Character Profile - Merchant
The pilgrim is the Merchant. He is described as having a beard, Flemish beaver hat, and gown. This means that he cares about his appearance, and wants to demonstrate to others that he is in a good social class and that he is materialistic. In addition to this, the Merchant also sits on a “high horse” and “spoke his notions our right pompously” (General Prologue, 269 and 272). This demonstrates that the Merchant believes that he is better than the other people there, even though he is not part of the higher social estates. In fact, the Merchant was part of the emerging middle class of the time period, which contained people like merchants and guildsmen. These individuals were not part of the traditional social estates (those who pray, those who fight, and those who work) and could afford material goods while not having the same social standing as the higher estates.
The Merchant’s main motivation is to make money. The General Prologue states that he stressed “the times when he had won, not lost”, which demonstrates that the merchant is more concerned with his successes than his failures (273). At the same time, the General Prologue also discusses how the Merchant was very skillful at his job. He never had any debts, despite his bargains and borrowings. Although the Merchant may be conceded to an extent, he is rather justified since he has been very successful in his job. In the “Prologue to the Merchant’s Tale”, the Merchant shares with the other characters that he is unhappily married. He even states that “For a fiend were coupled to my wife, She’s overmatch him” (Merchant’s Tale, 356). This unhappy relationship is what prompts him to tell a tale that reflects his pessimistic view on marriage, as one of his fellow pilgrims asked him to share about marriage. |