In the Pardoner's Tale, the principal moral is to avoid greed. What is the irony in the Pardoner telling this tale?

Answer 1

The irony in the Pardoner telling the tale with the moral of avoiding greed is that he himself is greedy. The Pardoner is a corrupt figure who sells fake religious relics to gullible people in order to make money. He is aware of his own greed and hypocrisy, making his moralizing against greed highly ironic. Additionally, the Pardoner admits that the main purpose of telling this tale is to manipulate his audience into giving him money. Therefore, the Pardoner's own actions contradict the moral he presents in the tale, revealing his hypocrisy and ironic nature.