Since the class discussion today grazed the topic of the similarities of the ancient lady in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Ragnelle, I thought I’d further expound upon the differences and similarities of the two characters and what qualifies them as monstrous or not. As Amelia aptly pointed out in her presentation, the descriptions of Ragnelle in her ‘hag’ form are undeniably monstrous. The poet took great pains to describe her physical attributes as hideous. “A lute she bare upon her bak; / her nek long and therto greatt; / her here cloteryd on an hepe.” (Wedding 237-239) The description goes beyond Ragnelle as an unattractive woman but inscribes her with monstrous features, such as the previous description of the hump on her back, her thick neck, and her clumped hair.
The descriptions of the ancient lady of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, while considerably less monstrous, closely mirror those of Ragnelle: “She was short and thick of waist, / Her buttocks round and wide;” (Green Knight 966-967) Similarly, Ragnelle is described as having broad hips and being barrel-shaped. The two poets have in their minds the same kind of hag character. Both are described as being ornately dressed and, to some degree, respected. Arthur always addresses Ragnelle as “Lady” or even as “fayre Lady,” which indicates that even if Arthur finds her hideous he still recognizes that she possesses knowledge that he does not. The old lady is introduced as “an ancient, it seemed, / And held in high honor by all men about.” (Green Knight 948-949)
The difference between the two women, obviously, is the nature of their physical monstrousness. In one way, Ragnelle could be characterized as the more monstrous of the two since her deformities were caused by evil means, specifically witchcraft or “nygramancy.” (Wedding 691) Ragnelle’s association with the forces of such malevolent powers calls into question her innocence. Her relationship with her step-dame could speak to her own dabblings with the occult, but that’s speculation beyond the scope of the text. What is apparent from the text is that Ragnelle’s grotesque appearance is a consequence of dark forces, obscuring the pure, subservient angel that is Ragnelle’s true nature. The transitory nature of Ragnelle’s monstrous condition lessens its terrifying effect. By contrast, the ancient lady of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is far more monstrous because her condition cannot be reversed since she acquires her hideous appearance through the natural process of aging. The poet of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight describes the young, beautiful lady alongside the old, less “toothsome” lady, contrasting the attractive with the repulsive. Although Gawain, paragon of courtesy, does not reveal his revulsion, the text makes it clear that the ancient lady’s appearance elicits anxiety. The poet describes the young lady as “fresh” and the old lady as “faded.” (Green Knight 951)
Ragnelle, with her goodly appearance restored, does not deteriorate to the permanent monstrousness of her hag-like countenance. Her restored beauty remains fixed in Gawain’s unending love for her and her physical form, whereas the old lady slowly fades, serving as a constant, unwelcome reminder that decay and death is inevitable. And what is more monstrous than a figure that embodies our inescapable mortality?
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Your blog brings up some very interesting differences between the two "hags" so to speak in both texts. You pointed out that both ladies had some form of respect in one way or another. Yet, when Dame Ragnelle enters Arthur's court, she is ostracized. The people of the court stare at her in disgust. "They sawe never of so fowlle a thyng" (p.61). Even Guinevere points out how ugly she is. The old woman in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," is not looked upon as such. She is more as you said a symbol of the lose of vitality and the finiteness of time. Moreover, she is revered in the court, unlike Dame Ragnelle who is shunned. Dame Ragnelle's physical appearance seems to be the only thing that makes her monstrous, while the old woman in the Green Knight tale is othered in a tale that places a great deal of emphasis on youth and vivacity.
This is a fascinating comparison. The comment about how Dame Ragnelle's early death frees her from time and freezes her beauty, forestalling a degeneration back into a similar condition to the one she has been transformed out of, was a particularly illuminating one for me, and this post expands on that very compellingly.
Your characterization of the old lady in SGGK, and the identification of her as a memento mori, reminded me of a couple of lines in the first stanza of Part II: "A year passes apace, and proves ever new: / First things and final conform but seldom" (498-499). I think these are among the most important lines in the poem; they seem to encapsulate the poem itself while also succintly expressing what the old lady represents. Outcomes will always belie our expectations and subvert our hopes. All of the youth and beauty captured by the poet with such vigor and intensity will conclude in this seemingly incongruous state of decrepitude and mortality.
On the other hand, while I agree that this embodiment of "inescapable mortality" appears monstrous from one angle, there is another sense in which it is thoroughly and essentially human. The enduring possibility of and ultimate confrontation with mortality humanizes Beowulf in that poem, and I think a similar dynamic may be at work here. The first and last words out of Gawain's mouth include confessions of weakness and vulnerability: "I am the weakest, well I know, and of wit feeblest" (354); "This is the sign of the sore loss that I have suffered there / For the cowardice and coveting that I came to there" (2507-2508). He already and throughout seems to understand this incongruity of beginnings and endings, appearance and reality. Yet the inhabitants of the castle greet Gawain as a superhuman paragon. In one move he is both incorporated into their society and othered from it, set above it. In contrast to this, the two ladies receive Gawain "as their servant"; the beautiful embodiment of "first things" and the withered representative of "final" "take him between them" (976-977). Is there a recognition of here of incongruity, mutability and even mortality as inherent to Gawain - as human?
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