The purpose of the Merchant’s tale isn’t as deep as the other tales in the set for it has the simple objective of to entertain the reader. The comical set up allows for a break in the seriousness of the other tales in favor of a sexual comedy tale of how a wife, May, gets away with cheating on her old husband, January. Overall the tale is just a giant critique on the ideology of marriage and the sacred nature that people credit it for having. Chaucer almost states that marriage is blind and only relies on a thin level of easily defiled trust as portrayed by January’s blindness. This coming with the critique of how fickle and situational love can be, as seen in January’s obsession with May or seen in May and Damian’s instant love connection.
