TALE OF A CANTERBURY TALE

My group read The Skipper's Tale, which is a strange name for a story about a merchant, a wife, and a monk. The story began describing the great friendship this monk, Don John, and this merchant shared. The two would always feast together and considered each other kin. One day the merchant was busy calculating his earnings and preparing for a trip, while the monk was taking a stroll in the garden. The merchant's wife met him in the garden and they began a secret conversation about her unhappiness in her marriage. They confessed their love for one another and Don John said that the only reason he was friends with the merchant was to be near her. She requested 100 francs from the monk and said she'd repair him however he wanted. After making this secret deal that he would give her the loan and she would repair him with sex, they hurriedly sent the merchant off on his journey. The night before the merchant departed Don John borrowed 100 francs from him. The merchant left and the secret deal was completed. When the merchant returned, he went to visit his friend Don John who told him that he had already repaired the 100 francs to his wife and that he was moving away. The merchant returned home and questioned his wife on the subject. She simply said that Don John had paid her but she already spent it all, and her husband forgave her.

1. I think that the monk is the main character in this tale. The reader learns his personality through indirect characterization. For example, his denial of his friendship with the merchant when talking to the merchant's wife shows that he is capable of lying and betraying. Also, his loaning money from the merchant to give to the merchant's wife reveals that he is manipulative and selfish. Another example is how at the end of the tale he leaves, showing that he never really loved the wife he just used her, reinforcing that he is manipulative. Overall, through the monk's actions Chaucer reveals much irony about his actual character.
2. Chaucer's purpose in this tale was to satirize society through the irony of the monk's characteristics. The monk who is publicly seen as a figure of honor, generosity, and kindness is the exact opposite behind the scenes. He lies and betray his friend, through sleeping with his wife and manipulating money out of him. The fact that in the end the monk gets away with all of this without tarnishing his public reputation is meant to show the audience that these things can be happening sub rosa, so to be more aware and less naive.