The Representation Of God In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

On their journey to find death, the three brothers come across an infinitely old man. They ask him for directions to death, and he tells them of a tree where he had last come into contact with death. After the brother’s part ways with him, he is never mentioned again in this tale or in any of the others told throughout the overall text. The presence of old men in literature are often portrayed as wise, god-like, or as a magician who is very wise. However, the man that Chaucer writes about appears to be incredibly old which may lead one to believe that this man is God, or a God-like figure walking the earth. But, if the man is God or a representation of God, why would he lead them to their deaths? Does this figure of God only exist to tell the brothers where death can be found? The answer to this questions is an explicit no. It would make no sense for the God portrayed in Christianity to tell the brothers the whereabouts of a man or idea that would end their lives. With this, the idea that God or Jesus as the old man can be set aside. Moreover, if one were to identify him, they would have to take into account his old and weary figure and that he mentions a “pilgrimage”. When looking at characters who embark on pilgrimages and wander the world for long amounts of time without dying, the list isn’t necessarily long. One of the first to be given the punishment of wandering the earth can be found in Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve. …show more content…
14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill