Chaucer Critics Flashcards
About January’s opinion of marriage
‘January shops for his bride’-Stephanie A Tolliver
About the tone of the tale
‘Dimly misogynistic and bitter’-Martin Stevens
What the tale is about
‘A story intending to show the deceitfulness of women’- Martin Stevens
Earle Barney in ‘The Beginnings of Chaucer’s Irony’
‘An irony so quiet, so delicate, that many readers never notice it is there at all’
About January’s selfishness
‘January’s bending of religious authority to his own selfish purposes leaves religion untouched but adds to our sense of his delusion and error’-John Thorne
Comparing The Merchant’s Tale to The Miller’s Tale
‘Irony of passion and personal experience compared to The Miller’s Tale which is more philosophical’- G L Kitredge
About the garden
‘Chaucer’s garden in this tale is no longer a place of courtly love or intellectual debate but of lust and sexuality’- Laura Varnam
About Chaucer’s value system
‘Chaucer subtly brings into play the very system of values that traditional fabliaux tend to work without’- Laura Varnam
About how May is viewed
‘May is made of masculine fantasy’-Stephanie A Tolliver
About January’s blindness
‘January is blinded by the deception oh his wife’- Stephanie A Tolliver
Priscilla Martin’s opinion of what the tale is about
‘The male exploitation of economic power for erotic purchase’
About women’s roles
‘Life for women of the gentry was synonymous with marriage’- Ann Haskell
Derek Pearsall’s opinion of the tale
‘The tale reduces all human behaviour to lust and greed’
