Comparing Women In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight comments on the social constructs for males and females through its characters. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that men are superior to women. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the men are judgmental and use women, but do not wield power over them. Rather, the women have immense influence over their male counterparts, which they use to decrease the value of the men through manipulation. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight speaks to the immoral character of both men and women through the treatment of Guenevere, Lady Bercilak, and Morgana Le Fay by Sir Gawain and the lord, and through the way that the men are tricked and criticized by the women.

King Arthur’s wife, “Guenevere the gay” (74), is beautiful and subdued, allowing herself to be used to cover up male weaknesses without protesting. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Guenevere sets the precedent that women are powerless, voiceless, and often used as scapegoats. Arthur is too afraid to admit that he

is intimidated by the Green Knight since that would be a breach of masculinity, so he uses Guenevere to reassure himself and his knights that nothing of the Green Knight’s visit should “disturb” (470) them. This speaks to the corruption among both men and women, as Guenevere lets herself be exploited and does not speak up, and Arthur shamelessly uses another human being to mask his flaws.
Lady Bercilak contrasts with Guenevere; she breaks the stereotype that Guenevere sets up in order to prove that knights are not as upright as they are thought to be. She, too, is beautiful and perpetuates the objectification of women in the poem, but she is a clever strategist, unlike Guenevere. Her mission is to make Gawain break his code of chivalry to prove that the Arthurian elite is not as respectable as it seems. She is not inferior to Gawain; rather, she wields power over him. She uses her “her face, and her body” (1761) to manipulate Gawain, which is not an admirable behavior. Sir Gawain allows himself to fall prey to the schemes of the lady. He disregards his vow of honesty to the lord for a female undergarment that, unbeknownst to him, holds no special power; Gawain selfishly places his own desires above virtue. In addition, the Green Knight uses his wife to trick Gawain, showing that he is not an honorable character either. The lady’s deception, Gawain’s impulsiveness, and the lord’s use of his wife speak to the dishonesty among the characters in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Unlike Guenevere and the lady, Morgana Le Fay is unattractive, which, according to the stereotype introduced by Guenevere, would make her the least worthy of attention; however, she orchestrates the whole test to trick Sir Gawain, which he fails.

Upon meeting her, Gawain ignores “the ancient lady” (1001) once he realizes that there is “better sport” (998) in Lady Bercilak, not thinking that Morgana could be cleverer and more powerful than he. Gawain makes assumptions about people’s worthiness based on their appearance, before even knowing them. Morgana herself does not use her power for good, as she singlehandedly succeeds in lowering the esteem of all of King Arthur and his companions. She gains her magic through sleeping with Merlin, which is not respectable, only to use it to scheme against Arthur and trick men into dishonesty. Gawain’s interaction, or lack thereof, with Morgana, as well as her expression of power, demonstrates the immorality of all characters in the

poem.
Not only are the women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight objectified by the men, but the men, too, are held to standards of beauty that allow them to express their masculinity. The Green Knight is dressed in “birds and butterflies” (164-5), something only a highly impressive man could wear without damaging his pride. When Gawain tries to wear “birds” (610) and “purple flowers” (611), he looks ridiculous because he is not manly enough to wear such feminine symbols. Men criticize each other based on appearance, which is a testimony to the fact they are simply bad people. The women, too, expect men to look a certain way and only choose to engage with those they find attractive enough to be worthy of attention. The beauty standards for men exemplify the judgmental mindsets of all of the characters in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight speaks to the immoral behaviors of both men and women through each gender’s interactions with the other. The men are hypocritical and selfish; the women are manipulative and deceptive. It is not a misogynistic poem as everyone is equal in his or her dishonesty, but it could be seen as one when simply looking at the treatment of the women.