The Dualities At Play Within Ragnelle

Ragnelle in, “The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle,” seemed to embody what we would consider the ‘other,’ precisely because she possesses a duality within her character that transgresses our working definition of what constitutes the ‘monstrous.’ Ragnelle’s physicality, her ‘snotted’ nose, teeth that hang over her lips, the hump on her back, clotted hair, and her many other characteristics seem to mark her as a ‘monster.’ Despite this, her associations with the ‘monstrous’ and ‘beauty,’ the secret she knows, and her relationship with Gromer, elevate her into a realm where she encompasses the ‘other.’

There is a dualism assigned to Ragnelle that illustrates her simultaneously as ‘monstrous,’ and ‘beautiful.’ Yes, within the story she undergoes a literal physical transformation, yet, I think there is an interesting tension between what we would consider ‘monstrous,’ and ‘beautiful’ early on in the story; her embodiment of both these ideas is readily felt on pages fifty-three and fifty-four, and define her as an ‘other.’ Ragnelle’s monstrous physicality is established in lines 231 through 245: Yet, this image is contradicted shortly after when she is seen sitting on a ‘palfrey richly draped, and adorned with gold and precious stone.’ Regnelle’s is physically monstrous, and in the same instance she is illustrated as sitting on and surrounded by ‘beauty’; this particular section I think hints or alludes to her dual nature, and paints her as both ‘beast and beauty.’ In addition to this, before her literal transformation on page fifty-five, she again possesses an interesting duality that hinges on the ‘monstrous’ and the ‘beautiful.’ Ragnelle states, “ther is a byrd man calle me an owlle…And yet a Lady I am.’ When she is labeled as an ‘owl,’ Ragnelle becomes associated with the power of darkness, death, as well as Satan; this reinforces her ‘monstrous’ nature. Contrasting this image, Ragnell asserts her femenininty and gains all of the notions assigned to the female gender construct when she states she is indeed a ‘Lady.’ At the same time, the use of ‘Lady’ also associates her with Christian notions that impose purity, innocence, chastity, etc. on women (Lady). Ragnell seems to possess both Satanic or Pagan, and Christian qualities: She is illustrated as possessing a physical contradiction, but embodies a spiritual contradiction as well that works to push her further into the realm of the ‘other.’ The tension between the monstrous and beauty that comes to be associated with Ragnelle elevates her above these fixed notions, and gains a new dimension with the power (secret or answer) she possesses.

On page sixty Ragnelle tells Arthoure the answer to Gromer’s question: “Wemen desyre sovereynte.” There is a power instilled within Ragnelle’s character because she and Gromer seem to be the only characters that know this answer, and even before she tells Arthour what it is, her ‘power’ is given an even greater dimension on page fifty-four. I thought it was curious how Ragnelle echoes her brother’s words (page fifty) when she tells Arthour, “For thy lyfe is in my hand.’ One could argue that when Ragnelle echoes her brother’s words, the images of these two characters seem to collide momentarily, and this associates Ragnelle with a certain ‘male power.’ If what we consider to be ‘monstrous’ includes possessing simultaneously a feminine and masculine nature, a dual nature similar to Grendel’s Mother in, “Beowulf,’ Ragnelle becomes even more ‘monstrous,’ precisely because she possesses both feminine and masculine qualities: Yet, this dualism also transforms her into an ‘other,’ because she defies fixed notions of gender.

Ragnelle embodies not only a physical and spiritual contradiction, but, figuratively, she possesses a gender contradiction. The dualities at play within Ragnelle’s character make her incapable of fulfilling our working definition of the ‘monstrous,’ and push her into the realm of the ‘other.’ I think we can regard Ragnelle as an ‘unfixed’ character in this story, and the dualities within her reinforce this. In addition to this, the dualities at play within Ragnelle also illustrate how she undergoes a number of figurative transformations, moves back and forth between a ‘beast’ and ‘beauty,’ even before her literal transformation at the end of the story.