I've heard it
said that the only true crime is stealing.
Stealing an object, a life, or even time. Once the crime has been committed we think
that the robbed man has less. But what
if the robbed man believes himself the thief?
Thus both parties believe themselves the thief and the other the victim. And believe they have gained more and are
happier in their lives.
The Pardoner in Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales makes his living by
preaching a sermon and then selling hoax relics that the buyer believes will
atone for his sins. The Pardoner does so
with the full intent to make money, and is not interested in matters of the
church or the welfare of the population.
However, his general listeners believe that he is looking out for their
wellbeing. Thus, they are glad to exchange
their modest allowances to an object that they believe secures there place in
heaven. The Pardoner on the other end,
is happy to give away these random objects that he has found in order to gain
more wealth. While the reader can see
the Pardoner's unjust actions, his listeners do not, and will never be any
wiser to these actions.
The Pardoner is
particular, preaches on the evils of greed.
However, his boasting proves to us that he is proud of his own
greed. But does he see himself as
evil? What truly is The Pardoner's
goal? To make money? Or does he simply enjoy "being
smarter" than his listeners. The
idea that he can use only his words to persuade someone into giving him
everything for - as he sees it - nothing in return. However, there truly is no victim to his
"master plan" and thus he must monologue to the other pilgrims will
intoxicated. In order to feel that he
has accomplished anything, he needs someone to acknowledge his
"mastermind" work. He needs
others approval (or disapproval) of his actions in order to feel he has done
anything at all.
It is an intriguing idea to consider the Pardoner has no real victim even after he takes their money. I am inclined to agree. Rather, the people who give their money or valuables to the Pardoner are victims to their own ignorance. The Pardoner is simply taking advantage of an opportunity presented to him, by his job for the church. It is expected of him to take people’s money in return for them to believe they have absolved their sins. I don’t think the Pardoner views himself as evil because he likes what he does and he is good at it. He is just another messenger and part of the Catholic Church, which is good by nature. The deeds he carries out may be sketchy at best, but it is all in the name of religion. To contradict the Catholic Church in medieval times was heresy, so people accepted what they were told. Plus, it was an easy notion to follow with, simply give money to the Pardoner and your sins were forgiven. Easy. Quick. Clean. There was no need to go help the poor or sit in confession for hours. At the time, people may have disliked the slimy character of the Pardoner, but they liked him for his job.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I do not think I fully agree with there being no victim in his master plan. He said he has no problem taking a family's last just so he can have more. However, I really like your point of view. It is very nice to hear someone see the situation totally different than what most people, including myself, thought of him, which was just an evil person. But now after reading your post, I definitely see it your way.
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