Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is my favorite staple of medieval literature and this interpretation couldn't have been more spot on. I love it for the pure fact that women are granted more of a higher agency than previously presented in other stories such as Egils Saga and Beowulf. Lady Bertilak is, yes, instructed by her husband to do this, but who is to say in what fashion she was told to do it? Who is to say whether she was given free reign, and then subsequently then choosing to do this direct approach. I love it and it makes me giggle every time I read the bedroom scenes.
This is an interesting interpretation of Lady Bertilak. I like how explain that the description of her in the novel describes her as the standard of beauty for women in medieval times. This connects with why her husband would choose to send her to test Sir Gadwain instead of sending another lady. This feeds into the fact that she was the stand of a beautiful and to get Sir Gadwain to fail the test you would send your best lady. I also find it interesting how she acts. She throws herself at Sir Gadwain this is not normally how a woman would act.
Hi, Kat. Nice post here! I enjoyed your interpretation of Lady Bertilak. As I was reading the poem, I could not help but think on where Lady Bertilak stood in the Madonna-Whore dichotomy. Just at a glance, she fall into the whore category because her forward behavior. However, she is still described in a more loving way that shows her profound beauty. Women with profound beauty are normally considered as Madonnas, but Lady Bertilak does not quite fit into this mold because she is still sexually desired (which Madonnas are never associated with sexual desire). I guess she does not fit into either category . . .
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is my favorite staple of medieval literature and this interpretation couldn't have been more spot on. I love it for the pure fact that women are granted more of a higher agency than previously presented in other stories such as Egils Saga and Beowulf. Lady Bertilak is, yes, instructed by her husband to do this, but who is to say in what fashion she was told to do it? Who is to say whether she was given free reign, and then subsequently then choosing to do this direct approach. I love it and it makes me giggle every time I read the bedroom scenes.
This is an interesting interpretation of Lady Bertilak. I like how explain that the description of her in the novel describes her as the standard of beauty for women in medieval times. This connects with why her husband would choose to send her to test Sir Gadwain instead of sending another lady. This feeds into the fact that she was the stand of a beautiful and to get Sir Gadwain to fail the test you would send your best lady. I also find it interesting how she acts. She throws herself at Sir Gadwain this is not normally how a woman would act.
Hi, Kat. Nice post here! I enjoyed your interpretation of Lady Bertilak. As I was reading the poem, I could not help but think on where Lady Bertilak stood in the Madonna-Whore dichotomy. Just at a glance, she fall into the whore category because her forward behavior. However, she is still described in a more loving way that shows her profound beauty. Women with profound beauty are normally considered as Madonnas, but Lady Bertilak does not quite fit into this mold because she is still sexually desired (which Madonnas are never associated with sexual desire). I guess she does not fit into either category . . .