Bloom's Literary Themes - ymerleksi - home

“The Miller’s Tale” 115
present essay. One of the first of the Miller’s violations, for instance,
appears in the very first line in which he is mentioned in the Introduction,
where we are immediately told that he is drunk and can thus
sit only with difficulty upon his horse (ll. 12–13). His drunkenness, of
course, already violates standard Christian teachings (see, for instance,
Proverbs 23: 29–35, Ephesians 5:18, 1 Corinthians 6:12, and 2 Peter
2:19), while the fact that he sits unsteadily on his horse would have
been a standard symbol of loss of moral self-control [B&G 630], since
the image of a rider controlling a horse was an age-old representation
of reason controlling passion. In addition, the fact that the Miller
will doff his hat to no one and will give preference to no one out of
courtesy (ll. 14–15) shows that he is behaving with uncharitable disrespect
to other persons; like all the sinners depicted in The Canterbury
Tales (and indeed like all sinners at all times and places, according to
standard Christian teachings) he is guilty of the fundamental sin of
selfishness or pride. Thus it is not surprising when we are told that he
speaks in the voice of Pilate (l. 16), who was often depicted in medieval
writings, including morality plays, as boastful, tyrannical, ruthless,
cruel, melodramatic, and bombastic [B&G 484; V120]. The fact
that Pilate had a major hand in the death of Christ is, of course, also
highly significant, for the Miller is himself the embodiment of anti-
Christian discord, exemplified by his profane references to Christ’s
body [V121]. His vow to “quite” (i.e., requite) the Knight’s tale (l.
19) is thus often seen as evidence of his highly competitive spirit
[M66; V119]. Here and everywhere, the Miller violates the central
Christian taboo against self-centered, egotistical thought, feelings,
and behavior.
Given the fact that the Miller is so consumed by pride, it is a
tactical mistake for the Host to ask that the Miller wait until “Some
better man”—perhaps the Monk—should first tell a tale (l. 22). The
Miller, of course, instantly feels insulted, and Chaucer not only has
him swear obscenely again, but also has him heavily stress the key
pronoun “I” by placing it firmly at the end of a line (l. 24). Like an
egotistical child throwing a very public tantrum, the Miller vows that
he will speak now “or elles go my way” (l. 25). The Host, in response,
speaks more accurately than he realizes when, in frustration, he
replies that the Miller should speak in the devil’s name (l. 26); this is
ironic, since the Miller does in fact embody some of the same kind
of pride and rebelliousness as Satan himself [B&G 630]. The Miller