Women in "Sir Gawain and Term Paper

Sir Gawain cuts off the knight's head, and the knight leaves, with a promise from Gawain to extract his pledge next year.

Gawain, true to form, finds the Green Knight's abode and resides there, waiting and dreading the final strike. All the while, the Green Knight's wife makes attempts to seduce Gawain. Yet although the woman is apparently false (later, this is shown to be a deliberately staged test of Gawain's chaste honor to his host) Gawain is true to his values and the honor owed to even a less than hospitable host. For his valor of spirit as well as his manly courage, the Green Knight spares Gawain.But as inspiring as this story may be in terms of knightly valor, it is noteworthy that the female body, unlike the male body is never tested -- rather it is only a sexual test for Gawain, or a symbol of Arthur's power in the form of female beauty.

Works Cited

Anonymous. "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." New York: Knopf,….....