Sir Gawain: Questions for Discussion and Further Research
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain ultimately is forgiven for his lapse in honesty — as his tests were a trick of the anonymous, “elder” woman he saw while at the castle. As you consider the strange events in this tale, also consider what it demonstrates about medieval European culture.
Discuss:
- What is the role of religion in this text? Note the references to Christ, Mary, Christian feast days, and other imagery. What is their function?
- Look up the definition of the term femme fatale. How does the lady of the castle function in this way? Does any aspect of her behavior or situation defy this characterization?
- How does this tale reflect the medieval tradition we call “courtly love”? How does the notion of courtly love compare to our own understandings of marital and/or relationship fidelity? What conditions surrounding love and marriage in medieval Europe — particularly among the upper classes — potentially complicate things?
Do further research:
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- Arthurian legend continues to be popular, as evidenced by a slew of film, TV, and video games themed around knights, Camelot, and/or recognizable characters from the Round Table mythos. But there was another, earlier resurgence of Arthurian nostalgia during the Victorian era, particularly in England. Look up a Victorian text that draws upon Arthurian legend (example: Tennyson’s Idylls of the King or “The Lady of Shalott,” Morris’s “Defence of Guenevere”). How does it compare to the Gawain tale? What major differences do you see? What do these differences tell us about the evolution of ideas about love, duty, or upright behavior, over time?
