The Friar's Fail

from Tenor GIF Keyboard

What good is a feud between two people that both suck for the same reason? As early as the General Prologue, Chaucer keys readers into the idea that friars and summoners are not always as kind as they should be or seem. In “The Friar’s Tale,” our (selfish and greedy) friar tells a tale about a selfish and greedy summoner who goes to Hell for refusing to repent. Why? Because he hates our summoner for competing with him on the pilgrimage and in reality. Both men extort people for money, but our friar implies with his tale that the difference between his extortions and the summoner’s extortions is that our friar (apparently) repents for his. I find that brilliantly satirical because, according to Christianity, our friar’s logic makes sense: as long as you accept God as your savior and repent for your sins, you’ve got a spot in Heaven. However, I find it clear that both the friar and the summoner’s extortions are still wrong, and if Hell exists, they should both get dragged. I wish there was a devil around to hear me damn our friar, and I mean it.