Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written during the high Middle Ages. The characters in this poem include the fabled Knights of the Round Table. From the beginning it is clear that they are young and naïve, not the heroic men saving damsels in distress one often pictures. When a mysterious green knight interrupts the festivities and cajoles the crowd into playing a game, Sir Gawain, a stellar example of knighthood, steps up to the challenge. This challenge results in Gawain going off to have his head chopped of by the mysterious green individual. At the end of the poem, after many tribulations, he ends up alive but heartbroken and feeling like a failure. Many other characters, including The Green Knight believe he has succeeded in his quest. The book seems to portray that the Green Knight is correct; he did not fail because although Gawain tries to uphold chivalry exactly, this is an impossible task. One aspect of chivalry is upholding the highest standards of purity, which means not tainting oneself with misguided desires. Sir Gawain is tempted repeatedly by the lady “more glorious than Guinevere” (945) who happens to be married. Three times he turns her down, and instead he remains pure and loyal to his fellow brothers and god. After realizing the plot Gawain tells the Green knight “But no …show more content…
In upholding his values toward chivalry he was led on a journey where he had to forgo this basic human instinct. The Green Knight says to Gawain ‘“But a little thing more –it was loyalty you lacked: / not because you are wicked, or a womanizer, or worse, / but you loved your own life; so I blame you less”’ (2366-2368). While this would suffice for the green knight Sir Gawain holds himself to a higher standard, and he views this fault as a failing in his ability to uphold the values of chivalry. He chooses to take the experience differently than the Green Knight and talking about the green girdle