up to WSU Chaucer Page
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
Return to WSU Chaucer Page.