“Wiles of a Woman”: Challenging Roles and Agency in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Abstract

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight subversively place women in positions of power, though their agency is not immediately visible. This poem is a 14th-century text written by an unnamed poet, set within the Court of King Arthur. This work features notable figures of the Round Table, with Sir Gawain, the knight, in the forefront. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a written illustration of the heroes of the Court of Arthur. However, it can also be seen as an early example of a text providing women with power and agency. The power women possess within the tale is hidden until the end of the poem, when it is revealed that Morgan le Fay was behind the games and quest that Gawain endured. This agency women were given is juxtaposed with some of the reactionary views within the text. This can stand to represent the insecurities that were most likely felt during the period this tale was written in, and Gawain is the mode with which these insecurities and fears of powerful women are demonstrated. Considering these elements, this story can take on a new light as a progressive text for the time it was written. The unnamed poet can stand to be seen as an early progressive author who worked to elevate women within their work to a higher-level status.