Character Analysis
The Old Man the Three Rioters meet on their way to find Death is one of Chaucer's most ambiguous and mysterious characters. He is shrunken and wrinkled, and he begs Death to free him from his body, which is slowly wasting away. Yet despite having knocked on the door of Mother Earth, pleading with her to accept his body, he's condemned to wander the earth until God decides to take mercy and end his life.
Ne Deeth, allas, ne wol nat han my lyf.
Thus walke I lyk a resteless kaityf,
And on the gound which is my moodres gate,
I knokke with my staf bothe erly and late,
And seye, "Leeve mooder, leet me in!
Lo, how I vanysshe, flesh and blood and skyn!
Allas, whan shul my bones been at reste? (471-447)
Because of the wisdom he imparts, some people think the Old Man represents Jesus in an allegorical reading of the Tale. The Rioters, on the other hand, think he must be in cahoots with Death, maybe because he seems so close to dying himself. When they force him to reveal Death's whereabouts, he points them to a grove full of gold. He's the vehicle in the story to teach them the lesson about greed that leads to their deaths.