How Does Chaucer Present Attitudes to Marriage in the Merchant's Tale

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Chaucer introduces the tale through the Merchant’s prologue. A deeply negative attitude to marriage is prevalent throughout the prologue as the Merchant reflects on his own experiences of marriage. As previously discussed, women during Chaucer’s time were meant to be mute, obedient followers to their husbands, however, the Merchant describes his wife as ‘shrewe’ which was dialect at the time to describe an argumentative, stubborn woman - this would have been very unusual for medieval times and therefore, it is no surprise that the Merchant resents his wife. The Merchant likens marriage to a trap ‘I wolde nevere eft comen in the snare.’ This simile depicts an extremely negative attitude towards marriage as the word ‘snare’ suggests suffering and a desire to escape, something during this time was impossible to do. Divorce was almost impossible to go through with due to the laws of the church. Because of this, many lived miserable lives, stuck in an unloving partnership which led many to commit adultery, suggesting May’s betrayal of her husband was in fact as a last resort and not a malicious act. Possibly evoking sympathy in the audience towards May.

However, although Chaucer paints a negative image of marriage and wives through the use of the Merchant’s own experiences, contradicting views are apparent through the use of January's friends. This is almost ironic as the tale is being told by the Merchant, however between the lines of 125 and 148 The Merchant continues to extol the convenience of marriage from a man’s point of view, saying a wife will always be helpful and obedient. “A wyf, a, Seinte Marie, benedicite,” presents a wife as a blessing, contrasting greatly with the language used by the Merchant in his prologue. The greatest conflicting view is in lines 147 and 148 when the Merchant says ‘if thou wolt werken as the wise, do alwey so as wommen wol thee rede.’ This goes against the context of the time and the Merchant’s view of marriage more than any other part of the novel, as to suggest a man should follow what a woman advises would have been greatly controversial. It can be argued that Chaucer’s conflicting views of marriage throughout the poem is to strike a debate between his readers, many critics argue that Chaucer wrote to evoke social change by defending the underdogs of society, such as women.

Chaucer’s view of marriage can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from the views expressed by other characters in the poem, in particular the Merchant as their narration can become entwined. Chaucer appears to have a much more orthodox view of the reasons behind marriage than January can be said to have. While January sees marriage as something he should do to save his soul – and a means for sexual gratification, Chaucer has a more romantic view of marriage, enforcing his belief that infidelity is wrong. The Merchant says little about the business-like manner in which the marriage took place, but has more to say about the untrustworthy nature of women, his cynicism from his own relationships showing through his occasional selections of Biblical references to deceitful women such as Rebecca and Judith. The Merchant’s unromantic nature of marriage seems to be prevalent in most men’s minds as women cannot be trusted unless perhaps under some kind of bond other than purely spiritual.