Fantasy in the 'Merchant's Tale'

Description: Argues that January's foolish fantasy is MerT "is a version" of the Merchant's own, tracing the teller's "increasingly ambivalent attitude" toward his character "from detachment to attack." In January, the Merchant "tries to destroy his former self," repudiating all idealism in favor of harsh reality, and reflecting "precisely the projective self-indulgence of which he accuses January." Focuses on the "mirror of the mind" image, the Merchant's apostrophes, and the Pluto and Proserpina episode.