An archetypal analysis of Gawains quest reveals some significant changes that occur in the hero’s character. Throughout the quest, Sir Gawain is put through various challenges, some of which he has no knowledge of having taken place. If we focus our attention to the exposition we can see that Sir Gawain is the physical manifestation of Chivalry and the state it is in.
Joseph Campbell reflects: “The hero of yesterday becomes the tyrant of tomorrow unless he crucifies himself today.” in his literary work “The Hero With A Thousand Faces”, this piece will be referenced throughout this essay. The reason for the usage of this quote is for the fact of the outcome of “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight”. A summary of the story goes along the line of Good guy accepts …show more content…
Gawain had promised the man he would return anything given to him, this calls for Gawain to greet him with kisses every time the Hostess Wife delivers him one. Gawain holds up his end of the deal until death seems as a possible outcome. With this idea in mind, Gawain loses his ethics and is dishonorable not only to the host but also everything he has sworn to. From an outside perspective, we can view the breaking point of our protagonist and what makes him such a dynamic character in the story, even if he is shown in a negative light. The fault in Sir Gawain shows that there is a fault in the system as a whole when the physical representation of honor fails it presents a dramatic step in any literary work. So forth the representation of Sir Gawain failing and going back to Camelot and being held in high esteem by colleagues is the representation of the Chivalry failing as well not only in the sense of most men failing their sole duties, but the appreciation of false gods. It is estimated that “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” was written in the late fourteenth century.
Joseph Campbell reflects: “The hero of yesterday becomes the tyrant of tomorrow unless he crucifies himself today.” in his literary work “The Hero With A Thousand Faces”, this piece will be referenced throughout this essay. The reason for the usage of this quote is for the fact of the outcome of “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight”. A summary of the story goes along the line of Good guy accepts …show more content…
Gawain had promised the man he would return anything given to him, this calls for Gawain to greet him with kisses every time the Hostess Wife delivers him one. Gawain holds up his end of the deal until death seems as a possible outcome. With this idea in mind, Gawain loses his ethics and is dishonorable not only to the host but also everything he has sworn to. From an outside perspective, we can view the breaking point of our protagonist and what makes him such a dynamic character in the story, even if he is shown in a negative light. The fault in Sir Gawain shows that there is a fault in the system as a whole when the physical representation of honor fails it presents a dramatic step in any literary work. So forth the representation of Sir Gawain failing and going back to Camelot and being held in high esteem by colleagues is the representation of the Chivalry failing as well not only in the sense of most men failing their sole duties, but the appreciation of false gods. It is estimated that “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” was written in the late fourteenth century.