Mayrhofer, Sonja. “‘This Sely Jalous Housbonde to Bigyle’: Reading and Performance in Chaucer’s The Miller’s Tale.” Philological Quarterly, vol. 97, no. 4, University of Iowa, 2018, p. 515–529.
Mayrhofer argues that, in “The Miller’s Tale,” Nicholas is able to manipulate others through his expertise as a performer, using his knowledge as the essential prop. This is demonstrated in his interactions with Alisoun, John, and Absolon. She briefly argues that to engage Alisoun he demonstrates his knowledge in his pursuit of her and then bringing her into his confidence as part of his plan against John. Mayrhofer details a stronger argument of Nicholas’ manipulation of John, pointing out how Nicholas informs John of the upcoming flood in Nicholas’ own room. His room is filled with the books and tools of a scholar, making John feel ill-at-ease in such a space therefore making John easily convinced of Nicholas’ expertise. With Absolon, Mayrhofer argues, Nicholas demonstrates “code-switching” that proves his abilities to speak to people of any social level at any time. Mayrhofer argues that Nicholas, with his well-demonstrated knowledge, is shown in juxtaposition with these characters and this only highlights his performance abilities.
--Lauren Olson
