THE MERCHANT’S TALE

By Geoffrey Chaucer

The Merchant’s Tale is about a knight named January, who had lived for sixty years without a wife.

One day, however, he decided to marry. He called for his friends and asked them to find him a wife no older than twenty, who would do whatever he wanted. His friends get into a lengthy list of arguments for and against marriage. Placebo tells January to marry a young wife, exactly as he’s planned. Justinus and argues that January should be more thoughtful when choosing his wife and that he should choose one closer to his own age.

January chooses a young woman named May, and they get married. Everyone at the wedding is happy, except Damian, January’s squire. Damian is secretly in love with May and writes her a love letter telling her this, which he keeps in a silk bag inside his shirt. At the wedding, everyone is happy except Damian, January’s squire. Damian is madly in love with May and writes her a love letter telling her so, which he keeps in a silk bag inside his shirt. One day, when May goes to tell the squires that her husband isn’t feeling well, Damian slips the love letter to May. She reads it and throws it in the toilet so it cannot be discovered. She writes a love letter back to Damian and slips it under his pillow.

Over time, January becomes almost totally blind. January’s house had a beautiful garden full of trees and Damian makes a secret copy of the garden key to see May and hides himself in a pear tree. When January and May enter in the garden, May offers to climb the pear tree to get a pear for her husband, then raises herself on the tree where she meets her lover.

Suddenly, January’s view returns. He spies May and Damian together on the tree and asks to know what they are doing up there. May says she has heard that the best way to restore January’s view is to “fight” with a man in a tree. When January points out that they are not “fighting”, they are lying together, May says he is not yet seeing clearly. She convinces January that he hasn’t seen what he thought he was seeing, and January rejoices.

THE END