power during this time (Medieval time period). Women were seeking equality with men and by this they were unrecognizably demoralizing and disrespecting themselves through their actions. This is obviously a generalization considering not all women were willing to solicit themselves in order to gain monetary comfort and other forms of materialistic treasures. Chaucer also uses the monk's character to portray corruption within the church. He was clearly not fond of the people involved with the church of any rank because he believed that they were quite corrupt and The Shipman's Tale was an opportunity for him to express these thoughts without being incredibly blunt. This entire collection of tales was a tool to express Chaucer's political, religious, and cultural criticisms.
The monk is used to ridicule the religious, considering his very non-pious behavior in The Shipman's Tale. He is cunning, but is also very unmoralistic on the grounds of his ruthlessness in the attempt to get what he wants.
Character Analysis: The Merchant is portrayed as a wealthy man who is admired by friends and neighbors because he is assumed to be wise. He is hospitable and enjoys company to his house. Although he is open towards friends and neighbors he is very closed off to his wife because he is often times preoccupied with his accounts and income and he fails to provide for her the items which she desires. The Merchants wife is a beautiful woman who draws quite a bit of attention because of her beauty. She comes off as a free spirit who feels cheated by her husband who is cheap with him money. The wife also comes off as somewhat permiscuous as she tells the Monk that he will be "greatly repaid" for his loan. Obviously, this led to sex, so she is also unloyal to her husband. The Monk is a friendly man, maybe overly friendly considering he slept with his dear friends' wife. He also appears to be corrupt in his morals.