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The Pardoner is a traditional vice character, one of the most memorable on the pilgrimage to Canterbury. ...
Chaucers Pardoner is a highly untrustworthy character. ... Along with receiving the indulgence, the penitent would make a monetary donation to the pardoner. ... As the time went on, the pervasive suspicion that pardoners counterfeited the popes signature on illegitimate indulgences and pocketed the "charitable donations" for themselves spread through England, the type of vice clearly reflected in Chaucer’s pardoner.
Pardoner presents himself as someone of ambiguous gender and sexual orientation, further challenging social norms. His narrow shoulders, beardless chin, and feminine voice make the host wonder whether the Pardoner is an effeminate homosexual or a eunuch (castrated male). Like the other pilgrims, the Pardoner carries with him to Canterbury the tools of his trade – in his case, freshly signed papal indulgences and a sack of false relics, including a “cross of metal set with stones” (General Prologue 717) and a glass jar full of pigs bones, which he passes off as saints relics.
Approximate Word count = 575
Approximate Pages = 2.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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