Absolon the Creepy Cat Man

People have posted about The Miller's Tale and Nicholas, but I wanted to write about Absolon. Am I the only one who thinks he is kind of crazy?
First of all, he fell in love with Alisoun at first sight. We all know this is in fairy tales, which makes sense because this story is fictional, but it is still crazy. I personally believe he just thinks she is really pretty and he longs to kiss her, or have sex with her...probably both. Chaucer writes that Absolon looked at the carpenter's wife and "thoughte a mery lyf" (77, 3344). How can he picture a happy life with her when he knows absolutely nothing about her but her looks?
The second thing that made me wary of Absolon were these two lines: "I dar wel seyn, if she had been a mous/And he a cat, he wolde hire hente anon" (77, 3346-47). If I'm not mistaken, cats catch mice in order to kill them. Sure, some cats like to catch mice so they can play with them, but that mostly ends with a happy cat playing with a dead mouse. This is the metaphor Chaucer came up with? Two things that do not like each other? Then again, if you think about it, it kind of makes sense. Absolon is the cat and he really wants to be with Alisoun, the mouse. Cats love catching mice. Mice are terrified of cats, and Alisoun wants nothing to do with Absolon. However, this explanation just further proves that Absolon is creepy.

tvtropes.org 

 

I think that is an accurate depiction of what the cat version of Absolon would look like.

The third and final thing that made me question Absolon's sanity is when he burns Nicholas' butt. HE BURNS HIS ASS. Can we all take a moment to appreciate how much that would hurt? Yes, I know Alisoun tricked him into kissing "hir naked ers/Ful savourly" (85, 3734-35), but did he really have to resort to burning Nicholas' butt? Could he not just realize that Alisoun does not like him and move on? Or perhaps he could have punched Nicholas in the face. That would be preferable to burning him. I bet Nicholas is going to have fun sitting down for a while. Oh, Absolon. you crazy cat man, you.

www.pixton.com

 

Thinking about "The Miller's Tale"

I was re-reading "The Miller's Tale" because I wanted to, I don't know, try to understand it more? I guess I really just wanted to re-read it to decide if I really as appalled by it as I originally thought, since not a lot of other students were. I thought maybe I was missing something.

After re-reading it and with the help of the discussion we had in class, I realise that I wasn't so offended by the story as I was the character of Nicholas. His character just disgusted me, honestly. And perhaps I had the same issue with this as I did "The Wife of Bath" where I just couldn't get myself to read the story in the mindset of Chaucer's time period. Maybe then Nicholas could go around being disgusting and...a groper because women basically had no rights, but it's hard to read that as a 21st century woman where that's, well, harassment, I'm pretty sure. And the fact that Nicholas's actions and really cheesy pick-up lines are rewarded? That just doesn't really sit right with me. That coupled with Chaucer's nonchalant use of "Queynte" just kind of makes me want to shy away and groan in disgust, because personally I just really can't stand that word, especially the modern, derogatory use of it. Which of course brings up full circle to my inability to read this without my modern-day and 21-century bias.

I guess I didn't really have a problem with the parodied version of Noah's story because I mean, we have parodies of Bible stories everywhere these days (Including the story of Noah. Just look at Evan Almighty). And trying to visualise John just hanging out on a roof in a bathtub is pretty hilarious.

And sure, Nicholas deserved some form of punishment for, I don't know, grabbing vaginas and helping Alison commit adultery, and while his unfortunate meeting with a hot poker wasn't offensive, it's not like it was tasteful, either.

But let's be honest, who doesn't enjoy a good fart joke every once in awhile, even if it shows up in the form of a clerk's very strange fear?

words, words, words

(this is a shameless re-post - with a few changes - from my Chaucer class' blog...apologies to those of you who may be seeing it for the second time!)

One of the privileges of my job is that I get to spend so much time revisiting the texts and issues that I care about.

I think I speak for most of my colleagues when I say that every time I teach a text, even if I have taught it multiple times before, I always go back and reread it. And I always discover something new!

I have now taught "The Miller's Tale" twice in as many weeks. I'll be honest, I was surprised by how many of you guys struggled to find the humor in this story because you were put off by its offensive content. In the past, most of my students have jumped at the chance to dig into this one, so I was a bit thrown!

I want to be clear that what I am IN NO WAY questioning the validity of anyone's reading experience. Chaucer, after all, anticipated this reaction. He expected folks to be perturbed by his language and his subject matter, and with good reason.

But what I have discovered in my most recent readings of this tale is more about today's world than Chaucer's. I am reminded of the ways that our society encourages self-censorship (despite simultaneously encouraging self-promotion) and discourages healthy discomfort - the kind of discomfort that makes us question who we are and why we live the way that we do.

Words have power - some more obviously so than others. Certain words elicit a strong reaction, and many of them appear in this tale (Queynte. Pisse. Toute.) But we shouldn't shy away from that power and refuse to use those words (well, obviously there are times and places ... and of course I would never advocate using hurtful language about someone else). Rather, we should consider why those words have that power. Why do they make us uncomfortable? And we must remember that those words don't have power over us, but are instead within our own power to catalog our world.

The Miller, either because his drunkenness has lowered his inhibitions or because it's just the kind of "cherl" he is, certainly is unafraid of using those words. Are we going to let ourselves be bested by him? I say no. Because his words are a sign of his willingness to tell it like it is: the world isn't a courtly romance. Emelye in the Knight's tale isn't necessarily thrilled with the giant tournament to determine her fate. People may commend a "noble tale," but they also can (and should!) enjoy a hearty laugh at a fart joke - especially one as well-wrought and intricately told as this one.

http://houseoffame.blogspot.com/2007/05/i-can-hath-cheezburger.html