Lines 33-54 Flashcards
Summary
-old knight living in Lombardy wants to be married even though he previously enjoyed causal sex with random women
- he declared in his wisdom that marriage, such has god devised for Adam and Eve, is the only way to live
‘So wis” “he lived in great prosperity”
Tone of sustained irony
- given he told the pilgrim of his own predicament it must be the reverse of what the narrator thinks of anyone trying to get married in old age
- jan is anything but this further emphasised prior as it suggests that Jan bought is title of a knight which is ironic as knights are supposed to be honorable and worthy and this the exact oppisite
“Were it for holiness or dotage I kan Nat seye”
- his reasons said to be is the product of religion
- but ironic tone points to the latter
-could be Chaucer suggesting the religious argument is a convenience for and old man who cannot pull women as he once could before - casts doubt in jans desires ridiculing his true motives for marriage
-his attitude towards Jan portrays him as foolish driven by lust rather than wisdom
“Were it for holiness or dotage”
- his reasons said to be is the product of religion
- but ironic tone points to the latter
-could be Chaucer suggesting the religious argument is a convenience for and old man who cannot pull women as he once could before
“Paridis”
-reference to Adam and Eve, genesis
- is proleptic of January and may’s later experience in their garden.
-foreshadowing jans physical blindness and mays betrayal
“Holy bond”
- jan views marriage as this holy bond ordained by God
-This perspective is undercut by his focus on physical and personal satisfaction
-Ironic
-reflects choices, critique of the church and its manipulation of marriage as a more of a moral obligation
-in choice society marriage was considered a sacred sacrament aligning with Christian values and scene
of ways to uphold social order
-January‘s desire to my reflect awareness of these expectations, but obviously it’s undercut by his actual motivations which are superficial and self-serving
-jans superficial understanding reflects chaucers critique of thise who misuse religion to justify personal desires
“Paradis” “ so easy and so clean’
-reference to Adam and Eve and garden of Eden
- mocks jan emphasising his naivety of marriage and his delusion ultimately critiquing Jans romanticised view of marriage
-heavily ironic we are aware this optimism is misplaced givinen the merchants cynical view of marriage
-dramatic irony creates a satirical tone that ridicules jan
“Sixty yeres a wifeless man”
-condtradicts his indulgent past and sudden desire to marry
- emphasises his folly
-juxtaposing his world pleasures and newfound pretender of holiness
“Ho;y bond”
-symbolises jans belief in it sanctity
-however his motivations are rooted in physical desire
-suggesting his means for marriage are for personal gratification rather than spiritual fulfilment
