Canterbury Tales By Reeve Essays - The Canterbury Tales, Fabliaux

Canterbury Tales By Reeve Such comments as, "I pray to God his nekke mote to-breke" quickly reveal that the verbal game of "quite" involves much more than a free meal to the Reeve in "The Canterbury Tales" (I 3918). This overreaction, which grabs the attention of the audience and gives it pause, is characteristic of the Reeve's ostensibly odd behavior, being given to morose speeches followed by violent outbursts, all the while harboring spiteful desires. Anger typifies the Reeve's dialogue and his tale, which begs the question why. It appears to be a reaction to the Miller's insults, but they are not extreme enough to provoke such resentment. He seem-ingly has no hesitation in articulating his bitterness, yet he and his story are as much marked by suppression as expression. Silence resounds as loudly as any noise in the Reeve's Prologue and Tale. The reader is as puzzled by his utterances as the lack of them: his sudden sermon on death is matched by the quietness of two couples copulating in a small room of five, none of which are able to hear what the others are doing. The reality is that the behavior of the Reeve and the characters in his tale are not random or unaccountable. The Reeve is continually si-lenced by other pilgrims and himself, which is paralleled in his tale, and in turn suppresses his emotions, which leads to even more explosive conduct. I. Characterization In order to appreciate the melancholic and serious temperament of the Reeve, it is nec-essary to view him in comparison to other characters, as Chaucer intended. The identities of the pilgrims are relative. They are characterized by their description in the General Prologue, but not fully developed until they are seen in contrast to the pilgrim they are "quiting." As the Miller's personality is developed by his dissimilarity to the Knight, so is the Reeve by the Miller. Therefore Robin's enjoyment of life shows just how little Oswald receives from the same. For instance, the Miller's large frame and excessive drinking show his delight in small pleasures. The Reeve, however, is "a sclendre colerik man" who controls his beard and hair (in opposition to the unruly strands that grow on a wart on the miller's nose) as manipula-tively as the accounts of the farm on which he works (I 587). The Miller mastered the bag-pipes for entertainment in his spare time while the Reeve trained with more practical tools: "In youthe he had lerned a good myster: He was a wel good wrighte, a carpenter" (I 614). Robin is very physical; he is strong and willing to wrestle anything and carries a sword and buckler at his side. Oswald only carries a rusty blade, which indicates that it is not used very often and is only for show. If compelled to fight, he would most likely back down, preferring verbal sparring. The Miller socializes with the group with no regards to the class system, in-terrupting the expected order to tell his story before the Monk, while Oswald prefers to sepa-rate himself and ride last among the group. These disparities give the impression that Oswald is focused inward while Robin con-centrates on the outward. The Reeve is ruled by his practical mind, which directs him to make as much money as possible, whether it is through theft or saving or learning useful trades, and to avoid dangerous situations, even if it entails cowardice. The Miller is more of a Dionysian figure, who does only what pleases him, whether it is knocking heads or ignoring his wife's infidelities. These differences in character foreshadow the differences in their tales. They both tell similar dirty stories but the nature varies greatly. It is the Miller's good-humor that trans-forms the chivalric tale of the Knight into an account of adultery that is both bawdy and hi-larious. As will be discussed in greater detail in this essay, it is the Reeve's introversion that causes him to recite his mean-spirited tale of adultery as punishment. II. Outward Manifestations of Suppressed Emotions The Reeve's vindictiveness and mood swings are based in his being repeatedly silenced and his subsequent suppression of emotions. Oswald speaks three times in Fragment I, and on the first occasion his wishes are ignored, on the second he is told to speak of a more amusing subject, and he is finally allowed to speak on the third, but only because every pilgrim must tell a tale. The Reeve's first words are spoken to the Miller. He orders Robin to "Stynt thy clappe!" before beginning his