The Merchant's Tale: What To Compare It To (OCR A Level English Literature)

Topic sentence

Both Chaucer and Webster consider the impact of secrecy and revelations, by presenting female characters whose true nature is hidden due to patriarchal standards regarding marriage 

Evidence and analysis

The Merchant’s Prologue and Tale

The Duchess of Malfi

The Merchant (on a pilgrimage to Canterbury) tells a story about an affair

• He describes a female character, May, whose secret affair “proves” women’s hedonistic and indulgent deceit:

  • However, May fools many of the characters (including her “lecherous” husband), who view her as virtuous and “fresshe”

Webster’s protagonist, the Duchess, is duplicitous to her brothers by marrying in secret: 

• They forbid her from marrying again although she is a young widow

• Her brother calls her a “lusty widow”, referring to her desire to remarry

• This contrasts to Antonio’s description of her “noble virtue” in Act I, Scene II

In the tale, the Merchant shows how May presents an image to male characters that reflects their own desires, behaving as a submissive woman in order to manipulate men:

• However, in private she complains about her husband and declares he does not satisfy her at all

Webster shows how the Duchess maintains two versions of her identity in order to maintain autonomy:

• She speaks little when with her brothers, but protests to her maid after what she oxymoronically calls her brothers’ “terrible good counsel”

May’s deceit (an affair outside her contractual marriage) is kept hidden from her husband by a trick played by the god Pluto:

• When Januarie’s sight is restored and he sees May and Damian together, May convinces him he is wrong, aware of the repercussions

• She is aided by the goddess Proserpina, who sees Januarie as “lecherous”

The Duchess's secret marriage, which defies her strict societal duties, must be hidden from her brothers:

• She hides her pregnancy and her son’s birth

• When Ferdinand finds out she has three children, she tells him she is married to protest his accusation that they are illegitimate

Chaucer shows, through the Merchant, that the imbalanced marriage between May and Januarie continues:

• May’s affair with Damian is exposed when Januarie’s “sighte” is restored by Pluto

• May returns to her husband and unhappy marriage, while Damian remains in the pear tree 

• The Merchant suggests that Januarie is also imprisoning himself in such a marriage

Webster conveys the futility of the Duchess’ struggle to live according to her desires:

• The Duchess' family is exposed by Bosola who betrays her trust 

• When she is exposed, her brothers torture and kill her

• Antonio is killed in his bid to save her

Chaucer’s tale presents the way May defies social expectations by exhibiting her resistance to standards of behaviour for women:

• The “typically female trait of deceit” is a theme throughout the poem

• The Merchant uses her character to convey cynical ideas about marriage 

Similarly, Webster explores patriarchal control regarding marriage by presenting Ferdinand’s outrage at his sister’s secret marriage:

• Her brother calls her sinful and describes her “rank blood”

• Her brothers refer to her, and other women, as fickle and easily led (“turning on an hour glass”)

Both female characters highlight the way gender stereotypes and imbalanced marital constructs can result in repressed desire that manifests in socially unacceptable acts

Topic sentence

Both Chaucer and Webster explore hypocrisies within social constructs, which result in oppressive, controlling and yet internally blind leaders

Evidence and analysis

The Merchant’s Prologue and Tale

The Duchess of Malfi

Januarie, the male character of the Merchant’s tale, is a “Knyght” who holds a position of power:

• He is business-driven, and shows a desire to sustain a respectable and powerful position in society through his marriage to May, a younger woman

The Duchess's brothers, Duke Ferdinand and the Cardinal, represent powerful leaders:

• They suggest the control they exert over the Duchess's sexuality and marriage is based on respectability and purity of the bloodline

Januarie, an older man, marries May, a much younger woman:

• He wishes to mould her like “wax” so that she provides him with an heir

• He has visions of all the young women he could choose for his wife

• He declares his wife “shal nat passe twenty yeer”

The brothers are shown to be demeaning in their attitude to the Duchess and women: 

• The Cardinal suggests remarriage would lead to her funeral

• Ferdinand believes women who do not tell the truth are “witches ere they arrive at twenty years”

Januarie makes clear his attraction to May is due to her youthful beauty:

• He remarks on “hir fresshe beautee and hir age tender, hir middle small, hir armes longe and sklendre”

Ferdinand’s reasons for not wanting the Duchess to remarry are presented as superficial:

• He alludes to an incestuous love for his twin sister 

• He tells Bosola he wants her full inheritance

Throughout the poem, the heroic and virile image of the “Knyght” is exposed as superficial

• This is something that May reveals to the reader when she says his sexual prowess was “not worth a bene”

The Cardinal is exposed as hypocritical:

• He conducts an affair with Julia, wife of Lord Castruccio, a friend

Although Januarie is physically turned “blynd” by Pluto, which makes him increase his control over May, this is when he loses her to Damian. Januarie begins to realise his flaws, noting that he is “jalos”:

• But May easily convinces her husband that he has no “parfit sighte”

• She says he who “misconcyveth, he misdemeth”, suggesting he is still blind despite the return of his sight

Ferdinand’s diseased mind shows some sense of remorse for his actions towards the Duchess before he dies:

• Daniel de Bosola grieves for the Duchess when she is killed and he realises his mistakes 

Both texts explore the male stereotype through the lens of prideful superiority, presenting flaws which, if not understood, leave the characters paranoid

Topic sentence

While both Chaucer and Webster present characters who defy the system and are shamed for their misdeeds, Chaucer leaves his ending ambiguous, while Webster presents clear punishments for his heroes in the resolution

Evidence and analysis

The Merchant’s Prologue and Tale

The Duchess of Malfi

While the poem is satirical, it can be considered a warning or a fable in its comparison to a folk tale, leaving readers with an ambiguous ending

The Duchess of Malfi can be considered a political satire as it exposes violent abuse within established social constructs and shows the attempts of those who battle under its restraints as futile

In The Merchant’s Tale, the unhappy and deceitful marriage between Januarie and May continues: 

• Januarie strokes May’s stomach and takes her back to the palace

Whereas, The Duchess of Malfi ends with the deaths of Antonio and the Duchess:

• Her son and heir is left with Antonio’s friend, Delio

The Merchant’s Tale seems to end with a confirmation that imbalanced marriage is inevitable:

• Marriage is described comically as “purgatory”

The play’s ending suggests that marriage that defies societal standards and codes of conduct within Renaissance nobility cannot survive:

• The Duchess believes that the part she plays in life is not of her choosing

While Chaucer’s fable, told by a merchant as an allegory about marital tensions, ends with the continuation of an unhappy marriage, perhaps as a warning to men to avoid imbalanced marriages or to present the inevitability of unhappy marriage, Webster’s satirical play ends pessimistically with death and tragedy

Topic sentence

While Chaucer satirises courtly love in a Romantic mediaeval England, Webster mocks hypocrisies within a patriarchal Italian Renaissance court

Evidence and analysis

The Merchant’s Prologue and Tale

The Duchess of Malfi

Chaucer’s poem uses a fantastical and romantic setting, drawing on comparisons with the Garden of Eden

Webster’s setting, an Italian court, highlights themes of corruption within religious institutions and the political sphere

In The Merchant’s Tale, May goes to a garden (which perhaps alludes to the Garden of Eden) inhabited by the gods Pluto and Prosepina

The Duchess is forced to leave her Amalfi home, is banished from Ancona and is imprisoned in Duke Ferdinand’s palace

May’s sexual encounters with Damian by a pear tree (which may symbolise the Tree of Knowledge) are vividly presented:

• They are seen as “maken melodye” in the heavenly paradise

Webster shows intimate scenes between the Duchess and Antonio in her room, suggesting she has freedom in her own territory:

• However, outside of her chambers she is vulnerable to the powerful influence of her brothers and their spies and allies across Italy

Chaucer’s comedic fable explores marriage as an inevitable and relentless problem, while Webster’s dark revenge tragedy explores corruption and violence

Text

Summary

Key comparisons with The Merchant’s Prologue and Tale

“Edward II” by Christopher Marlowe (1592) – set text list

Edward II is a historical tragеdy that chroniclеs thе turbulеnt rеign of King Edward II of England. Thе play dеlvеs into Edward's controvеrsial rеlationships, particularly with Piеrs Gavеston, which leads to political unrеst and rеbеllion. Edward's pеrsonal dеsirеs clash with political dutiеs, meaning his downfall bеcomеs inеvitablе

• Both texts focus on flawed male characters in powerful positions 

• The texts consider hypocritical standards of leadership

• Both texts examine imbalances in relationships 

• Both texts focus on moral ambiguities:

  • Edward's flawеd rеign and Januarie’s superficial desire for marriage in the eyes of God portray complеx moral themes, which reveals thе ambiguity of their actions and dеcisions

  • References to Satan еxhibit moral ambiguity regarding temptation

“She Stoops to Conquer” by Oliver Goldsmith (1771) – set text list

Shе Stoops to Conquеr is about the misadvеnturеs of a young man namеd Marlow whose romantic еntanglеmеnts lead to chaos 

• The text examines social norms and moral еxpеctations in a satirical way

• The idea of transformation and redemption is explored in both texts as characters seek advice and receive warnings

• Deception plays a significant role in both texts:

  • The texts revolve around misundеrstandings and dеcеptions

“A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen (1879) – set text list

A Doll’s House portrays Nora, thе protagonist, leaving hеr husband and childrеn to sееk hеr own idеntity, challеnging thе traditional rolеs imposеd by sociеty

• Both texts explore themes of morality and the consequences of human actions:

• Ibsеn's play revolves around themes of gеndеr roles and societal еxpеctations, just as Chaucer depicts through May

• Thе texts quеstion sociеtal morality and еthics, particularly rеgarding womеn's rolеs

• Both Nora and May defy societal expectations and challenge traditional gender roles:

  • May's decision to conduct a secret affair in the pear tree is driven by her desire for agency

  • Similarly, Nora's actions are motivated by her longing for independence and self-discovery, which she believes can only be achieved by breaking free from her confining domestic role

“An Ideal Husband” by Oscar Wilde (1895) – set text list

The play revolves around Sir Robert Chiltern, a respected politician, and his seemingly perfect life. However, when a woman named Mrs Cheveley threatens to expose a dark secret from his past, Sir Robert’s integrity and marriage are put to the test

• Thе texts еxplore themes of morality, social expectations and thе complеxitiеs of marriagе:

  • Thе play challеngеs thе notion of an “idеal” husband and thе complexities of marriagе as does the Merchant

• In both tеxts, thе charactеrs must comе to tеrms with thеir actions and confront thе consеquеncеs of thеir choicеs

• The Merchant’s Prologue and Tale is an еpic poem writtеn in blank vеrsе and employs elevated languagе and grand, poеtic imagеry:

  • In contrast, An Idеal Husband is a comеdic play that relies on witty dialoguе, satirе and humour to convеy its thеmеs