The Pardoner In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

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English Lit to 18th century An Essay on the Pardoner “With him there rode a gentle PARDONER of Rouncivalle; he was the Summoner’s friend and comrade, who had come straight from the court of Rome.” (Beidler, “The Canterbury Tales.” 51) Religion is a dominant theme in Western literature. Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is of no exception. In fact, without using The Scriptures it would be hard to get the full meaning of some of his stories. The Pardoner is a ecclesiastic figure in the church and is described in The Pardoner’s Prologue. This essay will use Scripture references as well as The Canterbury Tales to describe what the Pardoner is like, what his intentions are, and what is his major theme. What is the Pardoner like?…show more content…
“For I will preach and beg in various lands; I will not labor with my hands, or live by making baskets in order to keep from being an idle beggar.” (Beidler, “The Canterbury Tales.” 513) 2nd Thess 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.” God doesn’t like busybodies that won’t put their hands to proper use. The curse of the Earth is that man will sweat and toil to provide himself with food. This curse is still in effect and the Pardoner thinks that he can get away from working. The Pardoner is interested in the base things of the world and not the honest things. The Pardoner likes drinking and sexual immorality. “No! I will drink liquor of the vine and have a jolly wench in every town.” (Beidler, “The Canterbury Tales.” 513) God says quite clearly about sexual immorality (1 Thess 4:3) “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is that you abstain from sexual immorality.” And in (1 Thess 4.7-8) “For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.” God will judge harshly such a man, and the Pardoner keeps racking up more and more lawless deeds to his account. The Pardoner is also an angry person. “The Pardoner answered not a word; he was so angry he wouldn’t say anything.” (Beidler, “The Canterbury Tales.”

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