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ChaucerianLanguageEssay
GenderandLanguageinthePortraitsofthePardonerandtheMonk
20March2013

AndIseydehisopiniounwasgood:
Whatsholdehestudie,andmakehimselvenwood,
Uponabookincloistrealweytopoure
(GeneralPrologueMonksPortrait183185)

Grehoundeshehadde,asswifteasfowelinflight
Ofprikingandofhuntingforthehare
Wasalhislust,fornocostwoldehespare.
(GeneralPrologueMonksPortrait190192)

Avoyshehaddeassmalashathagoot.
Noberdhaddehe,neneveresholdehave,
Assmotheitwasasitwerelateshave:
Itrowehewereageldingoramare.
(GeneralProloguePardonersPortrait688691)

WhenlookingatChaucerslanguageinthePardonersportraitandtheMonksportraitinthe
GeneralPrologueofTheCanterburyTales,veiledcommentaryonsexualactivityanddesireemerge
asimportantfactorsinhowthenarratorviewsthecharacters.Thoughbothareperhapsactingoutside
theirstationsamonkwhodoesntplaybytheordersrulesandapardonerwhowillinglyadmitstohis
hypocrisyChaucerslanguageaboutthemisverydifferentandreflectsperceptionsofgenderand
societalexpectationsofmasculinity.
IntheMonksportrait,Chaucerdescribesamonkwhoinsistsonbeingahunter,bothfor
recreationalreasonsandinordertobettercontributetosociety.Throughlanguage,itcanbeinferred
thatthenarratorbelievesthemonkisalsolivinganoncelibatelifestyle.Thelanguageregardingthe
monkspossiblesexualexploitsisveiledbeneathlanguageofthehuntandthemonksprowessasa
hunter.Heisntcalledoutorshowntobeflagrantlyfloutinghisduties.Infact,whenthemonkexplains

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hisreasoningfornotadheringtoacloisteredlife,thenarratorstatesthatthemonksopiniounwas
good(183).Byagreeingwiththemonk,thenarratorappearstocondonethemonksactionsoutside
thecloister,whichincludebothhuntingandsexualactivity.
Thenarratorslanguageisrifewithsexualinnuendo.Themonkobjectstobeingstuckina
cloister,statingthatitwoulddrivehimmadtopoureoverbooks(185).Pourehastwomeaningsit
canmeantotogazeintently(MED,poure1a)orcanmeantopour...aliquid(MED,poure2a).
Thedualmeaningherecouldhintatejaculation,somethingthatthemonkwouldhatetodolockedupin
thecloister.Connectedtothisishisenjoymentofprickingandofhuntingforthehare(191).He
enjoysnotbeinglockedupsohecanhunt,butalsosohecanhavesex.Prickingcanmeaneitherto
pierce,stabortopenetrate(ahole)(MED,pricking1a).Aharemayrefertoeithertheanimalor
toatimidperson(MED,hare1a).Theprickingofhares,orthepenetrationofpeople,isanother
waythenarratorhintsatthemonksextracurricularactivities.Themonkenjoysbeingoutandabout,
whichincludesindulginginnotsomonklypleasures.Amoretransparentuseoflanguageemergeswhen
thenarratorstatesthathuntingwasalhislust(192).Onthesurface,lustheremeansenjoyment,
delight(MED,lust2).Beneaththeinitialintention,lustmeanssexualdesire,passion(MED,lust
1d).Thelanguagethenarratorusesbecomesincreasinglymoresexualduringthisportrait,andbyusing
thewordlust,thenarratorslipsintomoreobviouslanguageregardingthemonkssexualactivities.
However,despitethis,thelanguageheusesisrespectful.Themonk,despitethefactthathesnot
followinghisduties,istreatedwithoutrancorordisgust.
Thelackofdisapprovalisinterestingbecauseofthemonksstation.Theconceptbehindregular
clergyisthatthereneedstobeindividualsthatliveonlytoattendtospiritualneeds.Inaway,medieval
monksandnunswerelikespiritualreservoirsthatcouldcontributetothegeneralsalvationofhumanity

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justbytryingtobeaboveandbeyondthesinsofnonclergy.Thatthemonkdoesntliveacloisteredlife
goesagainstthisbasicprinciple.Additionally,hisargumentthathecanbettercontributetosocietyby
huntingmakeslittlesensebecauseheshouldbeattendingtospiritualneedsratherthanphysicalones.He
mayalsobeattendingtohisownphysicalneedsbybeingactiveinsociety,andconsidershis
contributionsofsexbeneficialforthoseinvolved.
Whilethenarratorseemstorespectandunderstandthemonk,hedoesntgrantthisrespectto
thepardoner.Instead,thenarratorseemstobemakingfunofthepardoner.Thislackofrespectmaybe
connectedtothepardonersvanityorgreed,butmayalsostemfromhissexualactivities,orlack
thereof.Thenarratoralludestothefactthatthepardonerisaeunuch,andseemstocritiquehis
transgressionsmoreharshlythanhedoesthemonk.Thisisduetogenderandtheideathatmenand
masculinity,whichthemonkshowsinspades,arevirtuous/desiredinthehierarchyofsociety.Thatthe
pardonerisaeunuchmeansheislessthanaman,andChaucerslanguageexhibitsthis.
Whenthenarratorstatesthatthepardonerhashighvoicelikeagoat(688)thisisajibeatthe
pardonerseffeminatequalities.Priortothis,thenarratorspendsseverallinesdiscussingthepardoners
longhairandhowthepardonerseemstotakeparticularprideinit(675679).Thisdescriptionissimilar
tohowChaucerdescribesfemalecharacters,withafocusonappearanceratherthanactions.Thestyle
ofthisdescriptionaddstothenarratorshintsthatthepardonerisntfullyaman.Whendiscussingthe
pardonerslackofabeard,thenarratorstatesthatheneversholdehaveabeardandappearsfreshly
shaved(689690).Theideathatthepardonernevershouldhaveabeardmaymeanthatneverwillhave
one,andtheideathathelooksfreshlyshavenaddstothissupposition.Facialhairisasignofmasculinity
andmaturityandthenarratorpointsoutthatthepardonerlacksboth.Thefinalandmoreresoundinghint
atthenarratorsbeliefthatthepardonerisaeunuchiswhenthenarratorstates,Itrowehewerea

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geldingoramare(691).Amareiseitherafemalehorseorpossiblyaabadwoman,aslut(MED,
mere2e).Ageldingreferstoacastratedhorseortoacastratedman,aeunuchanaturallyimpotent
man(MED,gelding2a).Possiblythenarratorthinksthepardonerisbothageldingandamareinthat
heseffeminateaswellasaeunuch.Theconceptthatthepardonerisaeunuchconnectstotheideathat
masculinityisbasedpartiallyonphysicalityandpartiallyonsexualprowessthatthepardonerlacks
conventionalandexpectedsexualitymeanshelacksmasculinityandisfeminine.
Thereareotherwaysinwhichthenarratoruseslanguagetoshowthedifferencesbetweenthe
monkandthepardoner.Thepardoneriscomparedtoanimals,namelydomesticatedfarmanimals(688,
691),whereasthemonkismasterofanimals.Hehasgreyhoundsandgoesafterhares(190191).The
monkmaintainshishumanidentityandhisidentityasaman.Boththepardonerandthemonkact
inappropriatelyfortheirplacesinsociety,buttheonlycensurethenarratoroffersisembeddedinthe
pardonersdescription.Ultimately,thiscomesfromthefactthatthemonkisamanandexhibits
masculinityheappealstobasesocietalexpectationsofgender.Thepardonerdoesnot,andintheway
Chauceruseslanguage,heshowsthatthemonkismoredeservingofrespectthanthepardoner.

WorksCited
Chaucer,Geofffrey.TheCanterburyTales:FifteenTalesandtheGeneralPrologue.A
NortonCriticalEdition.Ed.V.A.KolveandGlendingOlson.London:W.W.andNortonCompany,
Inc.,2005.

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Karuth,Hans.TheMiddleEnglishDictionary.2001.UniversityofMichigan.18March2013.
<http://ets.umdl.umich.edu/m/mec>.