Homosexuality In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight And Huntress

Fantasy literature is often used as a template for authors to showcase their personal views on things like sexuality and race. When it comes to homosexuality in fantastic literature, it has always been present. In early works, however, homosexuality was often masked with innuendos. The texts Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Huntress by Malinda Lo (2011) are two prime examples of fantasy, both past and present, that use homosexuality as a way to further their plot line. It is appropriate to compare these two stories, because they follow a somewhat similar storyline that uses homosexuality/ homoeroticism to enhance the story itself, albeit they each do it in a vastly different manner. These differing presentations help to showcase how the representation of homosexuality in fantastic literature has changed over time as well as how male versus female same sex relationships are presented in fantastic literature.

In the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, there is a strong underlying sense of homoeroticism.

This homoeroticism is first displayed when Sir Gawain must kiss Bertilak. Right before the kiss takes place, the Lord calls all of the dames and damsels in the castle around to watch their exchange of “gifts.” After the two men exchange their first kiss, the only comment comes from Bertilak, saying “now tell me where you won this same wealth by the wits you possess” (SGGK 77). Gawain responds by reminding Bertilak that he is not required to tell the Lord how he won his prize, he is only required to exchange what he won with the lord. Their on looking audience does not seem to have any sort of opinion: this lack of reaction can lead the modern reader to be somewhat puzzled. In his article “Sodomy, Misogyny, and Displacement: Occluding Queer Desire in ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,’” David Boyd claims that medieval readers would have been more familiar with this odd love triangle that Gawain is forced into. He goes on to say that “such triangulation is also not an uncommon device for employing apparently heterosexual situations and temptation as a means through which homosexual activity (and desire) can manifest themselves” (Boyd 80). By this, Boyd is saying that what a modern reader may perceive as odd or homoerotic, was typical to the romances of medieval times.
Despite Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s seemingly comedic display of homoeroticism, there does appear to be a less humorous reason that the author would choose to implement homosexuality as a plot device.

Carolyn Dinshaw writes about her views on this display of homoeroticism in her article “A Kiss Is Just a Kiss: Heterosexuality and Its Consolations in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” Disnshaw claims that by using “heterosexuality's powers of normativity…the poem both produces the possibility of homosexual relations and renders them unintelligible” (Dinshaw 206). She goes on to say that the poem produces and precludes homosexuality “in order to establish heterosexuality as not just the only sexual legitimacy but a principle of intelligibility itself” (Dinshaw 206). By this, she is claiming that SGGK uses the homoerotic tension between these two men as a way to emphasize the importance of heterosexuality. Similar to the claim of Dinshaw, David Boyd

writes:
The Lady's sexual temptation implicitly threatens to position Gawain in a triangular relationship where (hetero)sex with Bertilak's wife would also entail (homo)sex with Bertilak. Gawain would not only pervert the homosocial relationship with the lord into a homosexual one but, just as being hunted and entrapped by the Lady manipulates him into a position traditionally assigned to the courtly female, would also force him into a passive sexual role—a castrating and feminizing role. (81)
This passage shows that if the Lady had been successful in seducing Gawain—forcing him to sleep with Bertilak—then not only would the gloriousness that is heterosexuality be destroyed, but Gawain’s masculinity would also be compromised.
Brief summary of Huntress by Malinda Lo: In the beginning of this story, it is discovered that the Fairy Queen has sent an invitation inviting King Cai of Cathair to her side of the border between the lands. This is quite shocking to the humans, since neither group of beings had ventured, or even been invited to venture, into the other’s borders in centuries. Since their kingdom is in utter turmoil, people are starving and civil wars are occurring, King Cai agrees that a meeting should be made with the Fairy Queen, but he will not go himself. It is decided that two young girls studying to become sages, Kaede and Taisin, along with Prince Con and three guards will make the long journey to the fairy kingdom, Taninli. While on this journey, the small group of wanderers encounter many mystical forces which end up killing two of the guards, while severely injuring the third, forcing the group to leave her behind. Throughout their journey, Kaede and Taisin begin to fall in love, though they do not act upon their love until the end of the journey is nearing. Once the remaining three reach the Fairy Queen, she informs them that the force destroying both the fairy and human world is her half-breed daughter, Elowen. She then goes on to tell them that Kaede is the only one who can kill her, and she must. However, after killing the queen’s daughter, things do not return to the way they should. They find out that killing the half-breed is killing a part of the Fairy Queen. If the queen dies, then her kingdom as well as the rest of the world will also begin to die. In order to save the Fairy Queen, and the world, Kaede must venture out alone to be judged for innocence by the Unicorn. If he decides that she has an innocent soul, which he rarely decides, then she will be allowed to drain his blood, which will bring the Fairy Queen back to health. The Unicorn sees that Kaede’s soul is pure and she saves everyone. The humans form a new treaty with the Fay, allowing either species to enter each kingdom as they pleased, restoring balance to the world. At the end of their journey, Taisin and Kaede end their short affair so that Taisin may become a sage, for a sage must remain celibate.
In this story, there is a canon homosexual relationship presented from the very beginning. The relationship between these two girls is explicitly stated, leaving no room for the ever common heteronormative argument “they are just good friends.” The readers are told at the beginning of the story that Taisin and Kaede are destined to fall in love. This is shown when Taisin has a vision where “someone there was climbing into a rowboat, and she knew that she loved this person” (Lo 9). Later in this vision, Taisin realizes that it is Kaede she sees in the rowboat. When awaking from the vision, Taisin is not terrified of the idea of loving another woman, rather, she is afraid that loving someone will prevent her from being marked as a sage. The characters are living in a society that does not disparage or even doubt same sex relationships. Homosexuality in this book is presented as being completely natural.
Furthermore, Lo uses this same sex relationship as a way to further the plot of her story. At times, the only thing that is keeping Kaede and Taisin continuing on their journey is their love for one another. This is shown when Kaede is starting to doubt her ability to kill Elowen, but Taisin reassures her, saying “when you need my help, I will be there for you” (Lo 211). This support from Taisin is enough to convince Kaede to finish their mission. Additionally, the fact that only the audience is aware of their shared attraction for a large portion of the story creates a sort of suspense that makes the reader curious as to what will come of their relationship, thus, keeping the audience enthralled.
Incidentally, these two stories display a difference between how male and female homosexuality is presented in many works of fantasy. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, male homosexuality is displayed as an act that will cause one of the men to be submissive, thus making him less masculine. Additionally, this story uses a woman as a medium through which the homoeroticism emerges. As Boyd puts it, the Lady becomes an object “through which homosexual acts proceed and queer desire is channeled” (Boyd 81). This helps to show that this story presents a relationship between two men as completely unnatural, and it cannot even be hinted at without sexualizing a woman in the process. In Huntress, none of the characters question the same sex relationship between Taisin and Kaede. This relationship is presented as being supported and welcomed; this is not always the case, however. Phyllis Betz writes that “what differentiates lesbian fantasy from main stream novels is the emphasis on sexuality and sexual identity; being different from other members of one’s family or society is the hallmark of the lesbian fantasy text” (Betz 117). She then goes on to say that regardless of the story’s narrative, the protagonist must have an internal struggle where she comes to an understanding of her sexual orientation. In Huntress, even though none of the characters are ever required to come to some sort of sexual resolution, there is an emphasis on both gay characters being different from their families. Kaede is defiant and rejects her father’s ideals; Taisin is much more talented than her family members, causing her to not belong in their small town farm.
*insert brief overview of how the representation of homosexuality in fantastic literature has changed over time*
Ultimately, homosexuality has and always will be a prevalent part of fantasy literature. As time has progressed, authors have started to create more explicitly canon homosexual relationships, rather than using innuendos to hide these relationships. Comparing the stories Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Huntress makes it easy to see the different ways that homosexual relationships can be displayed in literature. This comparison also helps to showcase how homosexuality in fantastic literature has changed over time as well as the differences between the representation of male and female same sex relationships.