Sir Gawain: Motivation Of The Chivalric Ideal

Sir Gawain struggles between the pull of self-preservation and the motivation of the Chivalric Ideal. Gawain’s trek to find the Green Knight is long and arduous, and the constant cold and dampness shrouds his body and mind in anguish. The continual torment of the elements weakens his originally extrinsically motivated chivalry and pushes him towards the animalistic instinct of self-preservation. In the wild, Gawain was stripped of all extrinsic motivations for being a selfless knight, and in turn, shifted toward basic instincts. Then occurs the transition from the harsh climate of midwinter to Hautdesert’s castle’s warm welcome, signifying the transition from self-preservation to a rebirth of passion for the Chivalric Ideal. The castle allows Gawain to rebuild what he represents as a Knight of the Round Table, for it gives Gawain challenges of virtue

By being surrounded by only primitive beings, Sir Gawain is forced to think only for himself, and thus becomes severely aware that he is, “In peril and pain and predicaments dire,” an uncommon state for him (2.733). Through this stripping of comfort, Gawain is in a position that allows for his core belief of the Chivalric Ideal to be stripped down and rebuilt. Hautdesert and his men initiate this, as shown when they, “loosed from him/ His war-dress of weight and his worthy clothes” (2.861-62). The discarding of his armor and rich robes and his dressing into beautiful robes offered by Hautdesert signifies the shedding of a superficial understanding of chivalry, specifically courage and courtesy, and a redressing of the values through the games Hautdesert proposes. Because of this reemphasis, Gawain passes the Green Knight’s test of his Chivalric