The Merchant’s Tale is one of several CANTERBURY
TALES in which CHAUCER explores the institution of
marriage. The story follows The CLERK’S TALE of
patient Griselda, and the Merchant narrator tells
it largely to contrast the deceitful May, the “real
life” spouse, with the saintly Griselda. The narrator, disillusioned with his own marriage after all of
two months, presents a bitter and cynical look at
marriage, though the effect of the tale is an indictment more of foolish attitudes and motives concerning marriage than of the institution itself.
The Merchant’s Tale follows a FABLIAU plot involving adultery and trickery. Its style, however, is
far more formal and elaborate than a typical fabliau, and its diction, aristocratic characters, and
use of the supernatural are more characteristic of a
ROMANCE. The ironic contrast between subject and
style make The Merchant’s Tale one of the most
striking of The Canterbury Tales.
As the story begins, January, a Lombard knight
who has lived a life of debauchery and lechery for
60 years, has decided it is time to marry. He wants
an heir, but he also claims to be concerned about
his mortal soul, and wants a wife so that he can
allay his lust in a manner sanctioned by the church.
He therefore determines to marry a young wife. He
asks his courtiers to advise him on his proposal,
and the flattering sycophant Placebo tells him he
has made a wise decision, but Justinus calls it a
foolish plan.
Nevertheless January has made up his mind,
and marries the youthful May. The Merchant narrator describes the wedding in gruesome detail,
highlighting with disgust January’s rough whiskers
and sagging neck. We are not told how May feels.
However January’s young squire, Damian, is attracted to May, and passes her a note declaring his
love. She begins to look for a way to satisfy him.
January has a private garden built in which he
and May can walk. In the course of time, however,
he loses his sight, and May hatches a plot with
Damian to meet him in a pear tree in the garden.
As she and January walk in the garden, she feigns
hunger for the fruit, and climbs the tree. She and
Damian have sex in the tree above January’s head.
At the climax of the tale, the gods Pluto and
Proserpine come walking in the garden and witness the cuckolding. The indignant Pluto restores
January’s sight, but Proserpine gives May the skill
to convince January not to believe the evidence of
his own eyes. She says that she was told if she
“struggled with a man in a tree,” her husband’s
sight would be restored. The tale ends with the
willfully blinded January stroking May’s womb,
believing he has begotten an heir.
Scholarly comment on the tale has focused on
the question of whether it was originally intended
for the Merchant; since there are two lines that
imply a clerical narrator, one conjecture is that it
was initially meant for THE FRIAR’S TALE or THE
MONK’S TALE. This has also led to a division of
opinion as to the tone of the tale: If it is closely
identified with the bitter Merchant of the tale’s
prologue, it is a dark and heavy tale. But taken by
itself, some critics argue, it is a lighter satire, like
most fabliaux. The variety of genres on display and
Chaucer’s generic experiments in the tale have also
been of interest to scholars.
Bibliography
Brown, Emerson, Jr. “Chaucer, the Merchant, and
Their Tale: Getting Beyond Old Controversies:
Part I,” Chaucer Review 13 (1978): 141–156.
Brown, Emerson, Jr. “Chaucer, the Merchant, and
Their Tale: Getting Beyond Old Controversies:
Part II,” Chaucer Review 13 (1979): 247–262.
Edwards, A. S. G. “ ‘The Merchant’s Tale’ and Moral
Chaucer,” Modern Language Quarterly 51 (1990):
409–426.
Hagen, Susan K. “Chaucer’s May, Standup Comics,
and Critics.” In Chaucer’s Humor: Critical Essays,
edited by Jean E. Jost, 127–143. New York: Garland, 1994.