Spirituality In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Violence, danger, and treasure are three things that immediately come to mind when the word quest is mentioned. Very rarely is psychology brought into the conversation, however, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the quest that takes place happens mostly internally in the mind of Sir Gawain. However, despite the mental nature of the quest, the poem did follow some of the more traditional patterns of quest literature including the patterns of spiritual and physical questing, while also deferring from the plan by emphasizing psychological growth and struggle as well. Spirituality is very much a part of medieval romance literature as well as all quests, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is certainly not exempt from this trend. To begin the

They are very dedicated to their mission and not partake in passion, for that is a distraction to their duty. They are also supposed to respect and obey women and ensure their happiness at all times, or as Sir Gawain puts it, to “serve them unswervingly” (976). He also must uphold the laws of the land, including the commandments. These duties are all strict, and those which Sir Gawain has followed all his life. However, the lady of the castle is beautiful, she is lively, worshipped by all, including Sir Gawain, and she shows up in his bedroom the first day of his bet with the lord. “She charm[s] him and she chase[s]” trying to seduce the knight into passion (1260). And although it is very hard for Sir Gawain he must try and avoid getting pulled into her lust. He realizes that to become passionate with the lady would be adulterous and that would damage the lady, as well as his knighthood. This struggle is emphasized as when he kisses the lady, he immediately “marches off to mass” for he must acquire help from his muse about what is right (1311). Meanwhile, he struggles with his loyalty to the lord of the castle who is a friend and host to him. On that same vein, he recognizes the lady of the castle is also his host and he feels required to obey her wills and avoid causing her grief. All of this uncertainty is warring in his mind as he fights with himself on the matter of righteousness. Ultimately, he decides to act “’faithfully to

Rather they are at a whole new level of existence. This is no different in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, as Sir Gawain returns home a new, stronger man. He goes from being a bystander to an influence in the court, as each knight begins to adorn green sashes as Sir Gawain did when he won his battle, and “each knight who” wears this green mark is “honored forever” much like Sir Gawain is and will be (2520). The quest, though abnormal, did end as all quests traditionally do, in a revelation, and the finding of something that was not previously attained. The difference is, in this poem, what is found is not love nor strength nor bravery, but rather mental fortitude and