The Pardoner’s TaleThe Pardoner’s Tale In his Prologue to his tale he admits that he only does pardons for the money. However he is interesting because he does not shy away from his faults. In fact, he is proud of how he is able to take advantage of people. Main theme = Greed is the root of all evil. His tale encompasses sins that he admits to have done himself. He seems to be a very good actor.
The tale itself…The tale itself… The three Flemish friends are drunks, gluttons, gamblers who swear (the other pilgrims probably thought this was horrific). They hear a funeral and young boy tells them that is a friend who was killed by Death. They meet an old man who points them in the direction of a tree where they find gold. They believe that if they carry the gold into the town by daylight they will be convicted of being robbers. So they draw lots and the youngest goes into town to get provisions for the night.
The two remaining friends decide they will stab the other when he returns. Meanwhile he is planning on poisoning the others with celebratory wine. The two wind up killing him and decide to drink the wine to toast their prize. What is the moral of the story?
The Wife of Bath’s TaleThe Wife of Bath’s Tale She claims to be an expert on marriage after being married five times. She uses her sexual power to control her husbands and only follows the scriptures that apply to her beliefs (i.e. “be fruitful and multiply”) She had two bad husbands and three good, to her good means they gave her money for what she was giving them. Her fifth husband was the one she could not control and yet he is the one she loved the most. She feels that men treat wives poorly because: church writings written by men, astrology (Venus and Mercury not aligned), old men are hostile due to their lack of virility.
The tale itself…The tale itself… In King Arthur’s court a young knight falls in love with a woman and he rapes her. The court is upset with this and the king decides he should be put to death. However, the queen and several ladies want to give him a chance. The queen says that he will have one year to find out what women want the most. He roams the country and different women have different ideas. He finds an old woman who claims she can help him but he must pledge himself to her. They return and in front of the court he announces that women want sovereignty or power in the relationship with their husbands and lovers.
The old hag asks the knight to marry her and he is forced to say yes. The materialistic and lusty knight is obviously upset. She offers the knight a choice: either he can have her be ugly but loyal and good, or he can have her young and fair but also unfaithful. The knight ponders in silence. Finally, he asks her to choose whatever she thinks best. Because the knight’s answer gave the woman what she most desired, the authority to choose for herself, she becomes both beautiful and good. The two have a long, happy marriage, and the woman becomes completely obedient to her husband