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Article published In: Babel
Vol. 65:2 (2019) ► pp.200–221

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A victim of prudishness

Chaucer’s Miller’s Tale retold over the centuries

 | National Aviation University, Kiev
Published online: 2 May 2019
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https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00088.syd
Abstract
Often excluded from Chaucer’s modernizations or heavily censored, The Miller’s Tale over the centuries has been stigmatized as bawdy, obscene and, as such, unfit for the general reader. The article briefly reviews the history of the modernization of The Miller’s Tale in the 18th–19th centuries and focuses on its four major 20th-early 21st-century translations into modern English to find out how the motives of decency might have determined the translators’ choices where it concerns the tale’s explicit language. The argument of decency appears to be a lame excuse for the failure of many of Chaucer’s modernizers to understand the true purport and place of The Miller’s Tale in the overall composition of The Canterbury Tales, as well as to appreciate Chaucer’s literary achievement in representing through his characters’ narratives the spirit and mindset of his age.
Résumé
Souvent exclu des versions modernisées de Chaucer ou lourdement censuré, Le Conte du Meunier a été stigmatisé au fil des siècles parce qu’il était jugé débauché, obscène, et, à ce titre, inapproprié pour le lecteur moyen. L’article passe brièvement en revue l’historique des versions modernisées du Conte du Meunier, aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècles, puis se concentre sur ses quatre principales traductions en anglais moderne au XXe et au début du XXIe siècle, pour découvrir comment des motifs de décence pourraient avoir déterminé les choix des traducteurs, lorsque le langage utilisé était explicite dans le conte. L’argument de la décence semble être une piètre excuse pour justifier pourquoi de nombreux traducteurs modernes de Chaucer n’ont pas réussi à comprendre la véritable intention et la place du Conte du Meunier dans la composition générale des Contes de Canterbury ni à apprécier la performance littéraire de Chaucer à représenter l’esprit et la mentalité de son époque au travers de l’histoire de ses personnages.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Sources on the subject
  • 3.Material and methods
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1The bawdy tale
    • 4.2The banned tales
  • 5.The Miller’s Tale in the 18th-century modernizations
  • 6.The Miller’s Tale in the 19th century
  • 7.A comparative analysis of The Miller’s Tale’s explicit material in the four 20th- early 21st-century modernizations
    • 7.1Alison
    • 7.2Nicholas and Alison
    • 7.3Absolon
    • 7.4The kiss
  • 8.Conclusions
  • Note
  • References
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