The Man of Law's Tale

Am I wrong to say that the “The Man of Law’s Tale” is more like a persuasive essay than a tale? “The Man of Law’s Tale” attempts to convince readers to convert to Christianity by illustrating three situations in which “God liste to shewe his wonderful myracle…for we sholde seen his myghty werkis…” (477-478). First, it is insisted that only God could have saved Constance from death (470-483). Second, Alla is smite by God for swearing a lie on the book (669-686). Lastly, Alla finds his wife and son while seeking penance (1149-1161). I guess the Man of Law’s angle is clever if the Host is Christian, which seems to be the case, considering the fact that the Host is ready for full sermon mode in the Epilogue. Speaking of the Epilogue, I love how Chaucer allows the Shipman to immediately interject the idea of a sermon and prepare the company for an entirely different, less elaborate tale than those that were told before him.

"Thoughts on Secular Conversion" from InterfaithFamily