"The Man of Law's Tale" often links Custance's suffering to the suffering of Christ and Mary. So in a way, the characters that do her wrong, like her two evil mothers-in-law, instantly become linked with Satan. The narrator calls both mothers-in-law instruments of the devil, implying that they are simply tools of a higher power. Portraying the women this way makes them seem demonic, but it also means that the Devil, not them, is control of their actions. It also makes Custance a figure for the Virgin Mary, as she becomes the pious figure whose essential goodness makes up for the evil of these two "Eves."
Questions About Good vs. Evil
- How does "The Man of Law's Tale" make the Sultanness and Donegild seem evil?
- How does the Tale link the tension between Custance and her mothers-in-law to the struggle between Christ and Satan?
- How does the Tale link the tension between Custance and her mothers-in-law to the events surrounding the Fall of Man? What is the effect of this connection upon our understanding of the characters, particularly Custance?
- How can we reconcile the fatalism—or belief in the impossibility of determining one's own fate—in "The Man of Law's Tale" with its desire to assign blame to Donegild and the Sultaness, or can we?
Chew on This
"The Man of Law's Tale" portrays Custance as a new version of Mary, who redeems the world from the evil of her mothers-in-law.
"The Man of Law's Tale" portrays evil as the result of Satan's evil plotting on Earth.