Temptation In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

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The temptation of Gawain is an idea that harkens back to an age-old tale. The Lady’s attempted seduction and is referring fairly clearly to the original occurrence of temptation in biblical lore, of the eating of the fruit of knowledge. The Lady possesses obvious parallels to the figure of Eve. In this sense, the Lady is corrupt, and is seeking to similarly corrupt the noble and pure figure of man that is Adam. Clearly Gawain is the Adam figure, the being still representative of innocence and chastity, resisting the wiles of the wicked temptress, the lustful nature of the woman who has been tainted with the fruit of knowledge. However, with his reputation of being the renowned courtly lover, Gawain can hardly be innocent of the acts of the…show more content…
When he is being brought the Green Knight to fulfil his pledge, his guide tells him that if he wishes to abandon his quest there and then, he will not reveal Gawain’s flight to the residents at the castle. This temptation does not sway him as does that Lady, for either his honour has been compromised too much already, or his faith in the magical properties of the girdle is great enough, that he chooses to forge ahead with his confrontation. Here perhaps he is haunted by his guilt, which may have strengthened his resolve against further…show more content…
In the hunting scenes, each day ends with the Lord slaying some manner of beast. At the end of the first, he kills deer, at the second, a boar, and finally, he snares a fox. The hunted animals may be synonyms of the behaviour Gawain shows in his response to the advances of the Lady; lying prone like the deer, taking a stand as does the boar, and acting duplicitous in the manner of the fox. These animals may also be reflective of one or many of the characters in the castle. The Lord, a hairy wild man, fierce and earthy, would appear to fit with the image of the boar. The deer, a gentle, graceful and harmless creature, may be a symbol to embody the figure of the Lady, the courtly woman who is defenceless and elegant, prone to flight and frightened easily. Gawain, as the concealer of truth and now a man of deception, appears to draw parallels to the fox, a creature of cunning, of sly ways and guileful nature. Indeed, when the Lord presents Gawain with the spoils of his hunt upon the third day, the fox is presented as a stinking and foul carcass. This may indicate the Lord’s knowledge of Gawain’s withholding of the girdle, and serve as a subtle reprimand for his deception. The fox may however hold another meaning. With the Lady hunting Gawain in a reversal of the common practices of ‘courtly love’, in this case perhaps the Lady is the devious fox, and Gawain the
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