The character of Alison in The Millers Tale Essay Example

The character of Alison in The Millers Tale Essay The character of Alison in The Millers Tale is portrayed as the perfect vision of sexual desire. Her husband the carpenter, their lodger Nicholas and the parish clerk Absolon are all in various forms of pursuit of her throughout the tale, while Alisons role is little more than to observe their efforts. Her actions throughout the tale are far from moral, and so her initial description is important in portraying the kind of character with whom the reader is to be acquainted. She is shown as physically desirable, well groomed and enigmatic, in the sense that she is more mischievous than she seems. The description shows Alison to be the embodiment of female sexuality, making the ridiculous actions of the other characters more justifiable. The most obvious aspect of the description of Alison is that she is sexually desirable to men. While it is Chaucer who is writing the description, he is writing as though the Miller is describing her, and through the way in which Alison is described, it becomes obvious that the Miller is attracted to her. He begins the description at her ceint, starting the image of her at her girdle, somewhere below her waist. It then moves to her barmclooth, continuing to hover around her lower body, describing how her goore lies upon her thighs and buttocks, her lendes. The description then moves to her chest and her smok, and then returns to her girdle. By focusing on the sexual regions of her body, Chaucer shows that the Miller is interested in Alison sexually, more than as a wife. We will write a custom essay sample on The character of Alison in The Millers Tale specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The character of Alison in The Millers Tale specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The character of Alison in The Millers Tale specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This is further implied by the line for any lord to leggen in his bedde preceding for any good yeman to wedde. Therefore it is clear that Alison is an object of lust. The Miller also shows that Alison is appealing to all the senses, calling her blissful on to see, softer than the wolle is of a wether and calling her mouth sweet as bragot. Playing on all the senses makes Alison more real and more enticing, so that the reader too is entranced by her desirability. A lot of the descriptions of Alison are comparisons to animals. It is particularly interesting to note the animals to which she is compared. Her body is compared to that of a wezele, in that it is gent and small. While the weasel is an apt simile for a petite and shapely body, it is also an animal renowned for being sly and sneaky, qualities displayed by Alison later in the tale. Therefore a seemingly superficial comparison to Alisons physique makes a far more negative reference to her character. The comparison to a colt implies Alisons wild spirit, but with it being a male animal it also reflects on her power. She is also compared to a kide or calf in that she can skippe and make game. This comment also has two levels. In a way it likens Alison to young animals showing her frisky, youthful nature. Also, with the animals being simple farm yard creatures as opposed to exotic, exciting animals, the story is kept at a fabliau level, as it is dealing with the commonplace. The character of Alison in The Millers Tale Essay Example The character of Alison in The Millers Tale Paper The description shows that Alison attempts to dress as a reflection of her purity and sweetness. Her clothes are mainly white, her barmcloth eek as whit as morne milk, the tapes of hir white voluper and whit was hir smok. The white clothes are ironic in their reflection of virginity, as Alison soon proves to have loose sexual morals. It is the fact that her outfit is so excessively white that provides a hint towards the idea that purity is a look she is trying to achieve, rather than a characteristic she bears. She is described to have a likerous ye, suggesting that she is a playful, lustful person. She also wears boots laced on hir legges hye, which reflects a more erotic nature to her character than the rest of her outfit aims to portray. These things imply that Alison is more mischievous than she seems. Alison is a well groomed and well looked after character, evidently by both her husband and herself. Her clothes are made from fine materials, a purs of lether tassled with silk, and are extravagant and intricate, for instance her smok is broiden with col-blak silk. This shows that her husband treats her well and pays for her to have expensive things, implying that she is perhaps a trophy for him rather than a loving companion. She looks after herself well, indicated by her ful smale ypulled eyebrows and hir mouth smelling sweete. We will write a custom essay sample on The character of Alison in The Millers Tale specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The character of Alison in The Millers Tale specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The character of Alison in The Millers Tale specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In the time in which the tale was written it was far less common to be so well groomed and sensually appealing, making her more and more attractive. The fact that she takes such care of her appearance reveals her vanity, and further implies the extent of her beauty. The description reveals Alisons physical beauty, as well as hinting at the darker sides of her nature. These are both important aspects of the tale as the story unfolds, in justifying the other characters actions and feelings.