Geoffrey Chaucer’s, The Miller’s Tale, is perhaps the filthiest fablio known in English literature, yet many overlook the dirty allusions that The Reeve’s Tale portrays in response to the Miller’s story. Undoubtedly, both these stories are crammed with ill humor, however I believe that the Reeve does a better job at insulting the Miller. The Miller’s Tale may be more well known because of its comedic elements, but the witful Reeve annihilates and embarrasses the Miller. The Miller tells a tale of a foolish carpenter who is turned into a cuckold, which is the occupation and the description that the Reeve fits. After the Miller ends his tale, in the Reeve’s prologue Chaucer states, “A little anger in his heart was made,” (Line 8), showing the
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The Reeve portrays the Miller as an untrustworthy crook that sells less flour for the same price. He tries to cheat two clerks out of flour by stealing it and baking it into a cake, however towards the end of the fablio the daughter reveals the hiding place of the cake, “And at the mill they found the well-made cake,” (Line 391) which they take with them as they leaves. This makes a fool out of the Miller because he is outwit by two clerks. Secondly, as the Reeve is setting the scene, he describes the miller’s wife. “She was as high as water in a ditch; And full of scorn and full of back-biting,” (Lines 44-45), which in other words shows that the Reeve thought the Miller’s wife was rude and believed she was higher up than the average person. Finally, the Reeve does better at insulting the Miller when he makes both clerks sleep with his wife and daughter. The first clerk, Alain, slept with the Miller’s daughter by jumping on her in bed, ”And, to be brief, these two were soon alone,” (Line 277). John, the second clerk, tricked the wife into climbing into bed with him after she had gotten up to use the restroom. He swiftly moved the baby crib to the foot of his bed and when the wife came back she mistakenly climbs into bed with the clerk. “And over on this goodwife did he lie,” (Line 309), implying that the wife of
The Reeve portrays the Miller as an untrustworthy crook that sells less flour for the same price. He tries to cheat two clerks out of flour by stealing it and baking it into a cake, however towards the end of the fablio the daughter reveals the hiding place of the cake, “And at the mill they found the well-made cake,” (Line 391) which they take with them as they leaves. This makes a fool out of the Miller because he is outwit by two clerks. Secondly, as the Reeve is setting the scene, he describes the miller’s wife. “She was as high as water in a ditch; And full of scorn and full of back-biting,” (Lines 44-45), which in other words shows that the Reeve thought the Miller’s wife was rude and believed she was higher up than the average person. Finally, the Reeve does better at insulting the Miller when he makes both clerks sleep with his wife and daughter. The first clerk, Alain, slept with the Miller’s daughter by jumping on her in bed, ”And, to be brief, these two were soon alone,” (Line 277). John, the second clerk, tricked the wife into climbing into bed with him after she had gotten up to use the restroom. He swiftly moved the baby crib to the foot of his bed and when the wife came back she mistakenly climbs into bed with the clerk. “And over on this goodwife did he lie,” (Line 309), implying that the wife of