Study Guide. By Geoffrey Chaucer. Previous Next. The Pardoner With blonde hair that he wears long, in the "newe jet," or style, and a smooth, hairless face, it's no wonder that Chaucer "trowe [the Pardoner] were a geldyng or a mare" General Prologue — a neutered or female horse. What's Up With the Ending?
Tired of ads? Join today and never see them again. Like the Monk, the Summoner is disdainful of the church's teachings, brushing aside people's fear of excommunication — "the erchdekenes curs" — with the knowledge that you can always pay a bribe to get out of it.
And who do you think benefits the most from those bribes? Yeah, probably the Summoner himself. Beyond taking bribes, we also suspect the Summoner of seducing young girls; not only does he have them all in his confidence, but "ful prively a finch eek coude he pul" General Prologue , an expression that can mean to trick, but also to seduce a young girl. With the Summoner's portrait we have a critique not only of his individual character, but also of the situation that has created him.
Although the Summoner's conviction that one can avoid excommunication by paying a bribe is morally reprehensible, it may also have been true. Historians also think that summoners were not paid enough money by the church to really make a living; thus, they may have had to depend upon bribery to get by.
Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Why do the characters tell stories in The Canterbury Tales? Who wins the storytelling contest? How are the stories organized? Characters The Pardoner. Popular pages: The Canterbury Tales.
Take a Study Break.
0コメント