Use Of Absolon In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

Before Cinderella and before The Beauty and the Beast, there was The Miller’s Tale. The Miller's Tale is a famous and humorous story from Chaucer's collective works of The Canterbury Tales. The tale is told by the Miller, and it is about 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 story 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 …show more content…
This theory labels a character as “queer” just because they are thought of as odd or not normal. We could argue that Absolon is this other character, simply because he is thought of as only a nuisance to every other character in the story and he really has very little effect on the story with the exception of one scene. This label of “the other” is brought upon by societal norms. In today’s society there are stereotypes and labels given to people based on the construction of society itself. For example, when one gets up in the morning and deems what is appropriate to wear, that person is most likely doing so with a societal gender expectation in mind. The same concept is being applied to Absolon throughout the story. The clothes and general physical description of Absolon throughout is connected with the fact that he is not seen as a threat to John the carpenter or Nicholas when Absolon attempts to woe Alisoun. John is supposedly a jealous husband, Absolon displays his affection for Alisoun by singing a love song though their window, he barely blinks an eye. “What, Alison, herestow noght Absolon,/ That chaunteth thus under oure bourse wal?” (3366/3367). Alisoun responds to him by saying “Yis, God wot, John, I here it everydel” (3369). This is the last that they speak about the matter, and John appears to simply ignore the fact that his wife is being serenated by another man every day, due to …show more content…
He claims to be (and may very well be) in love with Alisoun, however there is also evidence that Absolon is involved in one or two other relationships. Absolon is a parish clerk, which means that he most likely has a lot of suppressed heterosexual desires due to the restrictions of his profession. During a certain point in the poem, Absolon visits a place called Oseneye, where he meets up with a cloisterer. While he is there, Absolon and the cloisterer leave the grounds to “disporte and pleye” (3664). According to traditional standards, a cloisterer is supposed to be confined to their recluse or cloister that they reside to. This scandalous act could be seen as Absolon relieving sexual tension in the form of a sexual relationship (or even simply romantic) with this man. Absolon may also be involved with the blacksmith Gervais. He angrily storms away from Alisoun’s house looking for a weapon to use against her, and Gervais lends him a coulter without question. This type of favor may be 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