"The Miller's Tale"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how "The Miller's Tale" in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" has occupied serious significance in the world of literature and literary rhetoric. The paper explains that many question the gender construction in the tale and that some have raised queries about Chaucer's focus on private parts and sexual encounters in the tales. The paper further explains that the Miller in the poem is introduced in vivid physical terms and his physical features are explained in bold letters as to set the tone for the tale. This happens because Chaucer wants to introduce a character that is most concerned with the physical side of relationships as we learn in the tale. This paper concentrates on explaining this.

From the Paper:

"Another interesting way of lending decency to the tale was by reversing the role of authors. In Miller's tale it is not the men merely who are authors of dirty jokes, instead Alisoun is as much a part of that as any man. 'Now hust, and thou shalt laughen al thy fille' (3722). Alisoun is not restricted by her gender duties and restrictions. This is one device or method by means of which Chaucer reverses patriarchic system and introduced women liberation. Along with this, it adds art to what could have been a long explicit tale of sexual rendezvous.
"There is one more striking feature of the tale that shows how Miller's tale turns into a work of art. Throughout the tale the author is more interested in showing the preparation for encounters and method of courtly love than in actual sexual scenes. For example Absolon loves Alisoun in the courtly sense. He wants to be her lover not in the bed alone and in fact doesn't try hard to pursue Alisoun for sexual favors. As Kolve puts it, 'What earnest trespasser upon a marriage would go sing to the wife at an hour when the husband lies beside her in their bed?' (187)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• All citations are taken from The Riverside Chaucer.
• Kolve, V. A. Chaucer and the Imagery of Narrative: The First Five Canterbury Tales. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1984.
• Parry, Joseph D. "Interpreting Female Agency and Responsibility in The Miller's Tale and The Merchant's Tale." Philological Quarterly 80.2 (Spring 2001): 133-135.

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