Throughout the 'Canterbury Tales' the theme of marriage occurs and generates discussion among the pilgrims. From your reading of 'The Miller's Tale', what do you think they might find interesting or provocative?

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Julia Cloke 12JMW

Throughout the ‘Canterbury Tales’ the theme of marriage occurs and generates discussion among the pilgrims. From your reading of ‘The Miller’s Tale’, what do you think they might find interesting or provocative?

In ‘The Miller’s Tale’ the sanctity of marriage is played upon heavily, as during Chaucer’s time all marriages were respected in the eyes of the Church and contained a very religious theme. We also see how jealously in a marriage can bring about conflicting ideas and actions, which can often lead to one person taking the other for granted. The whole foundation of marriage is questioned in ‘The Miller’s Tale’ as Chaucer reveals both the good and bad in a married couple.

        Contrary to ‘The Knight’s Tale’ which contains a story of courtly romance, of the ideal fantasy, ‘The Miller’s Tale’ reveals to opposing side to marriage. Where as courtly love is all about wooing your future partner, showing off your airs and graces, the marriage in ‘The Miller’s Tale’ is very much based on reality. Chaucer deliberately placed these two stories side by side to show just how contrasting they are and how one is based purely on fantasy, while the other is based on reality. Chaucer tries to show through the characters of Alisoun and John that marriage isn’t the fairytale that it has been portrayed as for hundreds of years, but a relationship that contains both happy and sad experiences, makes us smile and cry. Marriage is real. We as the reader may feel that everything that could go wrong in the marriage between John and Alisoun does, but that is simply Chaucer’s intention.        

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It is obvious from the beginning of the text that Alisoun has no respect for the pledge she made to John in front of God because as soon as Alisoun becomes bored of him, along comes another man ready to fill his shoes. She so readily swears her new, supposedly romantic love for Nicholas, “by Seint Thomas of Kent,” who was a very important Saint as his gravestone was the ultimate destination for the pilgrims on their journey to Canterbury. Alisoun cannot see how morally blind she is being, she truly believes that swearing her love on something so important ...

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