Post date: Jan 22, 2017 7:34:26 PM
If I were anyone else I would ignore this but ISTG the covenant between the lord and Gawain is so gay. Like what else was Gawain going to obtain within the castle other than a kiss?? a rug??? I keep reading the lady's description of "gay" and see her as like a gay fairy godmother who's trying to get Gawain to realize his non straightness.
Actual Post below the Gwaine.
While reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight it's interesting to see how the two main women, Morgan le Fay and Lady Bertilak, seem to be the most powerful in the narrative. Morgan le Fay is the sorceress behind the entire game with the Green Knight while Lady Bertilak is in charge of the courtly love affair with Gawain; Gawain is just along for the ride as an almost passive participant who's morals and knightly values are heavily tested.
In one sense, this gives a sense of agency and independence to the women. Morgan le Fay created this enchantment to harm Guinevere and enact revenge on Arthur and co (pg. 112). But at the same time, she is portrayed as an old "beldame" and the dictionary tells me this is a definition for a witch directly related to ugliness and old age (113). She has magical power but no beauty or signs of wealth, just a "sorry sight" (57). In a way, this creates an idea that magic and power corrupt beauty and innocence.
In the same way, the language used to describe the actions of Lady Bertilak creates the idea that she is in the wrong and is taking advantage of Gawain. She is described as "bewitchingly well-mannered" and her courting of Gawain is put in opposition to Mary when Lady Bertilak attempted to seduce Gawain and "peril would have impeded / had Mary not minded her knight" (84, 87). Lady Bertilak's actions are in direct contrast to the holiness and righteousness of Mary. Multiple times Gawain's response is described as forced, he is compelled to act in a way that neither upsets the lady or disgraces himself. This relationship also ultimately tricks Gawain into accepting the Green Girdle, a symbol of Gawain's cowardice when faced with his death.
It's not until after Gawain faces the Green Knight that the audience learns that Lord Bertilak himself wanted his wife to "woo" Gawain. It was a test of Gawain's character and Lady Bertilak was Gawain's "fierce foe" (110). In this we can see that even though Lady Bertilak had power over Gawain, she did so on her husband's orders. It wasn't an act of independent thought but a calculated move.
In this, women who have power over men are demonized or morally ambiguous. Morgan le Fay has no morally right reasons to start the game, nor is she portrayed as a good character, she is instead the behind the scenes antagonist in a sense. Lady Bertilak is portrayed as a corrupting influence on Gawain, as she is compared to figures like Delilah, Eve, and Bathsheba. To be a powerful woman, one can't be morally good or viewed positively. Instead, powerful women are put as oppositions to men and their own stories.