Poor John!

The Miller's Tale is a hot-ass mess! Between this old man marrying an 18-year-old, butts being stuck outside of windows, and the promise of a fake flood – I couldn’t help but laugh.

I enjoyed the fact that as readers, we get to be in on the jokes that are played out. I knew this chick Alisoun was going to be unfaithful from the start; their age is the biggest indicator. She was quickly wooed by Nicholas and falls in love. I think she plays the most major role in deceit, by convincing her husband that a fake flood was headed their way so that she could spend a night in his bed with her lover.

John, poor, poor John. The only honest one in this whole charade. I can’t help but feel sorry for the guy! He tried to protect his wife from drowning, and in the end, he’s made out to be a fool! He’ll never be taken seriously again by his neighbors. Nicholas and Alisoun make everyone believe he’s crazy when they’re the ones getting it on in John’s bed!

To me, there’s no sense of true love in this story; it’s all about sex. Absolon tries to make us believe that he wants to court Alisoun, but all he’s interested in is sex. This dude got what he deserved if you ask me. Trying to kiss another man’s wife (even if she is committing adultery) is wrong! I’m glad he has to kiss ass, personally.


John is the only poor bastard I feel for in this story, even though his love for his wife was somewhat misguided, he still had good intentions. In correlation to Nicholas’ and Alisoun’s fucked up moral codes, John’s devotion to his wife is endearing!

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this story quite a bit. My favorite so far!

Who Holds the Power?

The second time I have read "The Wife of Bath’s Tale", and the first time I pondered over the question, “What do women want?” the answer to that is way more complicated than control over a husband or boyfriend. As a woman, I look for equality within a relationship, but in Chaucer’s time, women weren’t always put in positions of control. It’s interesting to me that at the beginning of this story we have a knight who is stripping a woman of her power over her body. He is punished, by women, when he is forced to discover what women desire, which oddly enough, is power.

The power rests with the women in the beginning, when they hand out the knight’s punishment, but power is reverted to men when the hag gives the knight a choice. I can’t help but notice that the power ends with men, who we see abusing it in the first place. The knight takes the woman’s virginity, which is what women used as a bargaining tool of sorts, men usually didn’t want to marry a woman who wasn’t pure. The Wife of Bath holds power in that she isn’t ashamed to say that sexual organs should be used for pleasure, and marrying five times? Why not?

 I can appreciate that the traditional attitudes are reversed, as King Arthur relents to his wife and lets her and the women of the court serve justice instead of the men. And the knight, a man who violates a woman in the worst possible way, is allowed to redeem himself through another woman, even if she is a hag. She gives the knight a choice, both of which are horrible, but when he lets her decide, he is given up his power for the woman’s choice. So to me, this tale is still slightly confusing, because I’m still left with the notion that maybe it’s too dangerous for both sexes to hold too much power.
Sigh. 

Honor or Stupidity?

What does it mean to be honorable? Knights are expected to flow a code of conduct, not just amongst themselves, but in every aspect of their lives. Throughout this story, Lancelot has to push aside the rules of honor of his love, Guinevere. These rules work in correlation with his personal desires.


Lancelot’s love for Guinevere is genuine, but it causes him to make some pretty stupid decisions, that could be looked down upon for an honorable knight.  In his first encounter with Melegant, Lancelot, “began to defend himself from behind his back so he would not have to turn or divert his face from her,” I mean he’s so freaking honorable that he can’t even take his eyes off of his beloved to defend himself? I think that speaks to his character, and shows what it means to be a knight (even if it is foolish).


I don’t think rational thought could be possible with love like Lancelot’s and Guinevere’s. Because he loves her so much, he is forced to do some things he wouldn’t normally do. His only thoughts are of the queen, and the only rationality he finds he can abide is so he can continue to see the queen. This also reminds me of the ridiculous courtly rules; adultery is bad, but not if the two involved are in love? Does that still make him honorable?


Love pretty much conquers everything in this story, which to some, could be considered honorable. But, to me it’s stupid. I can’t justify the actions of this dude.

Just a Fairytale?

To me, this story is about Lanval the outcast. He’s this loyal knight who is dissed by his fellow knights; he’s just as chivalrous as they are, so what’s the deal? Why can’t he be accepted? Arthur also doesn’t grant Lanval the land he’s promised, and loyalty goes both ways, right? He doesn’t fit into this society, so it only makes sense that is love is outside of that as well. 

Even his beloved is described as an otherworldly creature, “The judges who saw her marveled at the sight; no one who looked as her was not warmed with joy” it sounds as though she's straight out of a fairytale. Often, a love so deep as this will always be at odds when it comes to society’s "standards". The world isn’t a place where a love like theirs can flourish, which is why it’s being kept a secret. 

Even though there’s a happy ending, their love can’t even exist in the real world. The ugliness of this world is emphasized when Lanval’s love refuses to stay when offered Arthur’s best of the best. Their love can only flourish in Avalun, a beautiful island, far away from society. 

I also really appreciated the reversed gender roles in this story!