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Come forth, and kneel down here before, anon, And humbly you " ll receive my full pardon 1 The Pardoners Tale is the part of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the most distinguished work of the medieval literature, which forebode the era of Renaissance. The Pardoners Tale reveals the corruption of the medieval sermon; it exposes the personality of its narrator and reflects the lack of morality that was hidden beneath piety at the Medieval Times. The author ironically describes the hypocrisy and impudence of the Pardoner and the Pardoners ways to seek the absolution of his sins. The Pardoner is the most ambiguous person among the pilgrims.
He is the seller of popes indulgences - the absolutions, given in exchange of donation, and holy relics, which he sells to people with promises of salvation and eluding of disasters. The Pardoner preaches for the poor and ignorant country flock and accompanies his sermons with moral tales that confirm that every sinner will be punished. These stories are intended to encourage people to part with their money in order to escape the horrors, perceived by the sinners in the stories. I stand up like a scholar in pulpit, And when the ignorant people all do sit I preach as you have heard me say before (Fragment VI, 349 - 351) The Pardoner is asked by the pilgrims to tell the story and he easily agrees, but at first he proclaims himself a hypocrite and fraud, he reveals that his relics are false. The Pardoner makes a confession, he claims to be the sinner whose sole interest is money and in his greed he would rob the poor people of their last money by selling them fake indulgences and would 1 Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Pardoner's Tale, The Riverside Chaucer.
Ed. L. A. Benson et al. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
pocket the money. This blunt confession might seem surprising, but it is brought by the camaraderie that the group of pilgrims formed in order to spend the travel pleasantly. The company is only temporary and after their pilgrimage the pilgrims are not likely to meet again. The easy openness of fellow travelers who are brought close together by the road and parted forever by the arrival calls people for spilling their hearts and the Pardoner grasps the chance to share his inner self with others. The Pardoner can successfully deceive only simple and ignorant peasants, whose poverty keeps them in constant terror and darkness. The pilgrims consist mostly of educated people, or people of higher class, who have doubtfully ever fallen victims of the Pardoners, who have no deep seated rancor towards them and would not be angry with the Pardoner if he makes a confession.
The pilgrims symbolize the neutral third party, for whose judgment the Pardoner opens himself, because he knows that neither the Church not his flock will sympathize him. The Pardoners untrustworthy nature is betrayed by his looks: With unbound hair, except his cap, head all bare As shiny eyes he had as has a hare. (General Prologue, II. 685 - 686) The pilgrims understand that he is capable of something indecent, and they insist on hearing the story with good moral in fear that Pardoner might tell some crude anecdote. All these makes the Pardoner feel talkative and open, because his confession will have no repercussions. The Pardoner is sincere with pilgrims because he is not planning to swindle the pilgrims but simply entertains the audience, boast with his cunning, his success and profit. The Pardoner reveals his personality and discloses his tricks. The Pardoner makes promise to the pilgrims to tell the tale about three young Flemish people, as if he would preach his usual sermon: By God, I hope that I can tell something That shall, in reason, be to your liking.
For though I am myself a vicious man, Yet I would tell a moral tale, and can, The which I'm wont to preach more gold to win (Fragment VI, 415 - 418) The Pardoner tells one of the best stories from The Canterbury Tales. The author shows the Pardoner is well versed and he has stories prepared for any occasion as well as indulgences prepared for any sin. "Masters, " quoth he, "in churches, when I preach, I am at pains that all shall hear my speech, And ring it out as roundly as a bell, For I know all by heart the thing I tell (Fragment VI, 287 - 290) The Pardoner is a skillful speaker, because his tool is his fast tongue, and he is so proficient in using this tool, that he does not need any other skills, his tongue keeps him fed and dressed: For I will preach and beg in sundry lands; I will not work and labour with my hands (Fragment VI, 401 - 402) The Pardoner holds the interest of the audience and manages to tell the exactly story which moves people. Pardoner is a skillful psychologist. In his tale the Pardoner confirms his hypocrisy condemning the sins in which he has confessed in Prologue.
The Pardoners were sent by Church to offer the indulgences and the salvation but were cynical hypocrites and sinners themselves. The author is appalled that the representatives of the Church were cheating people, stayed unpunished and were proud of it: Our liege-lord's seal on my patent perfect, I show that first, my safety to protect, And then no man's so bold, no priest nor clerk, As to disturb me in Christ's holy work (Fragment VI, 295 - 298) The story that the Pardoner tells is the example of the philosophic tale with moral, which teaches that greed is the source of all trouble. It is very symbolic, that the Pardoner picks the story about greed. Greed forces the Pardoner to lie and deceive, this is his worst fault, and the human psychology determines, that they talk about their utmost worries. It is evident, that subconsciously the Pardoners sins worry him.
The Pardoner is fully stocked by indulgences and relics, but instead of working he undertakes pilgrimage. On this pilgrimage he reveals his sins to other pilgrims. The pilgrimage, the confession, the choice of the story, all this is the Pardoners quest for the absolution. The Pardoner tells the story with great feeling and becomes so carried away by inspiration that at the end he opens the bag of relics that he proclaimed false and offer them to the pilgrims: But, sirs, one word forgot I in my tale; I've relics in my pouch that cannot fail, As good as England ever saw, I hope, The which I got by kindness of the pope. (Fragment VI, 878 - 900) The Pardoners attempt to sell fake relics to the pilgrims is not the desire to deceive them.
His confession at the beginning is the proclamation that he would not swindle the pilgrims. The Pardoner simply done's his sermon with heart as he would do for the peasants and he has to believe himself in what he says if he wants to make others believe. As he promised, the Pardoner preaches exactly the same sermon as he does for his flock and it makes him forget himself, his aim, and transform from the pilgrim into the Pardoner. Here the Pardoner acts both consciously and subconsciously. On the subconscious level the Pardoner is winded up by his speech and forgets himself. On the conscious level, he reveals his sermon in full force, shows the whole extend of his skill, discloses his hypocrisy, because if he wants to get the absolution, he has to show the penitence.
The Hosts outbreak shocks the Pardoner, which is why he is lacking words. Instead of being impressed by his tale and his preachers skill, instead of being appalled by the depth of his fall, the pilgrims are enraged by his offer of relic. They dont understand. He expected the different reaction; he wanted to be the one to make the others speechless. The absence of the reaction expected means for the Pardoner the failure of his aspiration for absolution. He feels neglected and he is subdued in silence.
The apologetic kiss exchanged between the host and the Pardoner is the climax of the Pardoners Tale. The kiss symbolizes that the Pardoners faults were accepted and he received the absolution. Metaphorically, the pilgrims are the Pardoner for the Pardoner, and they gave him the indulgence in exchange for his tale, even if this indulgence is as fake as the Pardoners own indulgences, because it is given by those, who have no right to judge or forgive his deeds. Chaucer's Pardoner symbolizes the politics of the Church in the Medieval Europe. Pardoners behavior reveals the drawbacks of the Medieval Christian doctrine, which had double standards for peasants and for the upper classes. The author reveals the stagnation of the society, in which people were deceived in the name of God.
Chaucer is both marveled by his Pardoner and appalled, but he does not blame the Pardoner for his faults. The author implies that the medieval society with double moral is the only cause for corruption of the human nature. The author subtly leads the reader for the understanding, that the Renaissance and Reformation are necessary and imminent. Bibliography 1.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Pardoner's Tale, The Riverside Chaucer. Ed. L. A.
Benson et al. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988 2. Ashton, Gail. Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales. Analyzing Texts Series. London, Macmillan, 1998. 3.
Have, Peter. English Drama Before Shakespeare. London: Longman, 1999. 4. Bishop, Ian. "The Narrative Art of The Pardoner's Tale. " Medium Album 36 (1967) 15 - 24.
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