Who is The Miller from Spinners and what is their importance?

The miller is a wealthy, hard drinking, and solitary man. He marries the tailor's lover, and raises her daughter after she dies in childbirth. When Saskia is just a young woman, she cuts the miller's hair, which makes him inexplicably depressed, and results in the mill being shut down, leaving Saskia without support. By the time he snaps out of his depression, Saskia is making a living spinning fine yarn. It is the miller who brags to the king that she can spin straw into gold.