Gawain: The Hero’s Journey
The Call to Adventure
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The entrance of the Green Knight and the challenge he posed to the knights.
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Refusal of the Call
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Gawain does not refuse his call to adventure but rather accepts it wholeheartedly to protect and honor his king, Arthur.
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Supernatural Aid
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His faith and trust in a merciful God. God is his aid whenever he feels tempted or in danger.
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The Crossing of the First Threshold
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The leaving of Arthur's castle to go and meet his fate with the Green Knight
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The Belly of the Whale
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The nights he was freezing and dying. There was no going back after this point. |
The Road of Trials
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[Essentially, his 'tests']
1) Taking the Knight's Test of Giving a 'Fatal' blow and accepting the consequences
2) Freezing to death on his journey
3) Being Tempted by the lord's wife
4) Giving everything that he was giving back to the lord.
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The Meeting with the Goddess
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The Lord of the Castle. He loves the lord and respects everything that the lord is doing for him in his time of need.
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Woman as the Temptress
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The lord of the castle's wife was a temptress. She was beautiful, loosely clad and tempted Gawain with impure thoughts.
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Atonement with the Father
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Final battle with the Green Knight
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Apotheosis
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After the second blow of the Green Knight. His only sin was hiding something from the lord in an attempt to save his own life
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The Ultimate Boon
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Being granted life. Being deemed by the Green Knight as one of the most virtuous people he has ever met. Knowledge of his trials and how he passed unlike most men.
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Refusal of the Return
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For a split second, Gawain feels unworthy and embarrassed by his sin.
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The Magic Flight
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Gringolet - his horse
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Rescue from Without
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[none]
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The Crossing of the Return Threshold
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Returning to the castle. He ultimately saved himself from the wrath of the Green Knight.
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Master of the Two Worlds
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Learned that though he was pure, he still had improvements to his self that could be made.
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Freedom to Live.
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Was granted the freedom to live by the Green Knight and deemed as honorable.
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Typical Medieval Romance
1) Like the idea of a Medieval romance, the story of sir Gawain focuses upon his Quest. Beginning with the entrance of the Green Knight and ending when Gawain 'wins' against the Knight.
2) Chivalry - Sir Gawain is extremely chivalrous. He is never rude or boastful, he treats women with respect even thought they are trying to seduce him, and with one exception, keeps his promise of returning everything he earned while at the Lord's castle.
3) Courage - Gawain accepted the knight's challenge bravely and not concerned with the looming threat of death.
4) Skill in Arms - Gawain was obviously skilled in battle or else he would have never been invited to be one of King Arthur's knights.
He also would not have accepted the challenge of cutting the Knight's neck had he no knowledge of how to wield an axe.
5) Openness to adventure/challenges - Ready to accept the Green Knight's proposition and the adventure that super ceded that challenge.
Setting -
The story begins in the court of Arthur's castle and moves into a wilderness setting. (Indicative of a typical Medieval Romance)
"In that castle most blessed on earth with the best of vassals..." (Raffel 50) -- Castle/Court Setting
"Nothing but steep hills on every side..." (Raffel 115) -- Moved to the Wilderness Setting.
Mystical -
The Green Knight and the ancient powers he possesses confirms this story to be a work of Medieval Romanticism
"The blade cut through...reached down and claimed his lovely head." (Raffel 60)
Archetypes Present in Sir Gawain
1) Transcendent Hero - Gawain learned a valuable lesson from the Green Knight. He learned that although he was pure, he still had faults. Gawain transcends to almost a god-like innocence.
2) The Journey - Gawain goes a journey to reach the Green Hill.
3) The Shadow - a worthy opponent to the hero. The Green Knight is Gawain's opponent. However, the Green Knight is not neutralized but rather teaches Gawain a lesson.
4) Temptress or Black Goddess - The lord's wife was a temptress. She felt that Gawain was more exciting and for lack of a better word: sexy, than her husband. Thankfully, Gawain was pure and innocent and treated her with respect. He was able to hold back his lustful thoughts and actions.
"If anyone were boorish enough to deny you..." (Raffel 95)
5) The Castle - The first castle Gawain stopped at (where he was treated like royalty) and the castle of the lord (a.k.a The Green Knight). Both castles were strongholds. No imminent danger was sensed by Gawain in these 2 places. He felt at ease but still continued on to 'his eventual death' because he gave King Arthur and the Knight his word that he would.
Works Cited
[1] Raffel, Burton, trans. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. New York: New American Library, 2001. Print.
[2] Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Zbigniew Panek. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. <http://images.google.com/imgres?
[3] Sir Gawain. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. <imgurl=http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projf982j/GreenKnight.jpg&imgrefurl=http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/6tbs%3Disch:1>
~Mason Lee Branham
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