Past literature and misogynistic tendencies almost seem to go hand in hand in history. The patriarchal hierarchy of society throughout time has influenced published works and people from the lower classes up to influential leaders. Evidence of this is found in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by an unknown author. The sparse representation of women and the limited character traits they possess in the work reflect the ideas of the unknown poet and the popular mindset of the Middle Ages.
The character traits of the three women in the poem are few and far between and are mostly one dimensional. Bertilak’s wife, the most prevalent female character, mainly attempts to seduce Gawain on a daily basis during his stay at the castle. When Bertilak’s wife pursues Sir Gawain one morning, she is adamant in her seduction, she urges, “Nay, for sooth, fair sir. [...] / you shall not go from your bed! I will govern you better: / here fast shall I enfold you” (“Sir Gawain” 174). In the work, Bertilak’s wife is solely represented as an object of lust and temptation. Her beauty and desirability are her only character traits, even though she is an astute and perceptive debater …show more content…
Actual evidence of the skewed ideals of the past have been recorded, one woman reports, “[...] medieval scholars moved from understanding the Middle Ages as a golden age for women to seeing medieval society and its institutions as vehicles of women's oppression. Historians uncovered evidence of medieval women's declining status and identified a consistent thread of anti-female rhetoric used to support male dominance” (Rieder, 1). Every person is influenced by society and their parents’ teachings, the same goes for the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. They wrote the work as someone who lived through a time where the chivalric code and misogyny twistedly
The character traits of the three women in the poem are few and far between and are mostly one dimensional. Bertilak’s wife, the most prevalent female character, mainly attempts to seduce Gawain on a daily basis during his stay at the castle. When Bertilak’s wife pursues Sir Gawain one morning, she is adamant in her seduction, she urges, “Nay, for sooth, fair sir. [...] / you shall not go from your bed! I will govern you better: / here fast shall I enfold you” (“Sir Gawain” 174). In the work, Bertilak’s wife is solely represented as an object of lust and temptation. Her beauty and desirability are her only character traits, even though she is an astute and perceptive debater …show more content…
Actual evidence of the skewed ideals of the past have been recorded, one woman reports, “[...] medieval scholars moved from understanding the Middle Ages as a golden age for women to seeing medieval society and its institutions as vehicles of women's oppression. Historians uncovered evidence of medieval women's declining status and identified a consistent thread of anti-female rhetoric used to support male dominance” (Rieder, 1). Every person is influenced by society and their parents’ teachings, the same goes for the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. They wrote the work as someone who lived through a time where the chivalric code and misogyny twistedly