The Canterbury Tales: The Reeve's Tale Lies and Deceit Quotes Page 2
Citations follow this format: (Line). We used the line numbering found on Librarius's online edition.
| Quote #4 But now he was a theef outrageously, |
Symkyn has already committed the sin of stealing from a man on his deathbed, and now he adds another sin by lying about it. He denies any wrongdoing when the manciple (or purchaser) for the university confronts him about the missing corn. This passage contains a bit of ambiguity in the way it fails to specify whether the manciple is angry about the stealing, or about the "outrageousness" of it. Could it be that, in the past, the manciple simply put up with Symkyn's dishonesty but that now, finally, he has gone too far?
| Quote #5 And hardily they dorste leye hir nekke |
Aleyn and John promise to make sure the Miller doesn't steal corn from the university if they are allowed to go to the mill themselves. By laying "hir nekke" that the miller won't steal from them, these two also lay their reputation on the line. You can imagine the two boasting to their dorm-mates about their superior ability to spot deception; the stakes are high for these two.
| Quote #6 'By God, right by the hopur wil I stande,' |
John and Aleyn's plan to prevent Symkyn from shorting them of their corn is to stand in the room with him as he grinds it. John will watch the corn as it goes into the "hopper" (grinder), while Aleyn stands below it to see the corn as it comes out. In this way, the two hope to prevent the miller from stealing any corn and from padding the sack with a less expensive grain, like bran.
