Sir Gawain And The Green Knight Women Essay

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The late fourteenth century chivalric romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, like many other works of its time, is centered around the male narrative. In the poem, women are depicted conventionally as either objects of faith and beauty or seductive and cunning temptresses. Because women are objectified and typecast in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, female characters exert influence by manipulating men and inverting gender relations; in addition, by proving that women are capable and powerful, the Pearl Poet satirizes medieval society’s ignorance in perceiving women as mere stereotypes. In the world of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Pearl Poet conveys the medieval view of women by portraying them as objects and seductresses, thus providing context for how women exert influence. The first female character presented, Queen Guenevere, is completely identified by appearance without any indication of her personality, contributing to a two dimensional and objectified portrayal of her character. Furthermore, her placement “on a dais well-decked” among expensive weavings and jewels assimilates Guenevere as another rare commodity, emphasizing her status as merely an item on display (SGGK 1:75). Similarly, the Virgin Mary serves as a representation of protection and luck for Gawain, and …show more content…
Through the depictions of Guenevere, the Virgin Mary, Lady Bertilak, and Morgan le Fay, the Pearl Poet offers a strong support for the acknowledgement of women’s power and recognition of women as individuals, a remarkably modern idea of medieval times. Finally, through expressing these ideas in a chivalric poem, the Pearl Poet calls for action to be done to improve the role and perception of women in medieval
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