Gawain worries he is going to fail God, thus he includes him in the prayer, but he gains his true inner strength from Mary. Unable to accept the unnaturalness of the strength he obtains from a woman, he attributes his gains to men, "he offered up thanks to Jesus and Saint Julian" (773-774). Yet, even when he runs into problems with his faith in Mary, it is another women that he turns to for strength. .
Gawain asks Mary to keep him honest and true, "They talk with tendernessand pride, and yet their plightis perilous unlesssweet Mary minds her knight" but Mary fails him as he does not gain the strength to resist Lady Bertilak's temptation (1766-1769). He took the green girdle to booster his failing courage but did not tell Bertilak he had received that boon. However, Mary is not undermining Gawain, but rather it is he who is weak and unable to appreciate the strength Mary provides. Yet, when his faith in Mary is ebbing, Gawain turns to another woman, Lady Bertilak, to provide him with additional courage. Viewing the girdle as supportive and, as the Lady implies, a means of strength, Gawain believes it might save him even though it is nothing but "a green silk girdle trimmed with gold" (1832). The girdle will not provide any protection as it is just material, but Bertilak's wife cleverly manipulates Gawain into believing it is a boon. Gawain is too focused on the beauty of Bertilak's wife, "her face, her flesh,her complexion, her quality, her bearing, her body, more glorious than Guinevere" to recognize the intelligence she uses to get him to believe what she wants (943-945). Gawain is used to viewing women as pretty arm candy and entertainment that needs protection and assistance in life. He is unable to see that Lady Bertilak functions as an intellectual being independent of men. Men were described as honourable, courteous and strong focusing on aspects such as them hunting and fighting to illustrate their male dominance.