Essay On Gender Roles In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

As we have opinions that vary from person to person, the same can be said for authors. Opinions stem from experiences, external influences, and time periods that span in consistency from blatantly apparent to barely distinguishable. Different authors also varied the roles of their character according to the image they are trying to portray for said character. We can see the different roles in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by an anonymous author known as the Pearl Poet, The Wife of Bath by Geoffrey Chaucer, and possibly the most distinct, The Flea by John Donne. Some might think that in these times there would be a enunciated amount of gender inequality due to the time period but as a matter of fact the tales show more of power dynamics leaning …show more content…
While much is unknown about the Pearl Poet, there are several poems tied to his name that suggest that he is from the fourteenth century when it was evident that London culture was growing to be the center of attention in England. The Poet wrote his stories with women sprinkled here and there to further develop them. He successfully used female roles to begin his story and unravel with the use of Morgan de La Faye and the Lord’s Wife. The wife is almost used as a piece in the game throughout the story by correctly performing the actions she was sent to accomplish, such as offering herself and the green girdle. She is without ties to any other characteristics, readers do not know if she is always unfaithful, if she is weak minded, or just being forced against her will. Morgan Le Fay, her opposite, is described as being hideous, when in all actuality she is a powerful sorceress who is actually pulling the strings to allow any of this to happen. Le Fay has a hatred for King Arthur, while her exact tie to him is unknown as it varies from his sister or half sister to former love, she makes several attacks against King Arthur but this one is sent especially for Queen Guinevere. The Green Knight was initially sent by Le Fay to scare Queen Guinevere to death at King Arthur 's celebration by the same woman who exposes …show more content…
The Wife of Bath is a tale of man who rapes an innocent women and is given a second chance by his Queen. The Queen vows that his life will be spared should he find what it is that women desire most with a year, yet the end of the year is fastly approaching and he can find no true answer. Suddenly, when he is at his most desperate, he pledges himself over to an old lady that vows to save his life with the one true answer: what women most desire is control over their husbands or lovers. With that being said, it was not the outcome for the story at all, while it may involve the decision being given to the hag, in the end the knight still has control of the situation with his own version of living happily ever