In Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur the character Sir Gawain must balance his loyalties to the King, his kin, and his friend Sir Lancelot. Discuss how these loyalties intertwine and interfere with one another as well as how they may change throughout the story.
ENGL 201 | British Literature to 1800
Myra Seaman | Fall 2012
Sir Gawain’s loyalties are definitely split throughout the story. More so than anything though, he is loyal to himself and what is right. Sir Gawain does not really show infallible duty to King Arthur, his family, or Sir Lancelot. He makes his decisions based on how certain events will affect himself. For example, Sir Gawain chooses not to try to frame Lancelot because he knows doing so would pit Lancelot against him and break up the fellowship of the Round Table. Despite Gawain’s strong bond to King Arthur, he does not try to put a stop to Arthur’s shame. Gawain, although saddened by his family’s death, looks upon Lancelot’s murder of Sir Florence and Sir Lovell in a sort of “told you so” attitude. This suggests that Gawain cares more about the fact that he was “right” than the loss of his family members. Gawain also refuses to be a part of Guinevere’s execution, despite King Arthur’s order to Gawain to bring Guinevere forth to the fire. This may be a testament to the closeness between Gawain and Arthur, but it also shows that Gawain is not fully loyal to serve Arthur no matter the request. Gawain trusts his judgement more than he is loyal to others and that ends up serving Gawain well because he escapes two attacks by Lancelot.
On a completely random side note this story and Disney animated version of the sword in the stone do seem to parallel each other a good bit, at least in the beginning. As for Sir Gawain’s loyalties, I agree I don’t see him as disloyal. I see him as loyal to himself and what he believes is the truth and right. Sir Gawain represents the brutal killing stereotype but through out the story his actions show that he is actually a decent human being with a rough exterior. I think his character is made to try to display and even balanced or a well balanced character.
I do not view Gawain so much as having loyalties to those in his life, but instead I see his actions driven by love. He loves his king, he loves his family, and he loves his fellow knights. Because of this, he does not wish for there to be fighting amongst them. Gawain is a very smart man; he knows the relationships of everyone in his life will be ruined if Lancelot is accused of treason. He knows the Round Table will be demolished. Ultimately, I think Gawain is driven by the desire for peace between those in the kingdom. His loyalty, however, is to himself as Autumn noted. He does not become vengeful when Lancelot murders his brother and two sons not because he is loyal to Lancelot, but because he believed Lancelot followed the knightly code – he defended his honor. This is a code Gawain himself follows. Gawain then refuses to partake in the killing of Guinevere, again not because of his loyalty to her, but because he knows of the conflict it will cause. Finally, Gawain is driven to anger toward Lancelot only when he does something dishonorable – he kills two unarmed men. This final act proves Gawain is loyal to his morals, but not to any one person.
I completely agree loyalty/love, truth, honor and reason seem to be his main driving factors.
I am not sure that I am convinced by this argument. I think that Sir Gawain refers to Sir Lancelots action of saving the queen as knightly (page 432) rather than his murder of his kin. Either way, his conversation with Arthur is revealing of his character. On page 430 (starting at the bottom of the first column) Sir Gawain tells a story of what could have been innocent interactions between Lancelot and the queen. However, “peradventure” is the key word because Gawain knows that the two have had a long affair, and were not the queen was not innocently showing gratitude to Lancelot. From this passage we can see that Gawain is acting on what he thinks is best for the court. In which case, saving the queen and Lancelot, the strongest knight, seems to be the best thing for the court in spite of the recent revelations. The burning of the queen would bring shame to the court, and the execution of Lancelot would weaken their defenses.
Gawain seems to appeal to reason and rash judgement. He does not allow Lancelot’s past trespasses upon the lives of his family members to fog his rational thought process. His major concern is the general welfare and peace of the kingdom.