The marriage of May and Januarie brings attention to their names. While the spring month of May is full of life, the winter month of January is a new beginning (to the year), but still contains the cold deadness of winter. Eventually, spring defeats winter. There is a stark contrast between the characters of May and Januarie. The latter's roughness is especially focused upon on the wedding night. His skin is "Lyk to the skyn of houndfyssh" and there is an almost repulsive focus on his appearance. May is a much livelier, younger character and so Damyan, the lovesick squire seems much more suited to her.
The way in which Januarie treats May from the time before they are even married suggests that May is the one to be pitied. However, when May is unfaithful and even laughs at her husband's age and pathetic nature, the reader's sympathies swing towards Januarie. Yet before "the naddre in bosom sly untrewe" (l. 574) enters the marriage, Januarie has treated May as a business-like purchase. The search for wife was based on a want for a companion and all that comes with marriage, rather than love and affection.
Although no original story has been found, Chaucer uses various pieces of existing literature as parts of his Tale. "Mirror of Marriage" by Deschamps and "Liber Consolationis" by Albertano both add incidents to the story. The inclusion of references to contemporary works of literature allows the speaker to comment on the opinions held by others on the institution of marriage. "A trewe servant dooth more diligence/ Thy good to kepe, than thyne owene wyf" (l. 86) says Theophrastus. Again irony is used as Damyan, Januarie's servant, takes good care of his master's goods, that is, his wife.
Some literary devices occur time and time again in the Tale as a motif. Irony is present throughout as are Biblical references. Another less common recurrence in the poem is the use of "warm wex" . While Januarie wishes his wife to be pliable; controllable by himself, the use of warm wax creeps back later to his disadvantage as the malleability of warm wax can also represent the waywardness of women. May uses warm wax to take a copy of the key to the garden that Januarie sees as his Eden. "So fair a gardyn woot I nowher noon" (l. 818) says the Merchant. This enables Damyan to slip in and Januarie's idea of his heavenly marriage to come crashing down around him.
The allusions to gods during the wedding feast and the relationship heighten the grandeur of the events. Music was played at the wedding breakfast "that nevere tromped Joab for to heere" (l. 507). The gods appear to have been invited to the event as Bacchus pours the wine and Venus and Hymen both oversee the wedding. The parallels with mythology would have been easily understood by a medieval audience and are another example of the extent of Chaucer's knowledge.
However, the comparisons with mythology and stories from long ago are not always used in such a way as to promote grandeur and splendour. The way in which Januarie approaches May on their wedding night is compared to the way in which Paris forced Helen of Spartacus. There is also the possibility, says Maurice Hussey, that Chaucer knew that St. Damian was the patron saint of medicine, thus giving ironic undertones to the sight-healing excuse for the pear tree tryst.
Geoffrey Chaucer used many different aspects of his wide knowledge when writing the Merchant's Prologue and Tale. Biblical references and parallels with and inclusions of mythological characters are evidence of this. The appeal of such references to a medieval audience is extended with the inclusion of detailed and seemingly accurate astronomical minutiae. These details provide another level of information about the characters and their fates, such as the future of the marriage - it having been performed when the planet of war and the planet of love were in conjunction. Around these imaginative inclusions weaves a line of irony and a use of contemporary views and literature.
"'The Merchant's Tale' is full of menace." Discuss the contribution of menace to the effectiveness of this tale.
Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Merchant's Tale" uses menace to reinforce many of the themes within the Tale and it is present in more areas than simply Januarie. There is menacing imagery adding tension to the Tale and the way in which the Tale is written often reiterates that. Menaces comes through more than plain threat, it is evident in such ideas as Januarie's inappropriate search for a wife.
The way in which Januarie bases his search for a wife on concern for his own salvation and economic interests is menacing as it is a foreboding image for the rest of the marriage. His main interest lies in what he should do to ensure he experiences Paradise both alive and dead and thus highlighting his selfish nature. The economic concerns he shows for the match not only highlight this, but also his threatening lack of emotion that he is prepared to commit to the marriage. Rather than a child, he hopes for an heir, seeing only economic opportunity in any offspring. His fiancée can hope for little love for herself or any children.
The suffocating nature of Januarie's so-called love for "fresshe May" means that he is unable to think of anyone else being with her. He would wish her to be "soul as the turtle that lost hath hire make". This extreme emotion only serves to heighten the irony of the affair that ensues and the previous Biblical references to women who cheated their husbands. The uncertainty caused by the fact that even the Church bids brides "be lyk Sarra and Rebekke" adds to air of uneasiness that little can be trusted.
The dramatic irony that comes with the image of "warm wex" shows the hidden power of May, that Januarie knew nothing about. He is unaware that she has equal knowledge of the usefulness of warm wax and uses it to copy the key to the garden for Damyan. The deviousness of the wife is menacing as she is almost a champion of the image that has previously been so repulsive to the reader.
The references that Januarie makes to images of being bound are as menacing as his private determination that on their wedding night he "wolde hire streyne". His plan to be such a physical power in the marriage is suffocating. Not only does he want to dominate physically, but his spiritual dominance in the relationship is unfair as May's views are not considered and she speaks very little. Januarie addresses a sermon on marriage to May on their wedding night as if he has the ideal view of the institution when in fact his ignorant view of what marriage should be is dangerous in that spreading these views might only serve to ruin more relationships.
Allusions to temptation and the Garden of Eden would not be so effective were it not for the introduction of Damyan as the snake. Januarie himself introduces and nurtures Damyan himself heightening the dramatic tension as Januarie has a hand in his own downfall from a fairly respectable position. Although Damyan bows as sycophantically low to Januarie "as evere dide a dogge for the bowe", Januarie's status is reduced by Chaucer.
During his preparations for his marriage, among the economic and business-like terms on which he has proceeded, Januarie uses "many a letuarie" to increase his sexual appetite. Chaucer dwells on these substances as unnatural and in so doing, once more presents Januarie as a false and dishonest man. He is perhaps somewhat suited to his wife, May, as she shows no sympathy for his age, laughing at him in his shirt, while later romancing over the same image, but of Damyan.
The menace present in the illicit affair between May and Januarie's servant, Damyan, peaks when they meet in the pear tree above Januarie's head. This obvious disregard and contempt for Januarie can only lead the reader to wonder to what extent the lovers are prepared to go. This is again shown by the way in which May leads Januarie to the pear tree where "Damyan sitteth ful myrie". May has the impertinence to lead her husband to her lover's feet and then tread on him both metaphorically and literally to reach Damyan.
The sense of menace present in "The Merchant's Tale" is portrayed through the superficiality of emotions combined with suffocating emotion that threatens to overtake someone's life. The menace present in the image of warm wax is doubled as it becomes evident that both sexes can use it for their own means. May is not the innocent that she is first presumed to be and her similar disregard for feelings is evocative of further threats of malice such as her affair with Damyan.
