¶ … characters and events of the story. Prologue

The Host, after listening to the Physician's depressing story, asks the Pardoner to tell a humorous story that makes everyone happy. The pilgrims who know the Pardoner ask him to promise to tell them a story that has a moral virtue and is not raunchy. So, the Pardoner starts by explaining his tricks in work and trade, describing how he always uses the theme of 'greed is the root of all evil' whenever he is preaching. Further, he demonstrates the hard sell that he gives on arriving in town, stating that those relics are fake but he does not care about that. The Pardoner makes it a point that the pilgrims understand how he only preaches to make money so he does not even hesitate when taking it from a starving child or a poor widow. He also describes that he is a good speaker by tossing in Latin phrases and citing philosophy and Bible to sound a bit more serious and convincing. The Pardoner emphasizes that a lot of good sermons are a result of evil intentions so his target of making money should not make a difference and that he can still inspire the audience to repent even if the sole purpose of that is to get himself rich.

The Pardoner's Tale

Three rioters lived in Flanders and were engaged in sinful and irresponsible...

The narrator interrupts at this point to preach against getting drunk. One night in a tavern, the drunkards heard a bell and went outside to see men carrying a corpse to the grave. They were told that the corpse was of an old person whose heart was split in two by a thief called Death. The three drunkards made a vow to find and slay Death who had killed a lot of people that year. While on their way to find Death, they meet an old man to whom they asked about the whereabouts of Death. He told them that they will find it under an oak tree. When the three drunkards went to the tree, they found some gold coins. They decided that they could not take the gold back home without people noticing them, so one of them went to buy bread and wine while the other two looked after the gold. The two of them plotted to kill the third one on their return, so they could share the gold between themselves. The third one who had gone to town had also planned on his own to kill the two with poison so he bought poison instead of wine. When he reached his two companions, they killed him and then enjoyed the bread and wine. They both died since it was poison and not wine; the Pardoner ended the tale with a sermon of asking for forgiveness.
2. How is this character described in the "Prologue" and how is his tale in keeping with his characteristics?

The Prologue suggests that the Pardoner resembles a mare or a gelding, hinting that he might be a homosexual or a congenital eunuch. The Host also suggests at the end of the tale that he might well be without his 'coillons,' which means…