When looking back on medieval times, romance was at its peak. Chivalry was apparent in this time and men courted ladies in such a way that rivals romance today. Knights devote their lives to only one lady, which is something women desire today. In today’s society, men use sex for love and don’t call girls back after the first date. Men aren’t held to the same standards today in comparison to medieval times and it’s quite a tragedy. Women were also different back in medieval times. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, there were two types of women that the knights devoted to, the damsel in distress and the enchantress. The knights would either save the damsel and live happily ever after or be tricked by the enchantress. All in all, romance is
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Romantic heroes had to be the best heroes because of their inner drive and larger than life personalities. These heroes strive to make the world a better place and dedicate it all to their lady. These heroes originated in the 12th century and the themes of these stories centered around love and honor. The structure of these stories have the knight first in court and then the knight gets a challenge and has to travel for an adventure. The knights usually learn some type of life lesson and either save the damsel or gets caught up with the enchantress. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is portrayed as the romantic hero. Although he doesn’t devote his quest to a lady, he does get tricked by an enchantress by the green knight. In the story Gawain admitted about the grindle, “by confessing your feelings you are free from fault and have openly paid penance at the point of my axe” (unknown, 185), and the green knight spared his life. Gawain learns his lesson and grows from his mistakes, which makes him a greater romantic hero. Romantic heroes are known for sincerity which Gawain portrayed in the story. Gawain shows courtesy, something he’s known for, to the lady and treats her with uttermost respect. This is what sets the romantic hero apart from today’s men. Today’s men aren’t like romantic heroes because they aren’t as humble and don’t treat women in the same manner. Gawain …show more content…
The enchantress distracts the hero from his task and in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the enchantress succeeds in her task. She uses magic to sway Gawain causing him become dishonest towards her husband. In modern day society, we don’t have magic that’s tied into distracting men. Romance in today’s society involves women trying to distract men from their goals using different tactics. Women could use money, power, and lust to distract men from their ambitions and in most cases, it does succeed. In stories like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, romance doesn’t appear to suffer to the tricks of the enchantress due to the happy ending. The enchantress tries to, “offer him a ring of rich, red gold….but he would not accept it” because he did not want to take advantage of her (Unknown, 174). Gawain stays true to his integrity when she offers him gifts and only took the girdle when concerned for his safety. Gawain learns his lesson and for the time being, everyone stays safe. The book gives a happy ending from the enchantress, but in real life, this isn’t usually the case. Romance suffers from enchantresses all over the globe and breaks up many relationships. The Enchantress in the story played a part in the plot of the Queen’s downfall, but didn’t succeed and the same can’t be said about the 21st century. Sadly, women and men have slowly ruined the sacred illusion of
Romantic heroes had to be the best heroes because of their inner drive and larger than life personalities. These heroes strive to make the world a better place and dedicate it all to their lady. These heroes originated in the 12th century and the themes of these stories centered around love and honor. The structure of these stories have the knight first in court and then the knight gets a challenge and has to travel for an adventure. The knights usually learn some type of life lesson and either save the damsel or gets caught up with the enchantress. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is portrayed as the romantic hero. Although he doesn’t devote his quest to a lady, he does get tricked by an enchantress by the green knight. In the story Gawain admitted about the grindle, “by confessing your feelings you are free from fault and have openly paid penance at the point of my axe” (unknown, 185), and the green knight spared his life. Gawain learns his lesson and grows from his mistakes, which makes him a greater romantic hero. Romantic heroes are known for sincerity which Gawain portrayed in the story. Gawain shows courtesy, something he’s known for, to the lady and treats her with uttermost respect. This is what sets the romantic hero apart from today’s men. Today’s men aren’t like romantic heroes because they aren’t as humble and don’t treat women in the same manner. Gawain …show more content…
The enchantress distracts the hero from his task and in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the enchantress succeeds in her task. She uses magic to sway Gawain causing him become dishonest towards her husband. In modern day society, we don’t have magic that’s tied into distracting men. Romance in today’s society involves women trying to distract men from their goals using different tactics. Women could use money, power, and lust to distract men from their ambitions and in most cases, it does succeed. In stories like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, romance doesn’t appear to suffer to the tricks of the enchantress due to the happy ending. The enchantress tries to, “offer him a ring of rich, red gold….but he would not accept it” because he did not want to take advantage of her (Unknown, 174). Gawain stays true to his integrity when she offers him gifts and only took the girdle when concerned for his safety. Gawain learns his lesson and for the time being, everyone stays safe. The book gives a happy ending from the enchantress, but in real life, this isn’t usually the case. Romance suffers from enchantresses all over the globe and breaks up many relationships. The Enchantress in the story played a part in the plot of the Queen’s downfall, but didn’t succeed and the same can’t be said about the 21st century. Sadly, women and men have slowly ruined the sacred illusion of