One Saturday while John is out of town, Nicholas
and Alisoun fi nally put their plan into action. Nicholas
hides in his room over the weekend, and when John
fi nally seeks him out on Monday, he fi nds Nicholas
apparently passed out in his room. Upon reviving,
Nicholas reports his fi ndings from the stars: The fol-
lowing Monday will witness a fl ood similar in propor-
tion to Noah’s Flood in the Bible. Nicholas instructs
John to save himself by constructing three tubs in
which to hide and fastening them to the roof. The three
of them will then lie inside the tubs awaiting the
fl ood—perfectly silent so as not to disrupt prayers.
Dutifully, John secures and provisions the tubs, and
on Monday night, all three participants—Nicholas,
Alisoun, and John—climb in. As soon as John is asleep,
however, Nicholas and Alisoun sneak down to the
bedroom, where they sport all night.
The next morning fi nds Absolon thinking of Ali-
soun. Boldly, he decides to approach her house. She
castigates him, but he is so persistent that she agrees to
give him a kiss if he agrees to leave her alone after-
wards. Planning a practical joke, Alisoun “at the wyn-
dow out she putte hir hole” (l. 3732). Absolon realizes
that he has kissed Alisoun’s nether region and not her
mouth when he encounters a beard (pubic hair) and,
instantly furious, plans revenge. Running across the
street, he borrows a hot poker from the local smith.
Returning to the window, he calls up to Alisoun, beg-
ging another kiss. This time, Nicholas sticks his behind
out the window, and when Absolon calls out, Nicholas
releases a tremendous fart. In retaliation, Absolon
“Nicholas amydde the ers he smoot” (l. 3810). In pain,
Nicholas shrieks and yells for water. John wakes up,
hears the shouts for water, and, thinking the fl ood is
beginning, cuts the ropes of his tub. The tub crashes to
the fl oor, breaking John’s arm. The neighbors all come
running. Nicholas and Alisoun convince everyone that
John has gone mad, and so his reputation remains.
“The Miller’s Tale” is a FABLIAU in form. It is told by
the Miller to “quite”—that is, match—the Knight’s Tale,
which is a ROMANCE. As a fabliau, it is heavily dependent
on plotting and staging. It features a typical fabliau love
triangle—an older husband (John), a young wife (Ali-
soun), and a young suitor (Nicholas)—with the addi-
tion of a fourth party, Absolon, who is portrayed as a
“courtly lover.” The characters are, for the most part,
stock types: John, the cuckolded husband, is a wealthy
would-be social climber who is ridiculed at the end;
Alison is an attractive and lusty young wife; Nicholas is
a scheming student; Absolon is a squeamish fop. Con-
textually, it perfectly offsets “The Knight’s Tale.” Both
feature two men in love with one woman, dreams (pro-
phetic and unprophetic), love versus sex, seeking
beyond one’s means, and rash promises.
A number of analogues for “The Miller’s Tale” have
been identifi ed, though no direct source has been
uncovered. The earliest of these is the Flemish fabliau
Dits van Heilan van Beersele, in which similar adven-
tures (ass-kissing, fake fl ooding, limbs breaking) befall
a woman’s three lovers. The Tale also features a num-
ber of BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS, although Nicholas is the only
character to quote it accurately. GEOFFREY CHAUCER
also fi rmly grounds his tale in its local setting of Oxford
through location details, as well as the invocation of
local saints (e.g., Saint Frideswide and Saint Neot).
Early criticism of the Tale focused, typically, on its
sources, analogues, and textual variants, but a number
of critics also sought to establish its moral code. How-
ever, like many fabliaux, it metes out its own warped
sense of justice, not standard morality. The punish-
ments seem disproportionate, and the Tale as a whole
seems generally amoral. Is it, then, a celebration of
adultery?
Recent criticism has examined the economics of
exchange in the Tale, the treatment of Alisoun, and the
various interactions between the men. There are a num-
ber of references to exchanges, monetary comparisons,
and reprisal. In fact, the Miller sets up the principle of
exchange—of women and their sexuality—in the Pro-
logue, and the idea carries through the narrative. Marx-
ist critics have also suggested that the varying degrees
of social classes presented in the Tale—considered
more nuanced than in many fabliaux—also refl ect his-
torical imbalances and shifting economic relations
among and within the classes.
Feminist critics have examined the role and presenta-
tion of the only woman in the Tale, Alisoun. Though she
escapes relatively unscathed, Alisoun’s life is not unprob-
lematic. She is depicted in nonhuman terms, being kept
“narwe in cage” like a bird, but also as various barnyard“MILLER’S TALE, THE” 275