Comparing Women In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight And The Tale Of Gen

Comparison of women’s role in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Tale of Genji Though women in the medieval times are usually helpless and submissive, there are some women who exercise their power, providing a challenge into the stereotypical image of women. Morgan le Fay and Lady Bertilak from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are examples of the women that challenged the stereotypical behavior of women in the medieval period. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is about how Sir Gawain, one of the knight from King Arthur’s Round Table, accepts a challenge from the mysterious Green Knight who challenges any knight to strike him with his axe and he will return the blow in a year. Gawain beheads the Green Knight easily, but the Green Knight

At the end of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain learns that he is tricked by Lady Bertilak; therefore, he gives an anti-feminist speech regarding his thoughts on women. He mentions that “Adam fell because of a woman, and Solomon because of several, and as for Samson, Delilah was his downfall…if only we could love our ladies without believing in their lies” (Gawain). Gawain is implying that women cannot be trusted and trusting women can lead to men’s downfall. Just like Adam in Adam and Eve, Adam trusted Eve so he ate the apple from the tree of wisdom, as a result he was thrown out of the Garden of Eden with Eve. It is not entirely Eve’s fault that Adam got kicked out of the Garden because Adam decided to eat the apple himself and if he really does not want to eat it, on one can force him to. Furthermore, this proves that Lady Bertilak is more than an evil seductress. Instead, she is a skilled conversationalist as she convinced Gawain to kiss her by attacking his weakness, which is the chivalry code, and his good name. She practically forced him to kiss her but she still managed to sound polite. Towards the end of the book, it is shown that Morgan le Fay is the main moving cause of the entire plot. The story transmits “the registers of the feminine text…. Plans initiated by one woman are directed at another, performed by a third, and modulated by

Gawain left Camelot on a quest to find the Green Knight. He saw a castle in the enchanted forest and he was warmly welcomed by the hosts, Lord Bertilak and Lady Bertilak, and they told him to stay for the holidays. The morning after the Christmas feast, “the lord led the hunt, while good Gawain lay slumbering in his sheets, dozing as the daylight dapped the walls, under a splendid cover, enclosed by curtains” (Gawain 752). In the medieval society, men are expected to go on hunts and journeys to prove their masculinity. Gawain chooses to sleep instead of volunteering to go hunting with Lord Bertilak. Hunting is regarded as a masculine activity in Gawain’s society because it is violent and it requires intense physical skills. Sleeping, on the other hand, lacks in action and therefore emphasizes on Gawain’s lack of masculinity. Paralleling Lord Bertilak’s hunting scene is Lady Bertilak’s seduction scene with Gawain. She finally succeeded in seducing Gawain by finding out his weakness, “if he bore it on his body, belted about, there is no hand under heaven that could hew him down, for he could not be killed by any craft on earth” (Gawain 766). Lady Bertilak is assuming the role of the hunter as she tries to seduce Gawain, because it is usually the other way around. By taking the girdle from Lady Bertilak, Gawain is admitting to his weakness. Instead of presenting the girdle