Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

By accepting Lady Bertilak’s girdle, Gawain has disgraced himself in several ways; he has not only proven cowardly in the face of possible death, but he has proven himself deceitful and disloyal by concealing the girdle from Lord Bertilak. Gawain, aware of the seriousness of his misdeeds, begs Bertilak for some way of making amends, saying, “Most dire is my misdeed; / Let me gain back your good grace, / And hereafter I shall take heed” (2386-2388). Gawain’s request makes Bertilak’s response all the more striking; he tells Gawain that he is now “fully confessed” (2391), and that he, Lord Bertilak, has no further interest in pursuing his “rights” as outlined in their original agreement. Lord Bertilak even goes so far as to say that Gawain’s desire to save his own life in taking the girdle mitigates the offense.

To make sense of this unexpected turn of events, it is helpful to keep the work’s Christian backdrop in mind. As good a man as Gawain is—Bertilak calls him the “most faultless by far / Of all that ever walked over the wide earth” (2362-2363)—he is still flawed, just as fallen humanity itself is flawed. Gawain’s failure to pass Bertilak’s test was, therefore, inevitable. Bertilak decides not to strike Gawain with as much force as he is entitled to by the terms of their agreement, and this display of mercy is akin to the Christian concept of grace, through which God offers redemption to humanity despite the fact that they have not “earned” it.

Notably, this Christian gesture of mercy runs directly counter to the logic that governs exchanges, promises, and society as a whole throughout the rest of the work. At Camelot in particular, things and even people have strictly defined worth, as evidenced by the way they are seated during feasts: Bishop Baldwin (a high-ranking member of the Church), Gawain, and Arthur’s other nephews “with the fair queen were fittingly served” (114) while those of lower rank sit at side tables. Even conversation is stylized into something resembling a give-and-take bargain, meaning that any failure to respond appropriately becomes a form of disrespect. This rule applies to Gawain’s interactions with Lady Bertilak, and it is especially observable in his “haste” to learn whether “he had been at fault in the forms of his speech” (1295) following their first conversation.

When the rest of Arthur’s court hear Gawain’s story, they seem unable to appreciate the true significance of his tale. In fact, their immediate response to hearing Gawain’s admission of weakness is to laugh, apparently because the level of shame he feels strikes them as excessive. Their adoption of the green girdle as a show of respect is likewise jarring, given what the girdle represents to Gawain: weakness and sin. While Gawain’s experiences enable him to recognize his own imperfection and to grow as a person, the rest of Camelot is static, refusing to question the customs, guidelines, and values that shape their life at court.