Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Character Analysis

The Canterbury Tales, including “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, was written by Geoffrey Chaucer during the late middle ages, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a middle English chivalric romance set in the mythical Arthurian court that is thought to be written by the “Pearl Poet”. They both present women who defy expectations and standards by being strong, independent, and, in some ways, manipulative. Societal views of all sorts experienced drastic shifts in English culture after the Norman Invasion brought about a rise in courtly behaviors. Through literature, language, and religion, the British people began to move from paganism and the warrior culture’s feudal system to Christianity and chivalry. Perhaps the most affected by these new ideals were women. The representation of the women in the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” has many similarities to the women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but the clear differences in these women’s social, sexual, and legal abilities from that of the common expectations are significant to both the era and the development of female independence.
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is not only about, but also told by a representative of strong women living outside the roles of the time. The Wife of Bath receives special attention in The Canterbury Tales. Although she is satirized, the wealthy …show more content…
The female characters in Sir Gawain and The Kreen Knight are of royal blood as opposed to the Wife of Bath and her tale’s loathly lady who are self made; the Lady Bertilak is viewed as beautiful and good as opposed to the Wife of Bath whose reputation is tainted by impurity. Other differences, include the Wife of Bath’s open confidence in contrast to Lady Bertilak 's subtle advances toward Gawain that are similar to the loathly lady’s backhanded method to win a