Pardoning the Pardoner

I wish Andrew was here. He's my go-to man for certain information.

OK, I have to admit that I have a soft spot for The Pardoner. There are two people narrator Chaucer just doesn't have anything good to say about in the GP, The Summoner and The Pardoner. I find myself disappointed in narrator Chaucer. And I think what he says about The Pardoner in the GP matters to The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale.

What does Chaucer say about The Pardoner in the GP? He hints that The Pardoner may be a eunuch or gay (GP 689- 691). He hints that The Summoner may have a thing for him and possibly implies that The Summoner would be the giver and The Pardoner the receiver in an assignation (GP 673) (which I think is usually a bigger insult prejudice-wise). He has thinning long blond hair that he thinks looks good. He sings well and loud, and tells good stories. He also sells fake relics. Assuming that prejudice against homosexuality was worse in the middle ages then now, Chaucer makes The Pardoner the least masculine he can, and that has to be a big insult.

[Note on eunuchs from research I've been doing for Song of Ice and Fire. Eunuchs live longer (almost 20 years longer) than other men. They don't get male-pattern baldness. They do lose body hair and possibly some head hair. Their voices will get higher.]

Now, let's look at the qualities of some of the pilgrims:

• The Monk ("a manly man" GP 167) is doing something to be so rich, and absolutely not doing his monkly duties.
• The Friar gets lots of women pregnant then marries them off. He sells penance and absolution, which has to be putting people's souls at as much risk as what The Pardoner does. Keep in mind The Friar is preying on people who have knowingly sinned.
• The Franklin is a glutton. 
• The Shipman is a pirate. He drowns his enemies (GP 400). Soul wise, I guess it would depend on whether he lets them get absolution first.
• The Physician has a scam with an alchemist to send each other customers and make money. He cares little about the Bible. He also makes gold off the plague.
• The Miller cheats his customers by overcharging them.
• The Reeve steals from his master. He knows all the other workers' secrets and uses that info to control them.
• The Summoner knows the young people's secrets, and may use those secrets to molest the young people. He takes bribes to keep from summoning people. He also scares people with threats of summoning unless they pay.
• And now we're back to The Pardoner. Who sells fake relics, which I assume would then put the buyers' souls at risk. However, the buyers purchasing the relics are often doing questionable things.

AND FINALLY WE GET TO THE PROLOGUE AND TALE

Yes, The Pardoner makes it pretty hard to find anything socially redeeming about him. He's about as likable as the summoner in "The Friar's Tale" and I keep expecting a strange man from a forest to start hanging out with him.

First, a look at The Physician-Pardoner link:

Says the Host and Pardoner:
Host-Wow, those were rotten people and a bad death. But that's what happens when Nature makes you beautiful (it's her fault). Let's move on and God bless all your (The Physician's) stuff. My heart's pounding and I need some ale. Hey Pardoner, tell us something humorous (assuming that "The Pardoner's Tale" will be humorous). OK, says The Pardoner, but first I want some food and drink. Everyone says no, don't tell us something obscene (which makes it OK for The Host to drink and assumes The Pardoner will become obscene).

(P-P link 327-328, emphasis mine) "'I gruante, iwys,' wuod he, 'but I moot thinke / Upon som honest thing whil that I drinke.'"

Pardoner's prologue--GREED IS THE ROOT OF ALL HARM
I personally think the Pardoner was annoyed or offended by the host and pilgrims' words. So he's going to really give them what they asked for.

1. He's honest. He uses the WOB's method. He's so honest about himself that no one is going to be able to insult him. He's already said it.
2. While he's telling the group how he's conning the ignorant folk, in a way he's conning the pilgrims. He's conning them by making them feel smarter than those ignorant folk and therefore special or more important.
3. Lets look at the relics people want: a de-worming relic, OK. But drinking the water touched by the relic to get more animals, that is greed. As is a mitten that multiplies grain. A relic that lets a wife fool around without being caught...not a lot of good spin you can put on that.
4. Then he describes his "Emperor's new clothes" sales method.
5. Then The Pardoner makes it clear that he does everything because of his greed, but also that his primary preaching is about greed. My list above would be longer if I added all the greedy pilgrims to it.

The lead up to the actual tale about the three "brothers"--play the game, match the pilgrim to the listed form of greed.

My point about the above. I think that The Pardoner is mocking the pilgrims, treating them like any congregation, and they are falling for it. 

Finally, The Pardoner's actual tale--The pilgrims wanted something humorous, assumed that would be the kind of story he tells. I don't find this humorous. They fear The Pardoner will be obscene with drink in him. Well, he's had ale and is not a bit obscene. His tale is actually pretty decent with a good point.

The Pardoner vs. The Host

I think The Host is a pretty weird guy. But I haven't had the energy to look at everything he says to get an idea of who he really is. He likes to be in control, although he submits to The Knight. This is the first time anyone has gone after The Host. The Host is hardly the model of good behavior. He liked it better reffing the Miller-Reeve and Friar-Summoner fights.

Thus endeth my thoughts for now. Looking forward to yours.