Human Perfection In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval romance that demonstrates the rights and wrongs of both the chivalric code and Christian morals as well as the objective of using them as a guideline in everyday life. In the poem, Sir Gawain represents this ideal and so “the pentangle was appropriate to that prince” (Green 623). However, the girdle, along with other situations, challenges the idea of following these codes and if Sir Gawain really is the definition of human perfection that everyone thinks he is. The principle behind this poem is structured around the struggle of: although the poem illustrates Gawain as a model of human virtues through the pentangle, the girdle demonstrates the limitations of human perfection.

The combination of

Christian morals and the chivalric code in the poem is defined through Sir Gawain as an exemplar model who displays Christian principles through the chivalric code. The chivalric code derives from the values of the Christian morals and is an effort to present these values in everyday life through ideal individuals such as knights like Sir Gawain. The distinction between the Christian moral and the chivalric code is necessary to understand and see Gawain’s pentangle as primarily a religious symbol that is afterwards taken up by the chivalric code.
The pentangle is accepted as “a five pointed star [having lines that overlap] and links with the last so is ever eternal [...and] is known by the name of the endless knot” (628-630), it is observed at how the pentangle is a representation and assigned to Gawain as he is “these five sets of five were fixed [to this knight]” (656). The five virtues that the pentangle symbols are a direct representation of what Gawain aspires to be. Furthermore, the virtues that the pentangle symbolize are derived from Christian values (the first four) and the last virtue ties up all the rest to structure them into the perfect knight.
Sir Gawain’s obedience to these virtues is tested throughout the poem. Staying faithful and keeping his deal with the Green Knight, being able to find Bertilak’s castle in the forest and having the privilege of staying at the castle, and resisting the temptation from Bertilak’s wife all three nights. Sir Gawain’s first display of having complete faith in God is when he prays to him so may have “some house where mass might be heart, and matins in the morning”(755-756). He fully places his trust in God as he asks him to “be near [him] in [his] need”(762). This is an example of the immense amount of faith that Sir Gawain had to his religion. Furthermore, by not falling for Bertilak’s wife, Sir Gawain proves himself once again to readers that he is staying true to his duties and remaining faithful to his faith. The pentangle is heavily religious and signifies that the person wielding the shield will be “flawless […], never at fault, […have his strength come from the thought of] the fortitude he found in the five joys which Mary had conceived in her son” (641-647). Because of his capability to hold onto the values that Mary, inside his shield, reminded of he was able to resist the Bertilak’s wife “looking her loveliest” (1187).

Although Sir Gawain has been able to “not succumb” (1776) to Bertilak’s wife’s temptation, his ultimate downfall is when he accepts the “green silk girdle trimmed with gold” from her (1832). Before the girdle, anything she offered Sir Gawain he would politely reply with “I have nothing to give, so nothing will I gain” (1823). However, it is the fact that with the girdle Sir Gawain will be able to cheat death that intrigues him and brings him to his demise. Sir Gawain’s fear of death and, ultimately, his trust in a material object more than his religion and faith and God has him, at first, provokes him to think about how he would “be safe against anyone who seeks to strike him, and all the slyness on earth wouldn’t see him slain”(1853-1854). Sir Gawain’s pride and honour get the best of him as he begins to care too much about battling and whether or not he losses. Furthermore, he no longer wants to uphold and respect the challenge he had accepted from the Green Knight at the beginning of the year. Instead of putting his faith in God as he is supposed to as depicted from the pentangle, he hopes that “with [the] luck [from the green girdle] it might let him escape with his life” (1858). The pentangle calls for the noblest knight to have “his faith […] founded in the five wounds Christ received on the cross”, meaning to fully have their faith and trust grounded in Christ and how he saved this Earth (642-643).
The girdle is a clear representation that everyone, even those whom may seem to be flawless and the perfect image of what everyone should aspire to be, cannot always be as perfect as they may seem. It is evidence of the limitations of human perfection. Gawain is an illustration of despite being known as the “prince who talked the truth: known as the noblest knight” can also make mistakes and have moments weakness. After receiving the girdle, Sir Gawain “did not leave off the lady’s lace girdle; for his own good, [he did not] forget that gift”, all he could think about was all the benefits that could come from the this gift and he did not feel a lot of guilt for not telling Bertilak about it, or for in someway dishonouring the challenge that the Green Knight has said (2030). Even with the plea from Sir Gawain’s servant to “for God’s sake travel an alternate track, ride another road, and be rescued by Christ” Gawain does not turn back and see the error of his ways by trusting the girdle more than in God (2119-2120).
Despite having the girdle be Sir Gawain’s reason for not being able to stay faithful to his vows, he is ultimately not to blame.

The large amounts of values illustrated by the pentangle were upheld despite the temptation. It was because of the chivalric values he had that he did not sleep with Bertilak’s wife. The pressure of having to meet such high standards that everyone set for him were what caused his fear of losing his battle with the Green Knight. Seeing the girdle as an opportunity to return to King Arthur as the same honourable knight that everyone saw him as was not necessarily a negative thing. As said before, the girdle is a representation of the limitations of perfection. The fear of being “christened a coward [something that] could not be excused” was a bigger fear and burden for Sir Gawain, even more than the fear of losing is faith to God (2131). Sir Gawain rather “take [his] chances” than have to return to the kingdom empty handed and full of shame. The flawlessness that Sir Gawain had to his name was technically too good to be true; the girdle proves that there is no one that can resist all temptations, even the noble and faithful Sir Gawain. It is important that Sir Gawain shows that he is “shocked and ashamed” when he learns about the truth of the girdle (2370). It illustrates that although he did take the girdle and was going to use to for less than noble purposes, the fact that he feels shame shows that he does know what he did was wrong. He admits that he did a “terrible [mistake,] and [he] shall bear the blame”(2385-2386). Despite lying and cheating his way to win this challenge, his noble and truthful side still prevails as he admits his wrongdoings. Furthermore, in Christianity it is well known that although people may have sinned, as long as they are able to sincerely repent their sins and know what they have done wrong and try to change, God will ultimately forgive them in the end. The poet is trying to send across that message of the

forgiving side of Christianity, not just the black and white rules that everyone must follow.
This romance illustrates the unification of both Christian morals and chivalric code into one great symbol: the pentangle. With its five overlapping lines, it is a direct metaphor for the chivalric goals of knightly hood that Sir Gawain strives to achieve. Although Sir Gawain faces many trials throughout the poem in order to try and remain true to the codes, the girdle is a representation of how there are boundaries to how far someone is willing to go until they must in the end break or bends their values that they abide by. Sir Gawain, the exemplary model of human virtues, is still able to make mistakes despite all the morals that he represents.