I read the general prologue of The Canterbury Tales back in
7th grade, but I never thought about how much the characters
actually spoke to one another. The narrator says that he—I assume he because
the author is also a he, which is not the best reason but it’s all I got—spoke
with each of the twenty-nine pilgrims he met at the inn (24-31). He establishes
that he arranged to depart with them early the next morning (33-34), but he
does not say whether he asked about each person’s background. He describes “al
the condicioun / Of ech of hem, so as it
semed me” (emphasis added) (38-39), so he is describing the impression each
person left on him.
Some of the information the narrator gives on the knight and
the squire could be chalked up to an impression. Appearance is an easy one to
pick up on: the knight’s plain-colored tunic of rough cloth, and the squire’s
youth, average height, and curly hair. Also, if the knight is as noble and as
well-mannered as the narrator claims, perhaps he would give a good impression
of his virtuous traits in a single conversation.
That being said, appearance and general impression of
character are such small parts of meeting a person and of what the narrator
tells us. There is no way the narrator knows about the knight’s and squire’s
pasts, hobbies, and relation to each other unless he asked them. The knight
would have to tell him about all the places he has been, from Prussia to
Algeria to Turkey, and all the battles he has fought in. I don’t think the
knight would volunteer the information too easily, since in this Christian
society he would not want to boast his accomplishments (unlike a certain
Geatish warrior we all know). Instead, I imagine the narrator kept asking for
more tales of far-away lands, high-stakes tournaments, and noble battles with
heathens.
Similarly, the narrator probably had to ask the squire about
his relation to the knight and about his hobbies. However, he apparently forgot
to ask the squire his age: “Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse” (emphasis added) (82). He’s about twenty. Wow. That seemed
so much older back when I was in 7th grade, but now that’s exactly
my age.
As for the guy's skills and hobbies, I hope the squire’s singing, dancing, drawing, or writing
becomes relevant later in the story, just because that appeals to me.
Now the narrator probably did ask the knight and the squire
about these things, but decided not to mention that he did so . . . for some
reason. Though the text gives the impression that the characters gave very
brief introductions to each other and then made plans for the pilgrimage, what
actually happened (probably) was that the narrator went and spoke to each of
the pilgrims for a decent amount of time. He probably asked about their
backgrounds and previous travel experiences. The pilgrims were probably happy
to share this information with him.
In addition to the knight himself offering up information, I think it also may be possible for the narrator to have known quite a bit about him before talking with him. Since the knight was such a great warrior, I think tales of his deeds could have been spread by word of mouth and the narrator could have heard these stories before meeting him.
ReplyDeleteI like that you have this idea that the narrator asked for information instead of just assuming bc of the role they usually would play. I did notice that a lot of it was about appearance & since we do not have concrete facts we are kind of judging a book by its cover.
ReplyDeleteConsidering how Chaucer thus far seems to kind of lightly poke fun at his characters, part of me wonders if the narrator character is supposed to be a nudge at the concept of having an omniscient narrator. Whereas an omniscient narrator is usually a non-character with no role in the story, Chaucer's is a physical presence interacting with the characters who just inexplicably knows things he shouldn't. I think your explanation is far more likely and he just spent more time interacting with the pilgrims than we saw; but it's amusing to think that perhaps the narrator just somehow knows everything.
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