Common day women have experienced a rise in power in their roles within films and novels as well as their roles within society as a whole. Unfortunately, the women of old weren’t held in such esteem. Their roles in literature were too often simply a branch of their husbands or fathers, no more important than property to be controlled or claimed. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain is the main character being portrayed. Despite this, it is the women of the tale who hold power over the men as opposed to the reverse. Lady Bertilak becomes his temptation and Morgan le Faye becomes the mastermind of the plot against him. Accordingly, while the characters that are given the majority of attention by the author of Morte Darther are male,
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He is ushered into their home with welcome arms and given the hospitality and reverence deserved to him as a Knight of King Arthur’s round table. At dinner, Sir Gawain is captured by the beauty of Lady Bertilak claiming that, “ her face, her flesh, her complexion, her quality, her bearing, her body, more glorious than Guinevere …“ Gawain is unaware that the lady will soon be his undoing. The lady’s role in this tale is that of a temptress and Gawain is forced to defend himself from her seductions three nights in a row. On the third night she manages to tempt Gawain to keep her gift of a green girdle, a gift that is owed to Lord Bertilak in light of their agreement. When Gawain takes his leave of the castle and confronts the Green Knight, he is delivered two swings of the axe that don’t find their mark. On the third swing, Gawain is nicked by the blade, but the true damage is the information he is dealt. Gawain is struck during the third swing due to the fact that he has allowed dishonor to taint him. Instead of returning the girdle to Bertilak like Gawain should have done, he retained possession of the article in order to save his own neck, believing it would protect him from harm. It is in this way that Gawain was conquered by the wiles of a woman. Lady Bertilak is given a role of great importance in this
He is ushered into their home with welcome arms and given the hospitality and reverence deserved to him as a Knight of King Arthur’s round table. At dinner, Sir Gawain is captured by the beauty of Lady Bertilak claiming that, “ her face, her flesh, her complexion, her quality, her bearing, her body, more glorious than Guinevere …“ Gawain is unaware that the lady will soon be his undoing. The lady’s role in this tale is that of a temptress and Gawain is forced to defend himself from her seductions three nights in a row. On the third night she manages to tempt Gawain to keep her gift of a green girdle, a gift that is owed to Lord Bertilak in light of their agreement. When Gawain takes his leave of the castle and confronts the Green Knight, he is delivered two swings of the axe that don’t find their mark. On the third swing, Gawain is nicked by the blade, but the true damage is the information he is dealt. Gawain is struck during the third swing due to the fact that he has allowed dishonor to taint him. Instead of returning the girdle to Bertilak like Gawain should have done, he retained possession of the article in order to save his own neck, believing it would protect him from harm. It is in this way that Gawain was conquered by the wiles of a woman. Lady Bertilak is given a role of great importance in this