Sir Gawain the Coward

The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is centralized around a theme of façade.  Everything and everyone in the story has a front which is established to disguise its true nature.  Sir Gawain exhibits on many occasions that he is in a situation that he does not wish to be in, and that he had initially tried to avoid by being clever, or so he thought. Every major character of the story puts up a front of what is socially expected of them, when in reality there is evidence that their character underneath is the exact opposite.  Through Gawain’s actions in Arthur’s court and his dealings with the Lord and Lady of the castle in the days before he must face the Green Knight, Gawain proves himself a coward.  He is a peevish man who wishes to please and is also a social outcast of his society, who mocks him and pushes him into this challenge, where he must prove himself and be socially accepted, or fail and die.

            The proof that Gawain is a coward, and that he is playing the part of a brave knight, is apparent in the fact that through his volunteering and accepting the challenge, he hopes at first to avoid having to receive a similar blow by killing the Green Knight outright.  Instead of delivering a blow which any man might survive, so that one year later he would receive the same blow, he hopes to remain unharmed by trying to kill the Green Knight by beheading him, thus ending the deal right there.  Gawain acts, in full knowledge, that he shall receive the same blow that he deals decides to remove the head of the Green Knight.   This might initially be received to be a brave thing, but when you consider the fact that it is the Green Knight himself who is supposed to return the blow, it seems as though it is a very cowardly thing to do.  If the Green Knight has no head, how can he possibly return the injury?  The Green Knight even offers Gawain the idea in his speech where he states “when I have taken your knock, and if you have handily hit, you shall hear straightway of my house and my home and my name” (p. 170).  In this circumstance, Gawain might figure that if he completely chops his head off, there is no way the Green Knight could even tell him where to go.  “There were many in the court that quailed” (p. 171) at the knight’s headless body moving about, this court which is renowned for its brave knights. 

Throughout the introduction, the description of the Christmas feast, there is neither mention of the bravery nor the strength of the knights. They are described as “gentle knights” who celebrate for 15 days with ladies and dancing and endless feasting (p. 163-165).  This does not seem to be the company of brave men which the Green Knight points out in stating they have not shown their arrogance and valor, they “cower and quake, [with] no cut felt” (p. 169).   This is a breeding ground for the cowardice displayed by Gawain and it is also another area where there might be a front which is put up around the characters of the story.  The members of Arthur’s court, in all their merry celebration, have forgotten their roles as brave knights and in the presence of the Green Knight they are not prepared for the challenge and cower in fear.  Gawain, being that he is a coward, is always mindful of this fact, and he is always ready to disprove it as is expected of this society of chivalry and ‘bravery’.  He jumps at the opportunity for a challenge without knowing what it is, cowardice may lead a man to do nothing, or it might, in trying to disprove it, lead him into great stupidity. 

In part three of the story, Gawain arrives at a castle which in all ways appears to be something of a story book, it is as “a castle cut of paper for a king’s feast” (p. 179).  The host of the castle, the Green Knight in disguise (yet another façade), greets Gawain and invites him to stay until he must meet his challenge.  During his stay the wife of the host attempts to seduce Gawain in three separate occasions and although she fails at sexually tempting him, despite her having literally thrown herself at him, she persuades him to break his covenant with the host, and go against his code of honor.  Despite having remained true to his chivalric code, he has broken his deal with the host in trade for his life.  A true knight would maintain his honor by remaining true to his promises no matter the cost. 

When Gawain leaves to face the knight he goes to confession and reveals all his sins, however he receives no penitence, nor action of repentance.  If he does there is no mention of it, and usually if you confess something of a theft or a lie, you must recant and admit it or return the stolen item (p. 200).  The fact that Gawain retains his life-saving belt shows that he either sees it as no sin or does not genuinely confess.  He does not see any wrong in concealing the gift given him, so long as it will save his life. 

On the large part, during Gawain’s meeting with the Green Knight there is a multitude of evidence that he is afraid for his life, despite having received this belt which he believes will preserve him.  When the knight takes his first swing, Gawain flinches. During the second he stands firm, but is enraged when it is apparent he is being toyed with, and during the third, which makes contact, Gawain (even somewhat comically) “sprang near a spear’s length with feet spread wide” (p. 209).  This is direct evidence, from the words of the narrator, of Gawain’s true nature in that he is a coward.  It is apparent here that the reader is not intended to have any pity nor respect for Sir Gawain, because he is brought down from the ideal figure which he is made out to be and appears a comical parody of the valiant knight.  The other characters of the story describe him as an infallible representation of man and as “polished as a pearl” (p. 210) and that “his equal on this earth can hardly be found” (p. 176), but it might be that they are mocking him and are aware of his cowardice.  They are goading him and pressing him into proving himself in this brotherhood of cowardly knights. In Arthur’s court, as in many school playgrounds, it seems that anyone who steps up to a challenge or boasts of their ability instantly becomes the subject of ridicule and sarcasm.

Throughout the story, there are many characters who are seemingly enthralled with Gawain and his prowess as a knight, when in fact he states that it is his unworthy nature which makes him best suited to accept this challenge from the Green Knight.  Gawain admits that he is the weakest and “of wit feeblest; and the loss of [his] life would be least of any” (p. 169).  I do not think here that this is understatement on his part, because there are many places in the story where he is afraid and he is merely putting on airs to try and impress the people around him.  The Lady of the castle in part three is constantly buffing his ego and stating that he, if he were denied by a woman, is “stout enough to constrain with strength … were any so ungracious to grudge you” (p. 193).  The woman here is tempting Gawain with something that he must not easily attain, because she is throwing not only herself at him, but also saying that he could take any woman he wanted if he so wished.  Gawain also in the last seduction scene of part 3 refuses her first gifts, but upon hearing that one might save his life he almost happily accepts.  This is odd, because he refuses the lady’s ring for its high value, but accepts the girdle because it will save his life, but what is more valuable than life?  He is no longer concerned with monetary value when his life might be saved and with this he gives in to his greed and his cowardice to save his own skin.  The Green Knight also seems to give Gawain some lip-service while he is taunting him at the second meeting.  The fact that the knight intentionally misses his first swing of the ax, knowing that Gawain will flinch, shows that he has no respect for him as a fellow knight. The Green Knight verbally and physically disrespects Gawain, which is the true shame of the encounter.  The fact that Gawain was not dealt a similar blow shows that the Green Knight, and vicariously Morgan Le Faye, shows that she does not respect him or his knightly oath.  He is not worthy of a similar blow and is allowed to live with the shame of his dishonoring his own oath through his cowardice.

The story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a story about appearances.  This story reflects the time when a person was expected to act in a certain way, despite what their true feelings and motivations might be.  Each of the characters fulfilled a role of which is not their choosing.  Gawain felt it was necessary for him to face the Green Knight because of his lack of worth, the lady of the castle seduced Gawain because it was her role in the scheme, the Green Knight himself only acted as he had under the bidding of Morgan Le Faye.  Of all the people of the story, Le Faye is the only one who acts of their own accord but even she puts of a mask so as to hide the truth from Gawain.  This story is a criticism of the lifestyle all these people of the Middle Ages had to live, because it forced them into roles and into actions of which they neither had a role in designing nor had a desire to be part of.  Sir Gawain is the greatest example of this dysfunctional society because he is the one who is pushed into the circumstances where he must first face a dilemma where if he does not perform adequately in bravery and mental fortitude he will be socially ridiculed, and if he does succeed in both of those, he believes he will die.  He wants neither of those, but is forced to by believing himself to be the least value to the society and this can only be because he has been placed in his position of inferiority through the hierarchy which is inherent in a feudal society.