Throughout Medieval times, women have been thought to be the cause of problems for men. Also, there are examples from the Bible, in which it is evident that this statement may be true. This thought is displayed in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by Pearl Poet and translated by Jessie L. Weston. Although Sir Gawain survived the challenge, he feels that he has lost the battle with the Green Knight. He tells the Green Knight that his downfall and of all mankind’s problems can be blamed on women. Gawain placing the blame of his downfall on women is an accurate yet fallacious argument.
To begin with, when Sir Gawain is speaking with the Green Knight, he gives proof of his belief by listing women from the Bible who brought death and …show more content…
women led to the downfall of Sir Gawain. In his experience, Gawain’s downfall was caused by two women. Lady Bernlak, the Green Knight’s wife, deceived Gawain and was an accomplice of her husband and Morgan Le Fay, who set up this test. Lady Bernlak led to his downfall because she seduced him, trying to take away his purity. She does this when she goes into his bedroom, “she shut the door softly behind her, and turned towards the bed, and Gawain was ashamed, laid him down softly and made as if he slept.” (Weston 13) To add on, she seduces him when she gives him her ring and the girdle. Sir Gawain did not accept the ring although he did accept the girdle. He did this for the reason that Lady Bernlak told him that he would be protected from death and any danger. “With that she reached him a ring of red gold with a sparkling stone therein, that shone even with the sun.” (19) After Gawain accepted the girdle, he did not reveal this to the Green Knight because he was planning on using the girdle for the challenge so that he would live. This led to his destruction because he disobeyed his code of chivalry and was not completely honest. Although he was ashamed of this, the Green Knight knows that he did not reveal the girdle for his love of life. Morgan Le Fay was also part of his downfall because she was the one who set up the challenge to test Gawain’s honesty to destroy Arthur’s court. if Morgan had not set this up, Gawain would not have gone through all of this. In
To begin with, when Sir Gawain is speaking with the Green Knight, he gives proof of his belief by listing women from the Bible who brought death and …show more content…
women led to the downfall of Sir Gawain. In his experience, Gawain’s downfall was caused by two women. Lady Bernlak, the Green Knight’s wife, deceived Gawain and was an accomplice of her husband and Morgan Le Fay, who set up this test. Lady Bernlak led to his downfall because she seduced him, trying to take away his purity. She does this when she goes into his bedroom, “she shut the door softly behind her, and turned towards the bed, and Gawain was ashamed, laid him down softly and made as if he slept.” (Weston 13) To add on, she seduces him when she gives him her ring and the girdle. Sir Gawain did not accept the ring although he did accept the girdle. He did this for the reason that Lady Bernlak told him that he would be protected from death and any danger. “With that she reached him a ring of red gold with a sparkling stone therein, that shone even with the sun.” (19) After Gawain accepted the girdle, he did not reveal this to the Green Knight because he was planning on using the girdle for the challenge so that he would live. This led to his destruction because he disobeyed his code of chivalry and was not completely honest. Although he was ashamed of this, the Green Knight knows that he did not reveal the girdle for his love of life. Morgan Le Fay was also part of his downfall because she was the one who set up the challenge to test Gawain’s honesty to destroy Arthur’s court. if Morgan had not set this up, Gawain would not have gone through all of this. In