Question

If any here should wish, out of devotion,

To make an offering, and have absolution,

Let them come forward now, and kneeling down

Humbly receive my blessing and pardon.

Or take my pardon as we go along,

Take it at every milestone, fresh and new,

Only renew, and yet again renew,

Your offerings in sound gold and silver coin.



–The Canterbury Tales,
Geoffrey Chaucer

What is satirical about this passage from the end of The Pardoner’s Tale?

The Pardoner shows that, despite what he said earlier, he is genuinely concerned with helping people.
The Pardoner is so greedy that he tries to extract money even from people who know his tricks.
The Pardoner offers pardons, but he is not authorized to do so.
The Pardoner is so religious that he offers to give absolution and blessings again and again.

Answer 1

The best answer is: "The Pardoner is so greedy that he tries to extract money even from people who know his tricks."

Why: Chaucer is satirizing the mercenary corruption of church officials. The passage’s repeated invitations to "renew" pardons for "sound gold and silver coin" and the commercial, shameless tone mock a man who treats salvation like a cash transaction. Earlier the Pardoner openly boasts of deceiving his audience, so the satire targets his greed and hypocrisy, not genuine piety.

Why the others are wrong:
- He is not genuinely concerned with helping people — the language shows the opposite.
- While a Pardoner’s authority is dubious (he can sell indulgences but cannot truly absolve sins), the primary satirical target here is his avarice and commercializing of religion.
- He is not so religious; the repetition is meant to mock his mercenary persistence, not holiness.