Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Women

Early in the poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain treats women with dignity, respect, and courtesy. By the end of the poem, Sir Gawain has a very negative perception of women and their role in society. This drastic change occurs as Sir Gawain is tricked by the Green Knight’s wife, he feels betrayed and embarrassed. Sir Gawain blames his shortcomings and failure of loyalty on the cunning nature of women, this explanation of women greatly contradicts the way Sir Gawain viewed women before he was caught being disloyal. This significant shift in the way Sir Gawain views women raises an interesting question of what role he truly believes women play in society’s power dynamic. The power women hold over men in this poem is unforeseen …show more content…
Sir Gawain’s treatment of women early in the poem invites the reader to assume that he has utmost respect for women. When Sir Gawain is introduced to the women at the castle near the green chapel, he greets the older woman with a respectful, long, low bow, and holds the wife and “kisses her respectfully and [speaks] with courtesy” (ll. 974). This chivalrous greeting represents Sir Gawain’s perception of women and how they should be treated, as he believes at the beginning of the poem. Bowing when greeting the older women is a sign of respect and addressing her before addressing the younger woman shows that he recognizes the structure of the relationship. Showing respect and speaking courteously to the wife and older woman depicts that Sir Gawain views women as being worthy of respect and honor. As the wife continues to make advances toward Sir Gawain, he continues to deny them until he feels he has potentially failed her. Fearful failing such a beautiful woman, he is manipulated into kissing her. The depth of manipulation goes unnoticed by Sir Gawain as he continually …show more content…
These examples of great men being weakened by women portrays that he is trying to create a sense of reasoning behind why he was also tricked by a woman. This perspective of the reasons these men were proved to have weaknesses puts all the blame on the women for being deceiving rather than blaming the men for being weak. Although Sir Gawain is a well-respected knight, one whom was known for being chivalrous and courteous, he was lied to and manipulated by a woman which puts him in the same category as these other great men, in Gawain’s eyes. Recognizing that women hold unique power over men and an ability to manipulate them in ways that are incredibly witty, Sir Gawain goes on to look at this attribute as being negative simply because it puts men at a disadvantage in society’s power dynamic. Before this incident, Sir Gawain never focused on the downfalls of women, he always regarded them very highly. As soon as he was personally impacted by the power women can hold over men, he was suddenly on the side of all other men who have ever been deceived. Despite Sir Gawain being such a highly regarded knight, he was deceived by a woman and his power and prestige is now at