The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue & Frame Story The Merchant's Epilogue Summary

  • The Host deplores the wife from the Merchant's story, and asks God to keep him away from such a wife.
  • The Host says that women are always lying and trying to deceive men, as the Merchant's tale proves.
  • The Host tells the company that he has a wife, although a poor one, and one who is a blabbermouth shrew with many vices.
  • The Host expresses his unhappiness at being married to her, she has so many vices.
  • However, he says he will not enumerate all her vices because he is afraid someone in the company will tell her, since women are so good at discovering such things. Also, he fears his wit is not sufficient to do so.