Sexuality In The Millers Tale

Before Cinderella and before The Beauty and the Beast, there was The Miller’s Tale. The Miller's Tale is a famous and humorous poem from Chaucer's collective works of The Canterbury Tales. The Miller tells a tale of a carpenter and his wife and a series of events that leads to the embarrassment of himself, as well as his wife being stolen from him. Although the tale is humorous in nature, this is not the only purpose that it serves in The Canterbury Tales. The Miller's Tale appears to be a poem of a deeper homoerotic meaning. Even though we cannot really be certain of what Chaucer purposely implemented in his stories and what we just happen to interpret as “queer”, there are several telltale signs that lead us to believe that Chaucer was fully

In the case of the Miller’s Tale, it also involves an extramarital romance in the form of three characters; Nicholas, John the carpenter, and his wife Alisoun. The queer aspect of this relationship derives from Nicholas’s need for a third party in his sexual acts, as well as in the relationship in general. First, Nicholas is living with both John and Alisoun. They share a residence, which in turn allows for the three way relationship to progress with ease. John does not appear to be interested in an extramarital affair, and Chaucer describes John as loving his wife “moore than his lif” (Chaucer 3222). Another description of John involves him being extremely jealous, “jalous he was, and heeld hire (Alisoun) narwe in cage” (3224), which would imply that he has absolutely no interest in sharing Alisoun with Nicholas. He is also completely unaware that Nicholas is interested sexually in his wife, so it is very unlikely that John was a co-conspirator in this extramarital plan. John’s main role in the ambiguous three way relationship that the narrator displays, and by default Chaucer himself, as the uneducated and unaware masculine figure who could not be more straight and anti-homosexual. By portraying Jonathan this way, Chaucer is able to show the complete opposite ends of the sexual/social spectrum which serves to create more controversy in the

He angrily storms away from Alisoun’s house after being deceived into kissing Alisoun in the behind looking for a weapon to use against her. Gervais, after some discussion, hands Absolon a coulter, or an instrument used on a plowshare. This type of favor from Gervais may have been brought upon by a simple friendship, or it could be something more. During their brief conversation, Absolon describes Alisoun as a “loose woman” (3769), even though Alisoun has yet to sleep with Absolon himself. This type of animosity towards women may involve his feelings towards men as well, and the fact that these two “good friends” are having this discussion may be no coincidence. There is also a specific line in the conversation that has perplexed and interested scholars for years. One of the first things Gervais says after Absolon explained the situation he found himself in was; “What eyleth yow? Some gay gerl, God it woot, Hath broght yow thus upon the viritoot” (3769). The reason this is such a confusing line is not simply because of the presence of gay, but because the true meaning of the word “viritoot” has yet to be identified by scholars. According to author James Ortego who wrote “Gerveys joins the fun: A Note on Vititoot in the Miller’s Tale”, the meaning of this phrase is simpler when looked upon in a different light. “The confusion surrounding the phrase upon the