Even for those who have never read The Merchant’s Tale, the concept is widely familiar. A marriage between a decrepit old man and a young maiden is commonly referred to as a January-May wedding, taken of course from this tale. While this tale is the most original of Chaucer’s, the trick played at the end on the old dotard — often referred to as the “Pear-Tree episode” — was found in many popular tales of the time. In fact, the figure of the aged or feeble lover is frequent in literature of all ages. In this tale, as in others, the reader assumes that the older man will be cuckolded by a younger, handsomer, more virile man, especially because the older man has difficulty coping with his young wife in bed.
The Merchant’s Tale is the second tale handling the cuckolding of an old husband by a young bride (the first was The Miller’s Tale). The choice of names supports the Merchant’s point-of-view: January (old with white hair like snow) marries May (young and beautiful like the May flowers) after rejecting the good advice of Justinius (the just or righteous man) and following the advice of Placebo (the flattering man).
The Merchant, with his cynical and bitter view of marriage, indirectly supports and expands the Clerk’s point with a story of a foolish old husband and a deceitful young wife. The husband, who has been a “worthy knight” for 60 years and a libertine for most of his life, finally decides to set aside his liberty and marry, believing that marriage is God’s wish (“In this world [marriage] is a paradise”). We realize his decision is less the result of holiness than his dotage and his desire for an heir (only in marriage can a man sire an heir to his lands and castles).
