Thus swyved was this carpenteris wyf,
For al his kepyng and his jalousye,
And Absolon hath kist hir nether ye,
And Nicholas is scalded in the towte.
This tale is doon, and God save al the rowte!
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Miller’s Tale. The concluding lines of the tale nicely resolve the story with a reckoning and a kind of justice for the flawed characters involved. The jealous carpenter John has been cheated on by his wife. His wife Alison has been bedded by another man. The foolish parish clerk Absolon has kissed Alison’s backside. And the cheating student Nicholas has had his behind burned by a red-hot poker in revenge by Absolon.