Similarities Between Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Medieval Anti-Feminism in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Dictionary.com defines misogyny as “hatred, dislike, or mistrust of women, or prejudice of women” (dictionary.com). In medieval times, misogyny ran rampant in their society despite a culture that supposedly celebrated knightly chivalry. While women may have had respect from men in the form of courtly love, ultimately they had limited rights and were seen as a cause of temptation and sin. In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, this middle ages negative attitude towards women is exemplified in all the written relationships presented in the poem. Women play a key role in the forward motion of the plot, but they are still used as an expendable group to push blame upon in lieu of what role the men might also have played. While a misogynistic view of women throughout the entirety of the poem may not be seen in the first read-through -- as the ending anti-feminist rant from Sir Gawain seems shocking and jarring against his previous actions speaking and interacting with women where he constantly praises their beauty and dotes on their needs -- it becomes more visible after the reader has gotten a glance into the true feelings of Sir Gawain. In a thorough re-reading of the poem, Gawain’s

Because of the overall negative portrayal of women written in the poem, I believe that “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” develops a view of women throughout the poem that is ultimately medievally misogynistic, as it paints them as