Surprisingly there are many times when Gawain follows the code and avoids shame. One example is when on a quest with a lady he lets her choose who she wants to go with herself instead of choosing for her. He refuses to help Aggravain and Mordred expose Sir Lancelot to King Arthur (this is possibly one of the only times when chivalry overcomes loyalty to kin). He also refuses to attend the burning of Queen Guinevere, and in a way shows a sense of right and wrong as well as power to refuse Arthur’s orders. This is a big deal in Le Morte because it shows that he must be important and a highly esteemed knight to be able to stand up to King Arthur (Bedwell 17-18).
Some other instances where his chivalrous acts add to the complexity of his character are when he sympathizes towards Gareth when he is still unknown to be his brother, helps Arthur with his Roman campaign, and chooses to be loyal and goes into exile with Uwain. He also tends to be gallant and light hearted on quests, pursuing adventure and not getting angry when defeated by other Knights of the Round Table. He even helps Lancelot with
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An example of this is at the end of the Gareth section when all of a sudden Malory has Gawain saying something that makes it clear he is dangerous and extremely jealous of Gareth “For after Sir Gareth had espied Sir Gawain’s conditions, he withdrew himself from his brother Sir Gawain’s fellowship, for he was vengeable, and where he hated he would be avenged with murder, and that hated Sir Gareth” (Malory, VII, 299). The abruptness and inconsistency of Gawain’s character proves that he is the most “human” of all the Knights of the Round Table, making his part in Le Morte crucial when it comes to understanding Malory’s use of shame within the work (Bartholomew