Behind the Pretty Face of Lady Bercelak

721 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The Role of Women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Throughout many medieval tales, women play seemingly minor roles. Most are maidens, mothers, and subordinate to other masculine heroes. Readers and historians understand that medieval women are under control and restricted to their husbands. However, few roles exist in which the female characteristics consist of supernatural/magical powers. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Pearl Poet surreptitiously conceals Lady Bercelak’s vital role; her illustrious beauty, seductiveness, and deceiving nature make Lady Bercelak the most powerful character in this Arthurian legend.
When Sir Gawain meets Lady Bercelak for the first time, the recognition of her beauty is prominent. There are multiple women in all of society that have attractive features, but Lady Bercelak’s beauty is one that cannot be perfectly defined. Sir Gawain explains that she “excels the queen herself” (2.945). Transcending the beauty of Queen Guinevere is unheard of which makes Lady Bercelak already a curious character. Women of astounding allure are usually not the ones to keep it to themselves, but instead lure in multiple men. These women crave to seek the maximum acknowledgement for something so sparse: surrendering beauty. Her splendor not only entices all men of the kingdom, but particularly Sir Gawain. Lady Bercelak is an appealingly, stunning character, and she no doubtfully knows it. Without modest consideration, Lady Bercelak exposes her “bright throat and bosom fair to behold” (2.955). She takes pride in her appearance, and this pride represents her lust and seductiveness. Covertly behind the pretty, innocent, flush face, there is meaning to her beauty that is gradually decoded throughout the poem; these interpretations develop her crucial, in...

... middle of paper ...

...power, no one can outsmart Lady Bercelak.
In conclusion, Lady Bercelak knows above all. The Green Knight seemingly knows everything; however, what is inside his wife’s mind is secluded to her. With beauty, seductiveness, and deceit, Lady Bercelak is a triple threat to anyone who steps inside her bubble, even her husband. Her power is indispensable to what she can accomplish and shows that without her character the poem the magical/supernatural element would be tenuous. After analyzing the text of the Arthurian poem, the reader recognizes that there is always something devilish and enthralling behind the pretty face of Lady Bercelak.

Works Cited

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. The Gawain Poet: complete works: Patience, Cleanness,
Pearl, Saint Erkenwald, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Marie Borroff. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2011. 201-264. Print

Show More
Related

  • Fabric And Jewelery In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    The narrative opens with a holiday feast in King Arthur’s court. The richness of this setting is represented by the decorations surrounding Queen Guenevere described in lines 76-80. “With costly silk curtains, a canopy over,/ Of Toulouse and Turkestan tapestries rich/ All broidered and bordered with the best gems/ Ever brought into Britain, with bright pennies/ to pay.” These lines also symbolize the queen’s role in the poem of a stately symbol of chivalric Camelot and as a female ideal. In this setting women are all around, but Guenevere is positioned above them and is surrounded by expensive, beautiful things. She is clearly made superior.

    Read More

  • What Are The Similarities Between Lanval And The Wife Of Bath's Tale

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marie de France’s “Lanval” is a brilliantly witty and captivating narrative poem—one illustrating a knight’s unyielding honor and loyalty to his king as well as his enduring chivalric devotion to the woman he loves. Written in the twelfth century, amidst a time when women were looked down upon and considered useless and unnecessary, Marie’s portrayal of a knight needing to be rescued by his female lover breathes comic irony into this otherwise misogynistic and antifeminist world. In addition to this cleverly depicted romance, a further literary work, Geoffrey Chaucer’s early fifteenth century “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” extends its own explicitly satirical outlook

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain: The Quest of Reason

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    The poem’s intricately balanced structure challenges the reader to seek out a resolution coherent with his or her own ethics. An admirable knight of King Arthur's renowned court, Sir Gawain is directed by a complex set of ethos, a collaboration of principles symbolized by the mystical pentangle. A five-pointed star composed of five interlocking lines; the figure represents a multitude of guiding tenets, representing both religious and knightly ideals. One can recognize that “the pentangle cognizance is explicated by the poet to signal Gawain’s complete Christian perfection, and for the reader to be aware of contemporary concerns about magical protective practices, hinting at human frailty” (Hardman 251).

    Read More

  • Misogyny in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

    1808 Words  | 4 Pages

    Women were always viewed as weak, dependent, and powerless in the Middle Ages. Not only is it a common view during that time period, but this also is often stereotyped labeled to women today as well. In the romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the hatred of women is portrayed throughout. However, while women are certainly looked down upon, they also are influential to the knights. This romance also portrays how a woman having different characteristics, could change the way she was viewed as well. Although women in the Middle Ages appeared to lack power, the women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have a hidden influence over the men and actually drive the action of the medieval romance.

    Read More

  • Women's Roles in Epic of Gilgamesh, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales

    1479 Words  | 3 Pages

    Changing Women's Roles in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Canterbury Tales

    Read More

  • Growth and Maturation in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Iwein

    2348 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Arthurian legends of Iwein and Gawain and the Green Knight are two examples of the medieval initiation story: a tale in which a character, usually in puberty or young adulthood, leaves home to seek adventures and, in the process, maturity. Through the course of their adventures, including a meeting with the man of the wilderness, temptations at the hands of women, and a permanent physical or mental wounding, the character grows from adolescent awkwardness and foolishness to the full potential knightly honor. While both Arthurian legends fit this format, the depth of character development, specifically in terms of relationships, is vastly different. Whereas Gawain and the Green Knight does little more with relationships than demonstrate the evils of female temptations, Iwein effectively explores the formation, destruction, and resurrection of numerous male and female relationships.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles: Men and Women from the Anglo-Saxon to the Renaissance Era Part 1

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” Element of Literature, Sixth Course. Austin: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, 1997. 161-172. Print.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Analysis

    2165 Words  | 5 Pages

    All three of the main women’s roles are marginalized and reduced in importance, the entire plot of the poem rests on Morgan le Fay, who is introduced at the end of the play with a handful of lines, Lady Bertilak, who is reduced to how the men around her feel about her, and Guenevere, who is another extremely important character mentioned only in a few lines. Morgan le Fay is the single most important character in SGGK. Even though she is an absolutely vital character, she is named exactly once. It is at the end of the poem that the Green Knight (Lord Bertilak) reveals to Sir Gawain that everything in the poem, from the main challenge to the smaller tests, was Morgan’s idea and should be credited to her ingenuity and magic (SGGK, l. 2445-2470). Part of

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

    1450 Words  | 3 Pages

    Markman, Alan M. "The Meaning of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Modern Language Association 72.4 (1957): 574-86. JSTOR. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Beowulf

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beowulf is an epic tale written over twelve hundred years ago. In the poem, several different female characters are introduced, and each woman possesses detailed and unique characteristics. The women in Beowulf are portrayed as strong individuals, each of whom has a specific role within the poem. Some women are cast as the cup-bearers and gracious hostesses of the mead halls, such as Wealhtheow and Hygd, while others, Grendel's mother, fulfill the role of a monstrous uninvited guest. The woman's role of the time period, author's attitude, and societal expectations for women are evidenced throughout the poem.

    Read More

  • The Anchoress of England: Julian of Norwich's Portrait of Christ as Mother

    2558 Words  | 6 Pages

    8[8] Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Marie Borroff. Norton Anthology of British Literature Vol. 1, New York: WW Norton, 1993.

    Read More

  • Morgan Le Fay Personality

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green knight, one of the fourteenth century Middle English alliterative romances told a story of a beheading game which was used to highlight the importance of honor, chivalry and masculinity. The poem, being one of the Arthurian stories, introduced the character of Morgan le Fay who sets the story in motion (by sending the green knight) by wanting to humiliate Arthur’s court and frighten his wife Guinevere. Morgan Le fay’s Character set a story that survived years and is still revered to be one of the best poems. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Morgan le Fay redefines how masculinity is viewed during the Arthurian period.

    Read More

  • Social Class Distinction in Sir Gawain and the Green knight

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Sir Gawain and the Green knight” is a romantic Middle English poem written in the fourteenth century by an unknown author. This poem is a fairy-tale like story that gives its readers a glimpse into the social class system of Medieval England. This literary work opens with the famous King Arthur, a local bishop, and King Arthur’s knights enjoying a royal feast at Camelot during the Christmas season. This poem provides an accurate depiction of the feudal system of the middle ages. Within this tale are individuals representing the “pyramid of power” that symbolizes the social class system of Medieval England. This top of the pyramid group consists of royalty, clergy and noble knights.

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

    1606 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Sixth Edition, Volume One. General Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: Norton, 1993.

    Read More

  • Role of Women in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight and The Wife of Bath’s Tale

    1648 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the Middle Ages, the roles of women became less restricted and confined and women became more opinionated and vocal. Sir Gawain and The Green Knight presents Lady Bertilak, the wife of Sir Bertilak, as a woman who seems to possess some supernatural powers who seduces Sir Gawain, and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath Prologue and Tale, present women who are determined to have power and gain sovereignty over the men in their lives. The female characters are very openly sensual and honest about their wants and desires. It is true that it is Morgan the Fay who is pulling the strings in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; nevertheless the Gawain poet still gives her a role that empowers her. Alison in The Wife if Bath Prologue represents the voice of feminism and paves the way for a discourse in the relationships between husbands and wives and the role of the woman in society.

    Read More

More about Behind the Pretty Face of Lady Bercelak

Open Document