Factoring in Morgan le Fay

I want to attempt to look more in-depth to the women in this poem. In the first two sections of the story, women seem to be backgrounded, and the main stage seems to be dominated by Gawain and the Green Knight. In the last two sections of the story, we see a foregrounding of women and the deception that has been carried out in this poem. We need to take a closer look into the women in this story, since they are the main reason for the ensuing actions.

The first woman who needs to be dealt with is the lady of Haudesert, Lord Bertilak’s wife. Though she is never provided a name, she is provided the power to seduce Gawain into giving her a kiss. However, at the end of the story, Lord Bertilak reveals, “the wooing of my wife-it was all my scheme” (line 2361)! Though the lady seemed to have control over Gawain, Lord Bertilak had the power over her. Thus, the woman was a tool for deception to Gawain.

Then we come to the existence of Morgan le Fay. Lord Berilak/Green Knight admits that he was under a spell by “Morgan the Goddess” (line 2451). Now we see that the entire plan was actually under the control of a woman, and Lord Bertilak/Green Knight was not a free agent. This particular woman is Gawain’s “own aunt is she, Arthur’s half-sister” (line 2464). This fits in well with Max’s claim that the other is actually an unrecognized form of the self. This pagan woman is actually blood related to the king, yet holds alternate traits. Unlike the king, she is aged and has the pagan attribute of being a goddess. What’s even more fascinating is the reason this entire plan was carried out. Lord Bertilak admits, “She put this shape upon me to puzzle your wits, / To afflict the fair queen, and frighten her to death” (lines 2459-2461). This disguise as the horrid Green Knight was to scare Guenevere. In one of Marie’s footnotes, she explains that Morgan le Fay and Guenevere were enemies. This could possibly be the neglected royalty that has been ignored for Morgan le Fay but placed upon Guenevere. Surprisingly, the two women who are least seen in this story are suddenly foregrounded to be to main reason for the events at hand.

The use of Morgan le Fay in this text is intriguing, since she is rarely seen. Her ancient appearance, her use of magic, and femininity seem to provide reason to name her both ‘monsterous’ and an ‘other.’ This being said, it seems to provide her control over the entire story as compared to Guenevere, who is simply a feminine ‘other.’ Morgan le Fay is able to wield her power over men affectively and “she has caught many a man” (line 2448). Morgan le Fay is a black widowed spider, and is able to ensnare others with her femininity and magic. Morgan le Fay’s exertion of her power may have been motivated to show Guenevere that though she is queen, Morgan is a force to be reckoned with. The ending to this story seems to turn the table around and leads us to question which gender dominates in this poem.

Please note: I hadn't read the articles by Cohen and Arner before posting this blog. Now that I have, I see they have pointed out some of the ideas I blogged about. Nonetheless, there is still much to discuss concerning the feminine power in this story.