Vision, Truth, and Genre in the Merchants Tale Essays

Vision, Truth, and Genre in the Merchants Tale In the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which gives them greater powers of perception but also causes their expulsion from Paradise. The story creates a link between clear vision and the ability to perceive the truth†¹which, in this case, causes mankind to fall from a state of blissful ignorance to one of miserable knowledge. In the Merchants Tale, vision and truth do not enjoy such an easy relationship. Vision is obstructed at both the metaphorical and the literal level, and the subversion of the fabliau genre challenges the idea of truthful representation. The Merchants Tale destabilizes the notion of representation itself,†¦show more content†¦For modern readers, it is perhaps impossible to read this description without being reminded of video surveillance. By this point in the story, Chaucer had made the reader aware that the fabliau form will not be strictly followed: in addition to taking upper class peopl e as characters and situating itself in a vice-ridden city (Pearsall 4/12), the tale deals with images†¹like this mirror†¹that are much more unsettling than standard fabliau fare. This destabilization of genre seems to call representation itself into question; the reader is not allowed the comfort of being firmly situated in a genre, and instead is made aware of Chaucers play with storytellings conventions. Such awareness of storytellings malleability should naturally make the reader more wary of any truth that might present itself. The mirror itself challenges the link between representation and truth†¹the images January sees are reconstructions/reflections, rather than the women themselves. Furthermore, the mirror is not even real. It is the poets metaphor, itself another kind of reconstruction, and so the reader becomes twice removed from these women who are being represented. January bases his non-visual assessment of these women not on direct interaction but on hearsay; it is their reputation among the people that determines what he thinks of their characters (ll. 1591-2). The mirror becomes a metaphorical space in which January can appraiseShow MoreRelatedMarketing and E-commerce Business65852 Words   |  264 PagesThe Retail Industry    566 Online Retailing    567 E-commerce Retail: The Vision    567 The Online Retail Sector Today     568 Multi-Channel Integration    570 560  Contents  xxxvii 9.2 Analyzing the Viability of Online Firms     572 Strategic Analysis    572 Financial Analysis    573 9.3  E-commerce in Action: E-tailing Business Models     575 Virtual Merchants    575 Amazon.com    576 The Vision    576 Business Model    577 Financial Analysis    579 Strategic Analysis—Business