Hawkin, also called Activa Vita (Active Life), is one of the characters that Will meets while traveling as a pilgrim with Patience and Conscience. Hawkin’s coat is badly stained, and he complains to his new acquaintances that no matter how hard he tries, he can’t keep the coat clean. Once he explains that his coat is Christendom and the stains are his sins (long-windedly detailing every single one of his sins), Patience provides him with a better method for laundering the coat—contrition (guilt for sin) and the sacrament of penance.
Hawkin Quotes in Piers Plowman
The Piers Plowman quotes below are all either spoken by Hawkin or refer to Hawkin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Passus XIV
Quotes
…Contrition may
be used
To scrape your coat clean of all kinds of filth.
…Do-Well will wash it and wring it with a wise confessor.
…Do-Better will scrub it and scour it…
…And then send you to Satisfaction, to let the sun bleach it.
…Do-Best will keep it clean from unkind deeds.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Piers Plowman LitChart as a printable PDF.
Hawkin Quotes in Piers Plowman
The Piers Plowman quotes below are all either spoken by Hawkin or refer to Hawkin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Passus XIV
Quotes
…Contrition may
be used
To scrape your coat clean of all kinds of filth.
…Do-Well will wash it and wring it with a wise confessor.
…Do-Better will scrub it and scour it…
…And then send you to Satisfaction, to let the sun bleach it.
…Do-Best will keep it clean from unkind deeds.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
