This story starts a debate on the role of wealth and influence in this world. The inaugural outlines of The Shipman’s Tale found this melody. “Once there was a merchant in St. Denys who was rich and was highly respected as wise” (“A merchant whilom dwelled at Saint Denys, / that riche was, for which men held him ways.”) The word tale themselves distresses a rich merchant who has a convinced ability over those who are nearby him. This is due to the ostensible treasure. He also had a wife who had a happy and friendly air, but these brilliant abilities charged the merchant greatly (“The Shipman’s Tale”).
The up-to-date reader may be puzzled, e.g., why the merchant rejects his beautiful wife’s money but joyfully and willingly advances Sir John 100 francs. Again, the melody of site and control arises to play. In primitive times, although Sir John is a friar, he grips a community position that is much greater than that of a merchant. Sir John is knighted. Therefore, the merchant reflects its decency and is privileged to be demanded as a comparative to an individual of an upper position in the community instruction (“The Shipman’s Tale”).
There is an interrogation, though, around why Chaucer gave this tale to the Ship-man. We would have anticipated a further tale course and hearty from a person of the ocean who has seen numerous ports. Additionally, at the start of the tale are certain mystifying outlines:
The silly husband always has to pay
He has to clothe us; he has to array
Our bodies to enhance his reputation,
While we dance round in all this decoration.(“235628eb15035679ae5423e4e5d80ca7—15ship.Pdf”)
(The sely housbonde, alginate he moot pay,
He moot us clothe, and he moot us arrays,
Al for his owner worship richly
In which array we daunce jolly)(“235628eb15035679ae5423e4e5d80ca7—15ship.Pdf”)
The usage of the 1st person plural pronoun “us” in the expression “he has to clothe us” obviously recommends that Chaucer envisioned assigning this story to one of his female associates of the party, and due to the theme issue, it might have been no one further than the Wife of the Bath. Deceptively Chaucer has written this story for her and then altered his concentration and forgot to eradicate the unreliable way.
References
“235628eb15035679ae5423e4e5d80ca7—15ship.Pdf.” Web. 26 Sept. 2017.
“The Shipman’s Tale.” N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2017.
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