Lee W. Patterson, "Chaucerian Confession: Penitential Literature and the Pardoner."

Lee W. Patterson, "Chaucerian Confession: Penitential Literature and the Pardoner." Medievalia et Humanistica new series 7 (1976): 153-73.

by Erik Powell
Web posted at 3:08 PM on 4/18/96 from hrc-7.engl.wsu.edu.

In this article, Patterson discusses the Pardoner and his confession in light of medieval penitential literature--namely, penitential lyrics such as "The Regret of Maximian" and "Old Man's Prayer," as well as the confession of the Sins in William Langland's *Piers Plowman*.

I. Penitential Lyric: self-confrontation--> CONTRITION --> despair --> confession -->(hopefully) --> absolution / restoration.

A) "Old Man's Lyric"--confession & restoration (positive model)
B) "The Regret of Maximian"--despair overwhelms (negative model)

II. Piers Plowman: sins as external deeds; represented allegorically.

A) Sins confess to themselves (e.g. Avarice confesses avarice)
B) articulates process of inner human experience

III. Pardoner

A) shows inner human experience as well: a man in despair
- 1. allegory of tale as indirect self-revelation
- 2. tale as moral allegory about Pardoner's despair, not avarice
  - a) rioters = self-damnation
  - b) old man = maximian doom; struggles to repent
B) spiritual hardening related to Pardoner's physical eunuchry
- 1. eunuchry causes shame, resentment, hardening; tries to mask it with spiritual sterility
  - a) he's the fig tree of Matthew 21:18-21--fruitless
  - b) defiant, self-hating
- 2. wants to repent, but struggles
  - a) tries to be "one of the boys": > goes too far-- "outside human community" > relics as offering; hope remains > kiss at end signals absolution/restoration

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