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Sir Gawain and the Lord's Wife

            Many of the characters in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have supernatural powers. This is true with not only male characters but female as well. Though women are shown with a large role, their role is not a positive one in this tale. Instead of showing the female characters as individuals the unknown author shows them as a basis for the stereotypical female of that time. .
             For instance, Lady Bertilak (the lords wife) plays a major role in this story testing chivalry but does not stand as the most honorable character. She is described purely by her sexuality labeling her as beautiful as opposed to wise. "Her chin is pale,/ her cheeks are ruddy red with health;/ her smile is sweet, she speaks with lips that love to laugh" (1200). The wife is sent to Gawain to test his honor and chivalry. In the fourteenth century females were often viewed as inferior to their male counterparts. The female is portrayed as tricky and beautiful. It is clear in this epic poem that the female is viewed unequally to the male. For instance, the author goes into detail describing King Arthur and is happy attitude. "But not one stone outshone the quartz of the queen's eyes; with hand on heart, no one could argue otherwise" (229). The queen does not speak a line in this tale but is respected for her beauty solely. As expected, each female in this tale is more beautiful then the last. There is no mention of an unattractive female in this unrealistic fictional poem.
             Towards the end of the book we are introduced to the female "witch" Morgan le Faye. The unknown author surprisingly chose to pick a female to be the character behind the whole story. Le Faye casts the spell that turns Lord Bertilak into the Green Knight. "She guided me in this guise/ to your great hall/ to put pride on trial/, and to test with this trick/ what distinction and trust the Round Table deserves./ She imagined this mischief would muddle your minds/ and that grieving Guinevere would go to her grave" (2460).


Essays Related to Sir Gawain and the Lord's Wife

1. Sir Gawain

The way in which Sir Gawain demonstrates bravery is when the green knight says to Gawain (pg.81, line-2274) Did I flinch, or flee from you when your blow felled me? ... The second knightly virtue that Sir Gawain demonstrates in the story "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is courage. ... On the third day while the lord was hunting his wife gives Gawain this magic girdle that she tells him it will save him from the green knight. Gawain takes it and doesn't share what was rightfully the lords. ... My wife wove it, *so I know it well. ...

  • Word Count: 523
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the way the poet depicts the importance of a knight's proper behavior towards a lady and the manner in which a knight should represent/ speak about himself suggests that the chivalric code according to which Gawain lives in is a representation not of the real world of the 14th century but of an idealized version of that world. ... In the bedroom scene, the poet uses Bertilak's wife as a confirmation of the idealness of Gawain's behavior when she offers herself to him: "'You're free to have my all, do with me what you will'...

  • Word Count: 706
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Sir Gawain And Green Knight

Sir Gawain and The Green Knight begins with Arthur's Christmas feast being interrupted by the emergence of a mysterious horseman. ... He stays there for a few days and eventually gets enticed by the lord's wife. ... Here, I think the author wanted us to compare Bercilak's hunt for animals to his Lady's hunt for Sir Gawain. ... In Gawain's bedroom, Bercilak's wife comes in and tries to seduce him time and time again. ... After accepting the lady's green belt, we see Gawain "asked the lords mercy, and called on his confessor to cleanse his soul"(1881-2). ...

  • Word Count: 1520
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a romantic poem that takes place in the Arthurian period. This poem introduces King Arthur's nephew, Sir Gawain. ... While Sir Gawain was a guest in the Lords house, he was confronted with another test of his chivalry. The Lords wife attempts multiple times to seduce Sir Gawain. ... Just as it would be for any other man, it was hard for Gawain to resist the temptation to sleep with the Lords wife. ...

  • Word Count: 2583
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Social Structures in Middle English Literature

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Even though the writer of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is unknown, the story contains a common theme of the literature of the time. ... Sir Gawain is offering to sacrifice his own life to save that of the king, his uncle. ... The servants of the king are the ones who provide care to Sir Gawain. ... We also see this in the tale of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" with the love of a nephew for his uncle. ... In "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" we see the character grow from a knight that considers himself the weakest to one that is well...

  • Word Count: 1419
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Christian Ideals in Beowulf

In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the entrance of a Green Knight interrupts the New Years" celebrations of Camelot. ... While Beowulf was of a transitional nature, Sir Gawain is much more Christian work in its origins. A Christian, for a Christian audience, for Christian reasons, undoubtedly wrote Sir Gawain. ... Sir Gawain, a part of the Arthurian Legend, has the founding of Rome, dated at 742 B.C., as a datable fact. ... Similar to Beowulf, the story of Sir Gawain is linked to loyalty to a king or lord. ...

  • Word Count: 2583
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Beowulf

The second poem is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which is a romance written about six hundred years ago. ... Sir Gawain in the poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" also shows several ways on how to live rightly. ... Once he reached Bercilak's castle he is tempted three times by Bercilak's wife, and all three times he never offended her with discourteousness nor accepted her advances. The knight had a good reputation and he did not want to destroy it by having a sexually relationship with the Lords wife. ... The consequences that Gawain suffered for living right was when he was t...

  • Word Count: 1101
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Beowulf

The second poem is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which is a romance written about six hundred years ago. ... Sir Gawain in the poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" also shows several ways on how to live rightly. ... Once he reached Bercilak's castle he is tempted three times by Bercilak's wife, and all three times he never offended her with discourteousness nor accepted her advances. The knight had a good reputation and he did not want to destroy it by having a sexually relationship with the Lords wife. ... The consequences that Gawain suffered for living right was when he was t...

  • Word Count: 1101
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

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