What does it take in order to become a knight of honor? Making sure to satisfy the needs of every person you come into contact with? Protecting your people? Protecting those in Royalty? Doing everything neccessary to live to protect and serve as well as to honor your King?
The life of a knight is clearly not simple. There strength, kind heart, and respect to themselves as well as to those they serve is present. A knight places his life in danger in order to possibly save the life of another. Knights are known for dying with honor, as well as with pride. A knight is willing to lose his life in an instant in order to provide safety for those around them. The list thing that comes to mind when the word knight comes to mind is betrayal. Much less a betrayal to your own King. However, what does it take to know if it is worse to betray your King or if it is worse to betray yourself as well as your own heart?
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain had great respect for his king and did everything possible in order to please as well as to serve him with respect and much honor. In a beheading game, Gawain attempted to behead the Green Knight; however, he was in fact unsuccessful and therefore, he knew that soon the Green Knight would attempt to behead him in return and would most likely be successful.
Almost every knight has a beautiful irresistable women who may or may not be tamed. In the case of Gawain this was no exception. A beautiful women had indeed won his heart; however, being as this women was untamable because she belonged to his oh so honored king, this created a betrayal to his king. Although in a way Gawain was in fact betraying his king with his heart having fallen for a wrongeful women, Gawain still went on a journey which he had to take in order to complete his mission. Although, Gawain had come to the conclusion that death was near for him, it does not change the fact that his love was present for this women which had know created second thoughts about death, these thoughts had created much fear.
This fear soon led Gawain to admit to the Green Knight what it is he had done, and what he felt. This leads me to the conclusion of what truley makes Gawain an honorable knight? Is it the fact that although he greatly was emotionally hurting himself for loving someone he shouldn't he still remained by his kings side? The fact that although, he had become cowardly when it came to death he still went on his journey? Or the fact that he was indeed truthful to the Green Knight? It appears to me that all of those are qualities of a great knight, and although some of his actions are complicated to understand and attempt to analyze, he still performed all the duties expected of a knight.
Which untameable woman are you thinking about here? Lady Bertilak or Guinevere? And does Gawain really have a woman who won his heart, or was he simply manipulated by a beautiful woman? Do you see the difference?
ReplyDeleteI like this idea of "qualities of a great knight;" what prompts you to label these specific qualities, where do you see them (or see them lacking) in Gawain, and how does it all relate to a reading of the story?