Pardoners Tale

A detailed Summary of Pardoners Tale

The Pardoner's Tale: Deception and Foolishness

There are several types of foolishness being described in the Pardoner's Tale itself. He describes gluttony in general, then specifically wine. He talks of gambling, taking bets and the like, and of swearing. The exemplum of his sermon describes three fools who go foolishly seeking death, then find it in a large amount of gold. Deception is another topic addressed by the Pardoner: he comes right out and says that he is a con artist, and that he is out to take people's money. In his tale, deception by the rioters leads to the death of all three. These are good points, but there is another deception the Pardoner plays, and gets caught: his sermon is a direct chastisement of the Host, who is not pleased by this. As a whole, Chaucer effectively uses this character of The Pardoner to point out some of the more foolish and deceptive aspects of other characters in the Tales as well.

In the beginning, the Narrator describes The Pardoner in some quite undesirable terms. His is the characterization that comes closest to making a judgement call - in most cases, the judgement is left to the reader. Yet, "I trowe he were a gelding or a mare," is hardly non-judgmental (97.693). T

In the Pardoner, Chaucer has created a very complicated character. He is ugly, very intelligent, honest with the pilgrims to the point of being rude, sensitive to insult but not empathic, and one aware of his situation. The Pardoner knows that without those papal bulls he would be a common laborer. He knows the text that he is preaching and is aware of its effects on the uneducated, but he doesn't believe it. He seems somewhat bitter - he preaches salvation and redemption, but sees through it. He can offer his relics to the masses, but who pardons the Pardoner? In many ways he is a very modern character - disillusioned with religion, using what means he has to make as much money as he can, trying to attain a higher rank in life. It is a tribute to Chaucer's ability to write so well about the human condition that a character created literally hundreds of years ago, in a society that we would barely recognize today, could be so vivid and real with just a little introspection. The Canterbury Tales were written by a true master of poetry and human sympathy, and is one of the greatest works of English fiction and poetry since the Middle Ages.

There are several things going on here. The first, most obvious hypocrisy is that before telling this tale, the Pardoner insisted on stopping at an inn for food and beer. He is also partaking in a bet - he who tells the best story wins. However, there is another level. This sermon is retaliation to the Host, who just before asking the Pardoner to speak has been cursing and talking about using beer as medicine to mend his broken heart. It can be suspected that the Host is drunk, as well. However, when addressing the Pardoner, the Host intentionally insults him: "'Thou bel ami, thou Pardoner,' he saide, / 'Tel us som mirthe or japes right anon" (165.30-31). The Pardoner, being of rather quick wit, replies: "'It shal be doon,' quod he, 'by Saint Ronion...'" (165.33). The reference to St. Ronion is a possible play on "runnion", which is possibly defined as a sexual joke (165, footnote 8). Thus, the Host has rather offended the Pardoner, who calls a stop at an inn to think "upon som honeste thing whil that I drinke" (165.40).

The Pardoner's sermon, while perhaps aimed at the Host, also describes much of the rest of the pilgrimage. After all, they met at the tavern, agreed to this innocent game, and some among them have been rather inebriated. Indeed, the sins listed in the sermon do seem to apply to most of the characters. In thi

Some common words found in the essay are:
Pardoner's Tale, Tale Pardoner, Pardoner Chaucer, Truth Knight, Pardoner Prologue, Prologue Pardoner, Pardoner Host, St Ronion, Wife Bath, Host Pardoner, pardoner's tale, tale pardoner, tale deception, con artist, radix malorum est, radix malorum, pardoner prologue, est cupiditas, pardoner offers, character pardoner, negative description, preaches salvation redemption, malorum est cupiditas,

Approximate Word count = 1684
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English