Nicholas soon falls in love with Alison and one day grasps her around the groins and cries, "Love me all-at-once or I shall die. Alison also has another admirer — Absalon, an effeminate incense swinger at the church. Very dainty and fastidious, Absalon is, in fact, so fastidious that he cannot tolerate people who expel gas in public.
Although Absalon demonstrates his feelings for Alison by serenading her outside her bedroom window, she finds him a nuisance and is interested only in Nicholas, who conceives an elaborate plan to get John out of the house for the night. Nicholas convinces John that the town is soon to be visited with a flood like the one that visited Noah in the Bible and that, to survive, he must build and fasten three boat-like tubs to the rafters and store within them provisions.
John follows Nicholas' instructions, and the evening before the predicted flood, all three — John the carpenter; Alison, John's wife, and Nicholas, Alison's paramour — climb into the boats. When the carpenter sleeps, Alison and Nicholas quickly descend to Alison's bed where they spend the night making love. Later that night, Absalon, discovering the Miller's absence, goes to Alison's window. Denied access to her room, he begs for one kiss.
Afraid that the bothersome clerk will arouse the neighbors, Alison agrees to kiss him, but instead of her mouth, she extends her rear out the window. The fastidious Absalon "kissed her naked arse, most savorously.
Cured of his love sickness, Absalon borrows a red-hot poker from the blacksmith, returns to Alison's window, and tells her he has a golden ring for her: "I'll give it to you for one more kiss.
Absalon recovers quickly and thrusts the red-hot poker up the middle of Nicholas' arse. Nicholas shouts, "Water, help, Water, Water," startling John from his sleep. Thinking that the flood is coming, John cuts the rope that holds his boat suspended and crashes to the floor. The neighbors, hearing all the ruckus, rush in and, when they hear of John's preparations for a flood, laugh at his lunacy.
This tale is the funniest Chaucer ever wrote and has been popular with readers of humorous literature throughout the ages. Chaucer used no known source for The Miller's Tale, but in general outline, it is one of the most common earthy folk tales, or fabliaux. Sign Up. Already have an account? Sign in. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better.
Literature Poetry Lit Terms Shakescleare. Download this LitChart! Teachers and parents! Struggling with distance learning? Themes All Themes. Symbols All Symbols. Theme Wheel. Everything you need for every book you read. Also, the Miller begins his story by giving little portraits of each of his characters, just as the narrator begins his story of the pilgrimage by outlining each of its members.
Absolon, the parish clerk, represents a parody of the conventional courtly lover. Fabliaux are bawdy, comic tales that build to a ridiculous and complex climax usually hinging on some joke or trick. Nicholas is parody of the traditional clever cleric in a fabliau. In fact, Absolon's role in the plot may be to serve as another face of lust — another shape it can take. In contrast to Nicholas, who doesn't bother to disguise his true motives when he roughly grabs Alisoun and has his way with her, Absolon expresses his lust with the same romantic conventions we see in "The Knight's Tale.
This unmasks not only Absolon but also the courtly love language he's so fond of using. Nicholas and Absolon turn out to be two sides of the same coin: they may be calling it different things, but both of these guys are looking for sex.
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