Chaucer introduces January as a “worthy knight” (line 34) this initially gives the reader a good impression of him.The knight in question is old but wealthy and he desires a wife. The ironic relationship between the narrator and protagonist makes the reader’s assessment of January a complex character. However when January speaks the reader is able to suspect his motives.
When speaking about the January, the narrator glorifies marriage making the reader understand why such an old man is in want of a wife and also introducing the importance of the theme of marriage in the book. The knight says “For wedlock is so esy and so clene, That in this world it is a paradis” (line 52). This quote can shows signs of influence from the Troubadores where …show more content…
The narrator further contrasts the old, grey husband and the young fair wife. The luck of the common married man is juxtaposed with the conventional literary figure of the courtly lover, who is young single and sulking because the object of his desire ignores him. Chaucer describes the nature of a wife as “buxom”, “so entenif” and “To kepe hym, syk and hool”. This allows the reader to recognise the position of women in the society the tale is set in whereby women were used for the satisfaction and good of the …show more content…
The irony in the reporting of January’s speech is achieved by the opposition between what he says about the religious motives for his marriage, and the imagery he creates when fantasising about his wife-to-be. He claims that he needs a young wife to satisfy him sexually and to avoid adultery, which is forbidden in the Ten Commandments and is, therefore a path to hell. He also wishes to conceive children to provide himself with heirs and because procreation is the pious purpose of marriage. The imagery however reflects food, as he puts it the young wife is to be bought, owned and consumed as “yong flessh” (line 206). January also compares a young wife to “tendre veal” saying it is much preferable to “old boef”. He, on the other hand, is the mature predatory pike. Older women, whom he dismissed as unacceptable, are presented as equivalent to the leftovers after the harvest, useful only as food and bedding for animals.This further emphasises not only January’s concept of marriage but also his views on women in general, adding to his characterization. These thoughts also highlight the themes of marriage and
When speaking about the January, the narrator glorifies marriage making the reader understand why such an old man is in want of a wife and also introducing the importance of the theme of marriage in the book. The knight says “For wedlock is so esy and so clene, That in this world it is a paradis” (line 52). This quote can shows signs of influence from the Troubadores where …show more content…
The narrator further contrasts the old, grey husband and the young fair wife. The luck of the common married man is juxtaposed with the conventional literary figure of the courtly lover, who is young single and sulking because the object of his desire ignores him. Chaucer describes the nature of a wife as “buxom”, “so entenif” and “To kepe hym, syk and hool”. This allows the reader to recognise the position of women in the society the tale is set in whereby women were used for the satisfaction and good of the …show more content…
The irony in the reporting of January’s speech is achieved by the opposition between what he says about the religious motives for his marriage, and the imagery he creates when fantasising about his wife-to-be. He claims that he needs a young wife to satisfy him sexually and to avoid adultery, which is forbidden in the Ten Commandments and is, therefore a path to hell. He also wishes to conceive children to provide himself with heirs and because procreation is the pious purpose of marriage. The imagery however reflects food, as he puts it the young wife is to be bought, owned and consumed as “yong flessh” (line 206). January also compares a young wife to “tendre veal” saying it is much preferable to “old boef”. He, on the other hand, is the mature predatory pike. Older women, whom he dismissed as unacceptable, are presented as equivalent to the leftovers after the harvest, useful only as food and bedding for animals.This further emphasises not only January’s concept of marriage but also his views on women in general, adding to his characterization. These thoughts also highlight the themes of marriage and