The Shipman’s Tale By: Paola Martinez & Ashley Rojas

Page 3 The merchant had an unusually beautiful wife. She was an extremely charming woman with gorgeous, porcelain, milky skin. Her hair cascaded down her back in golden waves of sunshine that flowed free like a river. She was a frail and dainty lady so small that she lacked a lot physical strength. She is constantly asking her husband for money so that she can buy clothes and jewelry, but it is always a challenge when her husband refuses to do so. The merchant’s wife is, like her husband, a very affable and genial person described as, “one of a gay, companionable air.” (Chaucer 157)

The Merchant ● Consumed with accounts.

Page 17 After dinner was over, the monk wanted to ask the merchant to speak with him in private, so he pulled him aside. The monk told the merchant that he needed to borrow one hundred francs. The monk stated that he could pay the merchant back very soon, but he needed the money before he went back home. The merchant immediately approved of the loan, and told sir John not worry about paying the money back in a hurry. For a moment the monk could see what the wife had spoken of. The merchant was quick to say yes to lending the monk the same money he had denied his own wife of.

Monk & Wife ● Wife's disappointment for her husband.

Page 24 On the drive back, the merchant was trying to think of some reasons as to why his wife had not informed him about the monk returning the money to her. Not sure of what to say to his wife as he opened his house door he entered at a leisurely pace. The wife stayed quietly seated at the dining room table got up and walked over to receive her husband as he entered. The merchant anxious about what the reason was of why she kept something important from him asked her right away. The wife, ready with an explanation, recited what she would say to him told him everything.

Merchant & Wife ● Seems to treat sex as a financial transaction.