Chaucer's Views on Infidelity in the Miler's Tale

          In the Canterbury Tales, a colourful collection of stories told in each character’s own vernacular, Chaucer satirizes characters and exaggerates their qualities in order to present his views on society. He creates a world plagued by gluttony, murder, and infidelity through farce and hyperbolic characters. Although he made these comments some seven hundred years ago, many of his observations still hold true. Many of the sins that Chaucer observed can still be observed today. For example, the Miller’s Tale is of an unfaithful young woman and her lover’s battle against her aging husband, emphasizing the infidelity and promiscuity of young people, women especially. To this day there are arguments on both sides of infidelity, as Christopher Ryan points out in his CNN article: “Monogamy Unnatural for Our Sexy Species”. The Miller’s Tale is the best example of Chaucer’s commentary on society because its masculine viewpoint allows us to accurately observe the views on the promiscuity and dishonesty of young women.

          It is only appropriate that Chaucer balance out the Wife of Bath’s positive feminist banter with the Miller’s story of sinners overcoming the long-suffering husband. The Wife of Bath’s tale depicts the “loyal, true, and humble” (Chaucer, 291) characteristics of older women contrasted with the “wild and young” (89) Alison in the Miller’s Tale. The old hag (who, it should be understood, becomes a beautiful maiden in the end), while ugly, has her honesty and integrity to offer her husband. Unlike Alison who is easily swayed by Nicholas’ “meek and girlish look” (89), and agrees to sleep with him with little resistance. There is a correlation drawn here between age and promiscuity without even factoring in the sexist opinions of men in the Middle Ages against women. Nicholas, the student boarder and Alison’s lover, has a talent for “making love in secret” (89) and is a sexually-driven character. In this era all young people in general are being targeted with dishonesty and promiscuity, for the Miller himself says that “a man should pick an equal for his mate” (89). Therefore Chaucer suggests that men marry women their own age instead of younger, prettier ones, because the promiscuous young men will snatch them away.

          There is research today that suggests that promiscuity and emotional dishonesty does indeed decrease with age. The University of Montreal conducted a study in which students’ thoughts of cheating and actual cheating were monitored. They discovered that cheating was more prominent in the students whose ages averaged 23, versus an average age of 27. Although the differences were slight (41% cheaters versus 39% cheaters), this study supports Chaucer’s opinion that younger people, both men and women, are dishonest and disloyal, so perhaps marriages between similarly aged people last longer. Although, according to a 1983 Report on Divorce Statistics, younger couples have a higher divorce rate than older couples, probably because of the promiscuity of youth. At the same time, the differences in age between spouses has decreased from husbands being “2.7 years older than their wives; in 1983 the difference was 2.6 years” ("Advance Report of Final Divorce Statistics, 1983”), suggesting that marriages between similarly-aged people are not always more successful despite the Miller’s claim.

          Age aside, there are views today that women are dishonest and are more likely to cheat on their husbands, similar to those of Chaucer’s time. Although in modern times more emphasis is put on male infidelity, there is an “overall consensus among professionals that female infidelity is on the rise” ("Female Infidelity: It's Different from the Guys"), while there is no serious evidence as to which sex is more likely to commit adultery.

          Both age and gender aside, infidelity is still prominent in our society. Apparently it can be traced back to our animalistic instincts. Although as a species with independent thought we can choose to participate in monogamous relationships with long-term pair bonding, the attraction to polygamous relationships is definitely present. Christopher Ryan argues in his essay about marital dishonesty that the egalitarian concept of “sharing” partners is natural and happens often in the world of apes, and that “Compulsory sharing is simply the best way to distribute risk to everyone's benefit in a foraging context” ("Monogamy Unnatural for Our Sexy Species"), although we differ from the apes in our threats to survival and needs for foraging.

Even after seven hundred years, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales continue to be read and studied by High School and College students all over. Why? Because Chaucer’s classic societal commentary has remained relevant after all this time and we are still captivated by his images of sin and corruption because they are still relatable. Despite both age and gender, people are still dishonest. People still cheat because it’s in our nature as sexually-driven animals and they will continue to do so and Chaucer will remain relevant for more centuries to come.

    

 

 

Works Cited

 

Chaucer, Geoffrey, and Nevill Coghill. The Canterbury Tales. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.

 

Kerner, Ian. "Female Infidelity: It's Different from the Guys." The Chart RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

 

Ryan, Christopher. "Monogamy Unnatural for Our Sexy Species." CNN. Cable News Network, 29 July 2010. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

 

University of Montreal. "Infidelity Dissected: New Research On Why People Cheat." ScienceDaily, 13 Sep. 2008. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.

 

"Advance Report of Final Divorce Statistics, 1983." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 02 June 2009. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.