What Are The Similarities Between The Wife Of Bath And The Miller's Tale

Darby Puckett
Ms. Maria Kersh
Honors European Literature
11 April 2023
Wife of Bath's Tale and Miller's Tale The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories told by an ever-eccentric group of people with the eventual end goal of winning a prize. While many of these stories do share many similarities, overlaps, and potential contrast, in this writing, the primary discussion will be centered around the tale of the Wife of Bath and the tale of the Miller. Now before the comparison themselves are made, the storytellers themselves ought to be mentioned. In the first prologue, we are introduced to all of the pilgrims and given a sort of look into what kind of characters they are. The miller is described as vulgar, crass, and generally poorly mannered.

The Miller's tale, however, discusses a much smaller group and the turmoils that occur between them in a much less fantastical way. This, however, is to be expected to some extent as they are two entirely different kinds of stories. The Miller’s being categorized as a fabliau by nature ensures that the humor is distorted, and mocking. We see this in the way it mocks the church, religion, and the institution of marriage. The Wife of Bath’s tale is categorized instead as a Breton lai, making it short, valuable, and

The Miller's tale however lacks this and provides no legitimate moral lesson. They both begin with deeply flawed characters, the Wife of Bath's protagonist begins with a rape that promptly sentences him to death, and the lot of the Miller's tale is all adulterous liars. Absalom loves the married Alison but she cheats on her husband John with Nicholas who lies to John merely for comedic purposes By the end of the Wife of Bath’s tale, the knight has learned a lesson and received fair retribution for his action, while no such thing happens in the Miller’s tale. In terms of comedy and humor, the majority of that which is found in the Miller’s tale is grotesque and unpleasant, whereas, in The Wife of Bath, it is quick, witty, and clever. We can see this in the very physical humor in Miller’s tale when Nicholas’ butt is branded and in the very snappy response of the old crone to the knight in the Wife of Bath. These sorts of responses in humor are also noted in the way the stories discuss social classes and religion. The Miller’s Tale being a fabliau mocks religion greatly in the character of Absalom, the lustful parish clerk. It makes fun of John and his social standing, as a story it holds no real respect for any existing social institutions. When we look at the Wife of Bath’s, the