Frame Narrative In The Pardoner's Tale

Geoffrey Chaucer’s framed narrative, The Canterbury Tales, follows the tale of twenty-nine extremely different pilgrims making a journey to Canterbury. They are led by a character called the Host, who houses the pilgrims on their first night before their expedition takes place. Along the way, the Host creates a competition to pass the time; he has each of the travelers tell a story, and whoever shares the best story will win a free meal at the end of the pilgrimage. Each individual character telling his or her tale is what makes The Canterbury Tales a framed narrative. The framing of each tale serves as a device to explore the character’s own values and personality. This is especially seen in the tale of the Pardoner whose deceitful profession is selling indulgences, which are written grants purchased from the Church in order to receive forgiveness for one’s sins. When contrasting the language used by the Pardoner in his prologue to the actual story, he tells, one can identify how Chaucer enhances the Pardoner’s characterization though the use of the frame narrative. The introduction to the Pardoner’s

The way that the men forget their hunt for Death so quickly shows the capability that money has to corrupt- even those trying to do good deeds. All three travelers’ intentions were altered as soon as wealth became a factor in their adventure. That’s why, at the end of his tale, the Pardoner stated that the three men received what they were owed by the world. Does this mean that the Pardoner believes he deserves the same fate? His acts of seeking reconciliation in the frame of the story suggest that the Pardoner feels some form of remorse for his actions. The way that Chaucer brilliantly establishes the relationship between the framework of the narrative and the Pardoner’s tale perfectly highlights the Pardoner’s vices and internal