Politics
of Marriage: Miller’s Prologue and Tale
In
the Miller’s Prologue and Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer, the sanctity of marriage is
incongruently portrayed through characters Allison, John, Nicholas, and Absolon
as each character adds to the misrepresentation of the couple’s union. To begin
with, women oppression is portrayed in order to show that women should not be weighed
down because of their gender ties, especially during the 1400s when tradition was
becoming distorted. As far as gender
ties, character Allison is connected to the negative idea of women in marriage
and what they tend to do when a husband is away. In addition, Woman entrapment is
seen through Allison, the wife that is “trapped” in her home by her husband John
whom is frightened that his wife will be promiscuous; such fear impacts their marriage
because John makes sure that his beautiful young wife does not go out and do
such impermissible actions. Regardless
of John’s careful actions, he is not able to stop fate from happening or keep
his wife trapped forever because her womanhood is far more powerful than the
limitations he sets for her. In other words, the politics of marriage affected
this tale because the perspective of a “holy” union changed drastically during
the 1400s because rebellious topics of temptation, age, and women empowerment became
more relevant.
As mentioned earlier, John, the apprehensive husband,
traps his wife Allison so she can stay faithful to him. John is an example of a
typical husband that is trapped in his own mindset and whom is influenced by
traditional male and female beliefs. Such beliefs make his actions seem
unforgivable, but he truly believes that he, “deemed himself been lik a
cokewold” (118). In this occasion, John thinks that he will become a victim of “cuckoldry,”
which is basically the idea of a husband being with a wife that sleeps with
other men, and a result would be that the husband would grow horns. Even though
Allison is caged, she still falls in love with Nicholas, a young, gorgeous, and
intelligent astrologist, and so they both decide to deceive John so they can
have a night alone together. As gullible as John is, he does not want to grow
horns, but such foolishness allows him to fall for Nicholas’s, trick that there
is going to be a one day flood. Their relationship emphasizes temptation, but
does not look negative for Allison, but most of the guilt is directed towards
the men. For instance, at the end of the story, Absolon, the parish clerk,
burns Nicholas’s butt with a burner, and John breaks his arm. Thus, the satirical
incidents illustrate that the men are at fault because “bad men sholde wedden
after his similitude” (120). Relevantly, if John would have married a woman his
age then he would not have a problem, and if Nicholas would not have an
attraction to a married woman then he would not have gotten his butt burned,
literally. Ironically, Allison is harm free, and this demonstrates that women
should not be caged up because traditional beliefs on marriage change as the
time goes by, and if one still believes in obsolete beliefs, then there will be
negative consequences. The overall significance shows that the politics of
marriage influenced this tale, but did not limit it; in other words, the implication
is that marriage must be mutual, women must be able to have control and one
must marry someone ideally close to their age and for love instead of the traditional
arranged marriage whereas women are seen as inferior to men and were unable to
make such powerful decisions.
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