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Comparing Women In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

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Recommended: Representation of female characters in medieval english literature

Women play a prominent role in medieval literature as they break tradition by gaining power and using it to their advantage. At this time, societies only allowed men to have power; however, the female characters in The Merchant’s Tale and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight defy this tradition. May and Lady Bertilak, Proserpina and Morgan le Fay, both have common tactics in order to gain power.
Using the art of deception give May and Lady Bertilak the power to gain control over men. One day, in the garden, May asks if she can get on January’s back so she can get a pear. Little did January know that his squire also his wife’s courtly lover, Damien, is standing in the pear tree waiting for May. Once May climbs into the tree, she starts having sex with Damian. Meanwhile, January watches from below and furiously demands May to explain herself. May …show more content…

May deceives January by justifying committing adultery and telling him that he “may be frequently deceived by [his eyesight]” (CT.p.387). By deceiving January, May is saving herself from being punished. Lady Bertilak deceives Gawain by giving him the green girdle and telling him to “conceal it well” (GGK line 1862). The Green Knight strikes Gawain’s three times, but only nicks Gawain’s neck once; demonstrating the consequence concealing the green girdle from Lord Bertilak. Gawain blames Lady Bertilak for deceiving him causing him to not adhere to the contract because “the wiles of a woman be wooed into sorrow, for so was Adam by one” (GGK line 2415-2416), implying that many great men in history have been deceived by women. This shows how

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In the thirteenth century when Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was composed, and also in the Arthurian period in which it occurred, Christian conventions made a male-commanded society in which ladies had next to no apparent power. The worldview of ladies in this time was a fragile Catch 22 they were treated with worshipful admiration and worship, however were not regarded as fit creatures in their own particular right. A significant part of the chivalric code that knights prided themselves on depended on the supposition that ladies couldn't accomplish much for themselves, and in this way men needed to accomplish it for them. Be that as it may, the plot of this lyric demonstrates that ladies had the capacity to accomplish their necessities and

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Chivalric romances are often centered upon the efforts of gallant knights seeking to achieve a concept known as “true knighthood” which involves embarking on quests or adventures to obtain honor, love, and Christian virtue. The brave knights of these stories are met with many obstacles to overcome, commonly in regards to rescuing or protecting a lady. In other words, the typical role of women in this period is that of the damsel in distress or a helpless, dependent lady in need of a hero. However, the stories of Chrétien de Troyes’ Yvain, the Knight of the Lion and Friedrich Heinrich Karl La Motte-Fouqué’s The Magic Ring strays from the typical role of women as the damsel in distress.

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Sometimes deceit is needed in order to see a person’s true virtues. Lord Bertilak wants to test his chastity and compassion. He sends his wife to tempt Sir Gawain in order to see if Sir Gawain will uphold chastity.

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In the play Sir Gawain and The Green knight there are many different times throughout the book, that involve characters using different forms of deception. However; I think the biggest use of deception is when Bertilak uses his wife in order to test Sir Gawain’s loyalty, but also to achieve his motive, which was to cause Sir Gawain to feel as if he was a failure. Bertilak’s wife enters Sir Gawain’s bedroom on a mission to make Sir Gawain fall into temptation, and of course the first thing Sir Gawain really notices is Lady Bertilak’s beauty. “Her Face was sweet, Her skin was white and Pink; she spoke like birds, Singing, and her small lips laughed” (Page 95). This makes the point that beauty can be very deceiving, explaining why Bertilak would use that to his advantage.

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NAME INSTRUCTOR COURSE DATE The Five Knightly Virtues of Sir Gawain Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is the most known 14th century poem that depicts the Arthurian legend. It has been translated from a Middle English dialect by Simon Armitage; unfortunately, very little is known about the original author. Sir Gawain is the protagonist as he is the major source of conflict when he struggles to decide whether his “knightly virtues” are more important than his own life.

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Gawain, who had struck a deal with the lord to surrender all things he received during his stay in the lord’s dwelling, fails to do so in the name of self-preservation. The lord’s wife gifts Sir Gawain a green sash rumored to protect its possessor from physical harm. Gawain, recalling his inevitable meeting with the Green Knight, decides to contradict his agreement with the lord and “hid[es] it away from all hands and eyes” (Line 1875). His decision blatantly violated the chivalrous code, “failing a moral test in agreeing to hide the girdle from the husband, with whom he has the prior arrangement to exchange winnings” (West 9).

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Which led to the Green Knight explaining to Gawain that he is actually the same lord of the castle where Gawain spent his holidays. The first two blows, he claims, were in return for the way Gawain returned the kisses of his wife, following the rules of their game as an honest man should. The third blow, he says, was for Gawain’s failure to return the green girdle to him on the last day. But because Gawain’s failing was only because he wanted to save his life, and not because he's just dishonorable, the Green Knight forgives him. He leaves Gawain with only a scar and a girdle as a reminder of his very human sin.

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“But no wonder if a fool should fall for a female and be wiped of his wits by womanly guile- it’s the way of the world.” (Armitage: 181,2414-2416) Gawain blames all of his troubles the past year on women. Not people who might’ve gotten in his way, or the lord of the manor, but specifically woman.

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The lady tries to convince Gawain to take the girdle by hinting at its magical powers , stating that he “could not be slain through any strategy on earth” (1854) if he wears it . Gawain takes the girdle not out of lust , but because he fears death and that makes him start to believe in its magical powers “It [the girdle] certainly would be splendid to forestall being slain” (1858) . It is a way in which he tries to overcome fear and prepare himself for the appointment with the Green Knight. If we look at it from this perspective , the girdle can also symbolize that Gawain wants to be assured that he lives. The moment he takes the girdle is of great importance : whether he hides or declares the girdle and gives it to the Lord , he violates someone’s trust .

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Gawain fails this agreement when he keeps the green girdle given to him by Bertilaks wife as he believes it will save his

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The author creates a gender role inversion between the characters of Betilak’s wife and Sir Gawain through many comparisons in their actions. Bertilak’s wife takes on more traditionally masculine traits while Sir Gawain is described with more feminine traits when the two characters are together. In the first bedroom encounter of the two characters, Bertilak’s wife sneaks into the guest bedroom where Sir Gawain is sleeping and says “let’s make a truce, or I’ll bind you in

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Women of the Medieval Times Women have always had a significant role in history even though they were treated horrible in most cases. During the Medieval Times was really the first time women were allowed to become more than just a house wife. The fight for equality has always been a struggle and even in today’s society is still an ongoing battle. Although women of lower and middle class were treated poorly in the Medieval Times, some powerful women held great responsibility and were looked up too by both men and children; despite being admired, “men were thought to be not only physically stronger but more emotionally stable, more intelligent, and morally less feeble” (Hopkins 5). “The position of women in the Medieval Society was greatly influenced by the views of the Roman Catholic Church” (Heeve).

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In “The Knight’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” Chaucer provides two manifestations of a medieval romance. Emily appears as an object of desire for Arcite and a paramour for Palamon. In contrast, Alisoun has dominion over men and feels as though women should retain sovereign power. In looking at “The Knight’s Tale” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” one must examine instances which demonstrate the relationship between men and women, which suggest men’s lustful desire, and instances where women have dominion and the outcomes, which suggest women’s prudence in regards to dealing with men. One will find that although some may believe that men do not have lustful desires, and when a man has power a fine outcome will occur as a result, various

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