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Theme Of Matrimony In The Knight's Tale

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Much like Chaucer’s, “The Knight’s Tale,” “The Merchant’s Tale” uses elements from classical Greek antiquity to augment some of its themes. However, “The Knight’s Tale” employed the incarnations of war, love, chastity, and time, whereas “The Merchant’s Tale” makes use of mythological allusion in a way that seems to raise some interesting questions in regards to female consent within the structure of matrimony. The digression between Pluto and Prosperina creates an interesting analogue between January and May, yet the story that Pluto and his bride creates some interesting questions as to Chaucer’s possible intent in regards to marriage within the tale as well as in the broader scope of The Canterbury Tales as a whole. The story of Pluto (Hades)

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