The Merchant: Not All That He Seems

The Characters in Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales'

Characters from The Canterbury Tales: (L–R) The Merchant; the Friar; the Monk; the Franklin; the Wife of Bath; the Parson and his brother the Ploughman, riding side by side." North Reading Room, east wall. Detail of mural by Ezra Winter illustrating the characters in the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Library of Congress John Adams Building, Washington, D.C. Public Domain

One of Geoffrey Chaucer’s most celebrated works, “The Canterbury Tales,” features characters from all walks of life. Through a collection of 24 tales and a unique storytelling framework, the author paints the portrait of Medieval English culture, giving readers a fascinating insight into 14th- century English society.

Back then, a new class was emerging: the middle class. Merchants were among this social class and symbolized this new aspect of English society. Their rank was solely due to their commercial wealth and how they presented themselves, something Chaucer explored with his enigmatic yet intriguing character, the Merchant, in “The Canterbury Tales.”

A Deceitful Appearance

The Merchant is not always what he seems. In the prologue, the narrator describes him as wearing a “Flemish beaver hat,” a cloak of “motley,” and “daintily buckled boots,” all of which were fashionable at the time. His clothes refer to his power and wealth, as well as his supposedly prosperous activity, trading in furs and clothes from Flanders.

He is a salesman and trader, dealing with imports and exports of international goods. His cosmopolitan sensibilities, such as knowing about the latest fashions, are meant to impress the other pilgrims.

The Merchant in "The Canterbury Tales" wears a “Flemish beaver hat,” a cloak of “motley,” and “daintily buckled boots.” Illustration by Arthur Szyk, 1946. Public Domain

The Merchant also tries to impose his influence on others, telling the other pilgrims “his opinions and his pursuits.” However, his appearance misleads as he only talks about his business and reveals little of his true self. As shown in the prologue, he is actually shallow and deceptive, hiding his unsuccessful dealings behind a confident exterior: “The estimable Merchant so had set/ His wits to work, no one knew he was in debts.”

In Chaucer’s time, merchants were often perceived as untrustworthy, hiding their true motives behind a confident and friendly exterior. Here, the narrator is aware of the Merchant’s financial troubles behind his affluent appearance and pompous speech, indicating that the Merchant doesn’t hide his secrets as well as he thinks he does. Accumulating debt was a sign of weakness and low morals.

The narrator also indicates that the merchant’s main motivation is to make money, yet describes him as “an excellent fellow all the same.” Through this ironical line, the narrator warns the readers about the Merchant’s dishonesty, while recognizing that it is central to his business to promote himself.

As with the other pilgrims in “The Canterbury Tales,” it is left for the reader to decide how far to trust the narrator in his character descriptions.

A Puzzling Tale

Sometimes, characters in “The Canterbury Tales” are not fully revealed immediately, as is the case for the Merchant. In the “General Prologue,” the narrator portrays him as respectable, yet hints that his personality is devious due to the nature of his profession.

The Merchant’s true character is only fully revealed in the “Merchant’s Prologue” and “Merchant’s Tale,” where he reveals a cynical and pessimistic outlook on marriage, making him a less respectable yet more complex character.

In the “Merchant’s Prologue,” the pilgrims learn that he is unhappily married. Encouraged by the Host, the Merchant tells a tale about marriage, a central theme in the tales. However, in his tale, he offers such high praise of marriage that the pilgrims are confused about his sincerity, adding another layer of complexity to this enigmatic character.

The narrator of "The Canterbury Tales" warns readers about the Merchant’s dishonest character. The Merchant in the Ellesmere manuscript of Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." Public Domain

The character tells the tale of January, a 60-year-old knight of good renown. He decides to marry a young woman, May, “one upon whom he might beget an heir.” However, Damian, a young squire at the service of January, falls in love with May. Damian falls ill, and May is sent to comfort him, upon which the squire slips her a love note, and they fall in love. As time passes, January goes blind and, consumed by jealousy, keeps his wife by his side at all times.

Damian duplicates a key to January’s garden and hides in a pear tree, and as January and May wander through the garden, she asks January to help her into the tree, where she meets Damian. Seeing this, the god Pluto restores January’s sight, and as he catches them together, May says he was deceived by his sight. January believes her and embraces her.

This is a puzzling ending, as it goes against the values the Merchant establishes in his tale. The message of the tale is unclear, combining literary genres and traditions with both a positive and negative portrayal of marriage. Through this tale, the Merchant seems an unreliable storyteller, reinforcing his deceitful character in the General Prologue.

Both the “Merchant’s Tale” and his characterization of the Merchant pose an interpretative challenge, alerting to the tonal complexity of the narrative voice in Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales.”