Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay - 1636 Words

Women, Courtly Love and the Creation Myth in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight #9;Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a great epic written in fourteenth century Europe by the Pearl poet, emphasizes the opposition of Christian love to Courtly love in the 13th century through the dilemma of Sir Gawain, one of the great knights of the Arthurian round table. By examining the women in the poem, Gawains dilemma becomes a metaphor for the contrast of these two distinct types of love. The poem looks upon the Virgin Mary as the representative of spiritual love, obedience, chastity, and life (Warner 9). In contrast, Morgan le Fay and Bertilaks wife appear to be representing courtly love, disobedience, lust and death. This conflict between†¦show more content†¦On Christmas morning, for example, instead of finding comfort in the spiritual meaning of Christmas, Gawain finds comfort being seated with the lady. The bedroom scenes, however, depict the true moral battles of Gawain. During the three-day period, there is a spiraling trend. The events keep happening in the same way on a higher and higher level until Gawain is forced to give in to her desires. While he is able to see that his chastity is more important than his courtesy, he is still desperately trying to balance the two (DeRoo, 314). His inability to choose between them leads him to accept the girdle. While Mary, representing his spiritual love and faith, saves him from losing his chastity, quot;great peril between them stood, unless Mary for her knight should prayquot; (Adams, 241). Gawain still denies his love for her when faced with the love of the lady. Gawains loss of devotion is the key to his downfall, for it was his faith in Mary, which gave him strength and courage. #9;By giving up the pentangle in exchange for the girdle, which supposedly has magical powers that will protect him, Gawain becomes torn between chivalry and religion. At this point things start to get a bit quot;knottyquot;: Gawain, religion and chivalry become equivalent, intertwined and interdependent. The concept of knots can also be applied to the icons in this story. The pentangle is a knot that has no beginnings or end, symbolizingShow MoreRelatedSir Gawain And The Green Knight1359 Words   |  6 PagesIn the poem â€Å"Sir Gawain and The Green Knight,† a protagonist emerges depicting an Arthurian knight named Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew, takes initiative by accepting the challenge requested by the Green Knight in place of his uncle. He undergoes a perilous adventure, seeking for the Green Knight to receive the final blow. 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Gawain never knew what was coming his way throughout the grand scheme of the game, but one thing was for certain he was being tested. Without his reliance religious faith and dedication to his reputation, Gawain wo uld not have been able to make it through the game of the Green Knight alive andRead MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight Essay1020 Words   |  5 PagesBoth Sir Gawain, from â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† translated by Marie Borroff, and Beowulf, from Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel, serve as heroes in different times of Medieval English Literature. Many of the basic principles that describe heroes in Medieval Literature are seen in both of these characters even though they were written in different times. There are distinct similarities, differences, and also a progression of what the hero was in English literature, between Sir Gawain and