Pardoner Question and Answer

“Mine handes and my tonge goon so yerne

That it is joye to see my bisinesse.

Of avarice and of swich cursednesse

Is al my preching, for to make hem free

To yiven hir pens, and namely unto me,

For myn entente is nat but for to winne,

And no thing for correccion of sinne” (lines 110-6)

I found these lines particularly interesting. In them the corrupt Pardoner appears to be exposing his true purpose. The Pardoners character is one of trickery and deceiving and therefore when he “comes clean” about his livelihood and the way he gets his money, it is very difficult to decide if he is being truthful or not.  Question: Why does the Pardoner say that all his “bisinesse” is money and being greedy, then in the story conclude that being greedy is sinful, and at the end, lie to the other pilgrims about his “relics,” and recommends them to be pardoned?

Possible answer: In the prologue, the Pardoner tells the truth about what he does for a living. Then later in the story, he goes through various sins and explaining the faults behind each one. It is possible that the Pardoner tries to get the other pilgrims to agree with him (“sinning is bad,” etc.), tells the story about the “young companions” to make the pilgrims forget, and since they believe him, continue to think that they too need to be pardoned. It is a complex, sinister, but also well planned trick by the Pardoner.