Write an analysis of the description of Alison. What insights do you gain about attitudes to women and social class from this passage?

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Alex Young                                                                   19th September, 2004

Write an analysis of the description of Alison. What insights do you gain about attitudes to women and social class from this passage?

The story of Alison is a typical set piece of courtly romance. This classic example of courtly romance is represented in the description of her appearance and her relationships with John, Nicholas and Absalon. The male attitude to marriage in the time that Chaucer was writing ‘The Miller’s Tale’ was very selfish. It was to produce a male heir and to improve social and economic status. Usually very little sexual activity was indulged in between the husband and wife, thus the young wife falls prey to admiration from other men.

Many of the descriptions that Chaucer uses to describe Alison are double entendre descriptions. Chaucer immediately begins with such a description when he writes “As any wezele hir body gent and small”. This is a simile which emphasises her slimness, slenderness and her desirability. Alison is compared to a weasel. A weasel is not at all desirable; stereotypically it is a sly character. For a second time, Chaucer uses the same type of description, “And softer than the wolle is of a wether”. At first it seems that Chaucer is describing Alison as soft and cute, but if you delve deeper into the meaning you see that Chaucer is also describing Alison as a male sheep, a “wether”, plus a male sheep’s wool is wiry and not nice to touch. Chaucer twice suggests Alison as being ‘fresh’ and ‘bright’ when in fact he is implying that she is a ‘loose’ and ‘fake’. An example of such a suggestion is, “Ful brighter was the shyning of hir hewe, Than in the Tour the nobel yforged newe”. Here Chaucer describes Alison’s face, body and personality as bright and shiny, but there is a hint of her being akin to a prostitute when he describes a ‘newly forged coin’.

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Alison is yet again compared to a farm yard animal. “Therto she koude skippe and make game, As any kyde or calf folwynge his dame.”. Here Chaucer describes Alison as a young goat. The first impressions of a young goat are cute and energetic, but the undertone of the simile is awkwardness, of gangly stature and highly driven by sex. Another simile of Alison being gangly is “Long as a mast, and upright as a bolt”. Here Alison is described as a stereotypical perfect woman, tall and thin. But, the monosyllabic tone brings out the harsh truth of Alison ...

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