Paper 1

Kelsey Miller
Marty Knepper
ENGL 344
2/6/15
Paper 1
Parallels between the Hunting, Bedroom Scenes, and the Meeting with the Green Knight
In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, an epic story exposes a man’s journey of honesty, morals, and honor. Sir Gawain accepts a challenge with the Green Knight in place of his uncle King Arthur. He sets out on his journey to uphold his agreement to the Green Knight facing many difficult decisions along the way. As a result if his decisions, he is marked with a scar and wears a girdle to show his dishonesty. It is a visible reminder to Sir Gawain that honor does not always guard the basic human emotions one feels. The sin taints his honor and he is caused to face his life as a witness to his weaknesses.
To begin, the knight seeks shelter in the castle of Bertilak. There he makes a deal with Bertilak. Bertilak is to go hunting in the morning while Sir Gawain sleeps. When Bertilak returns, he is to give Gawain what he has caught that day in return for what Gawain has got for his own hunt that day. During the first hunt, King Bertilak sets out to hunt the female deer. They are surprised by the huntsmen’s hounds. As the cry went up the wild creatures quaked. The deer in the dale, / quivering with dread hurtled to high ground… (1150-52). Back at the castle, Lady Bertilak seeks out Sir Gawain. Like the deer, Gawain is surprised by the Lady. He is unsure why Lady Bertilak is in his room.
And while snoozing he heard a slyly made sound, the sigh of a door swinging slowly aside.
From below the bedding he brings up his head and lifts the corner of the curtain a little wondering warily what it might be.
It was she, the lady, looking her loveliest, most quietly and craftily closing the door, nearing the bed. (1182-89)
This implies that Gawain too, is prey to be caught. Gawain even refers to himself as a “prisoner” (1219) and the Lady calls him “the man I have pinned” (1225). The language further shows the parallels between the hunting scenes and the bedroom scenes. During the second day, the hunter seeks to hunt out the boar. The boar poses a harder hunt for Bertilak and his huntsmen. The boar charges them and three of them are thrown down. And the group were aggrieved, / for three were thrown down by the first of his thrusts (1442-43). The boar is more likely to turn against the hunter and draw blood. In the bedroom Gawain becomes more forward with the Lady. He does not lie there like the first time. He addresses as she first comes in. She approaches the curtains, parts them and peeps in, / at which Sir Gawain makes her welcome at once (1476-77). He takes more the commanding lead and sets the tone just like the boar does. He tries to taunt him by asking him about his chivalrous behavior. At first she tries to be sweet, but pushes him. He bites back by stating that, “such heavy-handedness is frowned on in my homeland” (1499). The parallel between the hunted animal and Gawain is present again. The King is hunting the beast of venery or nobility and Gawain is noble in his tests with Lady Bertilak.
On the third day, King Bertilak is on the hunt for the fox. The fox is supposed to be a cunning. Carefully he creeps by the edge of a copse, / convinced that his cunning has conned those canines (1710-11). While the fox led the hunters on a chase lasting through the afternoon, Lady Bertilak comes into Gawain’s room. This time she takes a more drastic approach to seduce Gawain. She comes into the room wearing little to nothing. She wore nothing on her face; her neck was naked, / and her shoulders were bare to both back and breast (1740-41). The lady is there in order to Sir Gawain and thinks by showing herself naked she will be successful in her attempt. She like her husband is out for their prey. Gawain is like the fox trying to dodge and weave the Lady’s pursuit of him. He was careful to be courteous and avoid uncouthness, / and more so for the sake of his soul should he sin / and be counted a betrayer by the keeper of the castle (1773-75).
Gawain is successful in his refusal of the Lady’s sexual advances, but she insists on giving him a gift. She first tries to give him a gold ring but he refuses to take it. She insists that Gawain takes her girdle. Her tells Gawain, “You refuse my ring because you find it too fine, / and don’t care to be deeply indebted to me; / so I give you my girdle, a lesser thing to gain” (1827-29). He accepts the girdle because it has the magical property to protect him. He needed this because he soon faced the Green Knight. He conceals the girdle from King Bertilak. Sir Gawain is forced to meet with the Green Knight and uphold his part of the agreement. He wears the girdle he received from the Lady because it has the ability to protect him from the Green Knight. The time has come to face the Green Knight and when he does, he is tested by him. On the first two swings, of the axe, the Green Knight stops his swing. He is testing Gawain and making sure he won’t flinch again. On the third swing the axe strikes Gawain on the neck. He is unharmed due to the magical girdle he received.
Finally, each of the three swing of the axe are parallel with the three hunting scenes and the three bedroom scenes. Even though Sir Gawain did not exchange the girdle with the King, he also didn’t commit adultery, with the Lady, so he was only injured instead of killed. The animals represent the Lady’s attempts in trying to seduce Sir Gawain. Even though he did not commit adultery, he felt ashamed of what happened. He decided to wear the girdle as a sign of his weakness. It was worn to show that even the strongest of men have flaws of their own.