The Old Man And The Pardoner's Tale

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Much like how the Wife of Bath was the same as the character of the old woman in her tale, the Pardoner is allegorized by the aged wayfarer in his own tale. The Old Man and the Pardoner are not in the exact same contextual situations; nonetheless, the two situations result in the same feelings of depression, remorse, and longing to be somewhere else as seen in each character. Like the theory of the Wandering Jew suggests, the Old Man is cursed to aimlessly wander the face of the earth until God decides he is allowed to die. In “The Pardoner’s Tale,” the Old Man tells the three revelers, “I must still keep my age / for as long as it is God's will. / Nor, alas will Death take my life; / so I walk like a restless prisoner” (PT 397-400). The

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