‘In the battle of the sexes, there are no outright winners.’ Consider some of the ways in which this remark might be applied to Chaucer’s presentation of gender in The Merchant’s Prologue and Tale.

[The Subject & Level bar would not let me choose A Level for some reason, so the question and answer I am providing is for an A Level student, despite the fact it is under the heading English Literature GCSE]This question is asking you to analyse the opposition created by Chaucer in The Merchant's Tale through his presentation of gender. The titular quotation argues this opposition is never solved and there are 'no outright winners'. In your introduction, you would have to engage with this stance, and for the purpose of this explanation, I will agree with it. The rest of your essay would then argue why neither sex wins. One would do this by evaluating scenes and character trajectories which show both the men and women in the tale have triumphs and losses. For the women, May is able to consummate her affair with Damien and subvert the domination of her husband - which is a triumph. In order to ensure you get AO2 Method marks, a close-reading of the Pear Tree scene would be good here, focusing on the use of imagery (such as when January 'stoupeth down') and techniques like Apostrophe and Traductio employed by Chaucer also. By having an affair, May asserts her own power over her body and actions. Here, you could bring in some AO5 Critical Engagement, and discuss a 21st Century Feminist reading of the text, whilst bringing in AO3 Context in showing your awareness that these views were not likely held by Chaucer's 14th Century audience. Indeed, May's actions bolster the Merchant's argument that all women are malicious, and it is undeniable there is an Anti-Feminist sentiment laced throughout; the tale is bookended by male chauvinists. Furthermore, January is illustrated as triumphant in a number of other ways: May returns to him and she is pregnant, meaning he now has an heir for his 'paleys', and Chaucer employs a rhetorical question with ‘who is glad but he?’, affirming January's happiness by the conclusion of the tale. After evaluating the presentation of men and women, and the opposition created between them, one would conclude that Chaucer instead of portraying one sex as better than the other, places value in a mutual understanding and agreement with one another. Certainly, to have a happy and stable marriage, Chaucer suggests partners must treat each other equally and with respect.