e 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 ...