Beheading and Seduction Tales
...p to it. Sir Gawain knows that following through with his agreement certainly means an end to his own life, but Sir Gawain sees it has part of his knightly virtues to find the Green Chapel one year from their first encounter. At the end of the poem, the meaning of the Christmas challenge changes when the green girdle is introduced into the poem. After the Green Knight reveals himself as Bertilak, Sir Gawain curses the girdle for giving him an obsession with protecting his own life and abandoning his knightly virtues. The Green Knight punishes Sir Gawain for breaking his agreement to share all of his winnings by giving him a wound on his neck and the green girdle. The Green Knight’s actions remind Sir Gawain and King Arthur’s court that, although they may be “the most noble knights known under Christ,” they are still all human and subject to the same failures as everyone one else (line 51). Sir Gawain’s shield has a pentangle on it that stands for truth, but even he abandons this part of his knightly virtues to save his own life. In the end, Sir Gawain learns his lesson that even he, one of the finest knights in the land, is mortal and he intends to continue wearing the green girdle as a reminder of his sins. The green girdle comes into Sir Gawain’s possession while he is lodging at Bertilak’s castle, in which the host decides to challenge Sir Gawain to another game. “And Gawain,” said the good host, “agree now to this: Whatever I win in the woods I will give you at eve, And all you have earned you must offer to me; Swear now, sweet friend, to swap as I say, Whether hands, in the end, be empty or better” (line 1105-1109). Sir Gawain agrees to this game and on the first day Bertilak goes out with his men to hunt deer while Sir Gawain relaxes in the castle with the host’s wife. The wife flirted with Sir Gawain all day and set about seducing him to sleep with her, but through Sir Gawain’s cleverness and courteous he was able to turn aside her advances. During the time Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was written, people had certain attitudes towards different kinds of animals. In the case of the host’s first hunt, deer were considered more honorable, but ready to flee before fighting. Back in the castle, the host wife’s seduction attempts force Sir Gawain to act as a deer would. When the host’s wife enters the room Sir Gawain lays flat and pretends to be asleep. He does not want to offend her and he also does not want to be seduced by her. Any immoral behavior would be considered an insult to Bertilak and would go against the knightly virtues Sir Gawain must follow. At the end of the day, Bertilak and Sir Gawain exchange their winnings. Bertilak gives Sir Gawain a deer and Sir Gawain gives the host a kiss from anonymous person within the castle, which the reader knows came from the host’s wife. On the second day, the host goes off to hunt wild boar. In medieval time, wild boar were considered to be elusive like the deer, but more likely to face its attacker head on. When the host’s wife approaches Sir Gawain on this day, Sir Gawain does not try to fake that he is sleeping. Instead, he graciously welcomes her into his room. She tries to taunt Sir Gawain by questioning his courtly manner. At first Sir Gawain tries to be courteous to the host’s wife, but as she keeps pushing him, Sir Gawain becomes defensive. Once again the parallel relationship between the host’s hunts and Sir Gawain’s encounters with the wife are very apparent. At the end of the second day, Sir Gawain gives the host two kisses and the host gives Sir Gawain a wild boar. The wild boar shows that the host has completed another noble hunt while Sir Gawain has been noble in his games with the host’s wife. On the third and final day, the hunt by the host is for a fox, which is considered a very cunning and deceitful animal during medieval times. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the fox is singled out among all other animals, because it is the hardest to track. The fox lead the host on a chase that lasted through much of the afternoon while the host’s wife takes even more extreme steps in order to seduce Sir Gawain. Th...