After reading the three Gawain romances, I realized that the othering done in these stories isn’t really based on Christianity, like it was in the Song of Roland. Rather, it is more based on beauty and being the ‘norm’ in terms of a physical human being. Anyone who enters the castle of Camelot that is physically different from them is ‘othered’ because they just aren’t as beautiful. Even Jeffrey Cohen notes this in his article, “Of Giants: Sex, Monsters, and the Middle Ages,” that the giants that exist in the story are an other in themselves. This ‘othering’ based on physicality does not coincide with Christian moral values, however, the agency of being Christian is not prevalent in these stories. In every story, it begins with describing Arthur, Gawain and the people of Camelot, in a manner to make them the initial subjects to the reader, and to make any other characters seen in the story ‘othered’ to them.
In “Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle,” we have a man who is associated with untamed beasts and appears dangerous. The story begins with a hunt, and while listing the knights who are with Gawain and Arthur, we have one knight named “Syr Ferr Unkowthe” (ln 61). Even though we don’t know who this knight is, he is described as being fair nonetheless. However, once we enter the castle of Carle and meet the host, he is described as a large broad man with a turned up nose and great height. Carle seems to pay his way out of his otherness by giving away his beautiful daughter to Gawain. In this “peaceweaving” move, Carle is able to join the knights of the Round Table and lose his ‘otherness.’
In “The Turke and Sir Gawain,” the Turke is othered by his description as, “like a Turke he was made” (ln 14). Here, the othering is based on ethnicity, and surely he is of darker complexion. The Turke is never described as ugly (just ethnically different), so he is still able to join Camelot in the end. Though the Turke does convert to Christianity in the end, he is the bridge leading Gawain to the other world of the King of Man and his giants. The Turke embodies the othering of the nether country they travel to.
In the story of Dame Ragnelle, we once again have a woman who is depicted as very ugly. However, once Sir Gawain weds her and the spell or broken, all is well. Ragnelle is noted to be one of the most beautiful women in the kingdom. Ragnelle from then on refrains from being an ‘other’ by her beauty and can be seen as a noblewoman in the court. Never is there any look into the character of Dame Ragnelle. Once she is beautiful, she is associated with the fair ladies of Camelot and loses her title as an ‘other’ (in the sense of physicality). There can be argument for her othering as female, but I do not wish to address it in this post.
As we have noted the mirroring of the opposing sides in Song of Roland, perhaps the use of beauty versus lack of beauty is a mirror as well. Like the book The Picture of Dorian Gray, it is a mirror for the people in Camelot to see who they really are. However the story can be read, it seems that the only way to break free from the ‘othering’ is for a spell to be broken or you provide beauty (a.k.a. a beautiful daughter) to the hegemony.
Showing posts with label Turke/Carle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turke/Carle. Show all posts
Monday, October 1, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Off with their heads?
In the context of the monstrous and the other, Gawain's stories are interesting because there is a distinction that Gawain is the other and his counterpart in each story is monstrous. Gawain is othered because of his infallible courtesy unlike the other men in the stories particularly Sir Kay, who is obnoxious in both the Turke and the Carle.
The Turke is portrayed as more magical than monstrous in his story, but he is also pagan and by that label, in addition to his monstrous feats when helping Gawain in the castle of the Isle of Man, he becomes monstrous. What is interesting is that he is not evil even though he is portrayed at first by the author. Instead he is simply looking for a worthy and adventurous man to help him in his quest.
The Carle is more obviously monstrous. He is described as a giant who keeps wild animals for pets that cringe on his word. His reputation also begs that everyone fear him as they may otherwise be killed. He tests Gawain in a similar fashion as the Turke does, and based on his success rewards him.
These two "monsters" play almost identical roles within their stories. The good, gentle Christian nobility hiding within these "monsters" is only released by the appearance of Gawain who serves as a catalyst in a sense for their rebirth. Only by finding a man chivalrous enough are they able to lift the veil of monstrosity that surrounds them, and seems it must be done in the rather violent manner of beheading symbolizing almost a tearing away of past pagan sins and lifestyle. For the Turke it releases Sir Gomer and all other chivalrous people trapped in the Castle. The Turke's blood seems to the focus of the rebirth which follows with the idea of sacrifice within Christian religion. In our version of the Carle of Carlisle, the carle simply confess and requests forgiveness, but there seems to be another version in which he is beheaded. It is curious that there are these two versions and it seems that without the beheading there is almost an amount of doubt about the carle's true redemption.
If he had been truly sorrowful and desired to change he would have asked to be beheaded. It is a symbol that leads to disenchantment of the pagan curse. Without it there is no clean cut from past religions' sins. This idea of paganism as a curse that must be lifted is interesting because it almost implies that everyone is Christian on the inside and to let it out one must desire it and ask for their blood to flow!
The Turke is portrayed as more magical than monstrous in his story, but he is also pagan and by that label, in addition to his monstrous feats when helping Gawain in the castle of the Isle of Man, he becomes monstrous. What is interesting is that he is not evil even though he is portrayed at first by the author. Instead he is simply looking for a worthy and adventurous man to help him in his quest.
The Carle is more obviously monstrous. He is described as a giant who keeps wild animals for pets that cringe on his word. His reputation also begs that everyone fear him as they may otherwise be killed. He tests Gawain in a similar fashion as the Turke does, and based on his success rewards him.
These two "monsters" play almost identical roles within their stories. The good, gentle Christian nobility hiding within these "monsters" is only released by the appearance of Gawain who serves as a catalyst in a sense for their rebirth. Only by finding a man chivalrous enough are they able to lift the veil of monstrosity that surrounds them, and seems it must be done in the rather violent manner of beheading symbolizing almost a tearing away of past pagan sins and lifestyle. For the Turke it releases Sir Gomer and all other chivalrous people trapped in the Castle. The Turke's blood seems to the focus of the rebirth which follows with the idea of sacrifice within Christian religion. In our version of the Carle of Carlisle, the carle simply confess and requests forgiveness, but there seems to be another version in which he is beheaded. It is curious that there are these two versions and it seems that without the beheading there is almost an amount of doubt about the carle's true redemption.
If he had been truly sorrowful and desired to change he would have asked to be beheaded. It is a symbol that leads to disenchantment of the pagan curse. Without it there is no clean cut from past religions' sins. This idea of paganism as a curse that must be lifted is interesting because it almost implies that everyone is Christian on the inside and to let it out one must desire it and ask for their blood to flow!
Sir Gawain: Protagonist or Other?
"The Turke and Sir Gawain" and "Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle" are two tales focused around the blurring between the protagonist and the text's "Other." In "Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle" we see Gawain willingly take part in the Carle's "other" activites (as explained in the accompanied article Jeffrey Jerome Cohen's "Enjoy your Monster").
In "The Turke and Sir Gawain" it is in Gawain's compliance to behead the Turke, that he becomes somewhat of a monster. Gawain's only protest in "The Turke and Sir Gawain," is when he states, "That I forefend! . . . For I wold not have thee slaine For all the gold soe red" (p.349). The Turke's rebuttal is simple. He tells Gawain that he must cut off his head to "see a new play" (p.349). Gawain easily takes the blade and chops off the Turke's head. If Gawain is the text's protagonist and not its monster, then can we easily accept the fact that Gawain performs this extremely violent act without much protest? I'm not so sure. Gawain is easily persuaded into potentially causing the death of the Turke. What makes this act even more monstrous is that the Turke has just saved Gawain's life after he was publicly humiliated by Gawain. "He strikes his blow, but the return blow by the Turke is postponed" (p. 341).
The text is also an example of the difference between the monstrous and the Other. In the text, the Turke, who is the text's Other, is not very monstrous. Even when he angrily enters Arthur's court asking for a fight, the Turke never actually participates in one. As explained above, when Gawain delivers a blow to him, his is "postponed" (p.341). Moreover, when alone with Gawain, he could have easily returned the blow. He could have taken revenge on Gawain, but he does not. Moreover, In the three tasks set against Gawain on the Isle of Man, the Turke solves all of them and does so non-violently. Therefore, the only violent act that occurs in the text is the Turke's beheading, which ironically enough is done by the text's protagonist, the opposite of the text's Other.
As seen in "The Song of Roland" and "Beowulf," there is a fine line between the text's protagonist and the "other" or monstrous figure in the texts. This line often becomes blurred causing the difference between the protagonist and the monstrous or the Other to become unclear.
In "The Turke and Sir Gawain" it is in Gawain's compliance to behead the Turke, that he becomes somewhat of a monster. Gawain's only protest in "The Turke and Sir Gawain," is when he states, "That I forefend! . . . For I wold not have thee slaine For all the gold soe red" (p.349). The Turke's rebuttal is simple. He tells Gawain that he must cut off his head to "see a new play" (p.349). Gawain easily takes the blade and chops off the Turke's head. If Gawain is the text's protagonist and not its monster, then can we easily accept the fact that Gawain performs this extremely violent act without much protest? I'm not so sure. Gawain is easily persuaded into potentially causing the death of the Turke. What makes this act even more monstrous is that the Turke has just saved Gawain's life after he was publicly humiliated by Gawain. "He strikes his blow, but the return blow by the Turke is postponed" (p. 341).
The text is also an example of the difference between the monstrous and the Other. In the text, the Turke, who is the text's Other, is not very monstrous. Even when he angrily enters Arthur's court asking for a fight, the Turke never actually participates in one. As explained above, when Gawain delivers a blow to him, his is "postponed" (p.341). Moreover, when alone with Gawain, he could have easily returned the blow. He could have taken revenge on Gawain, but he does not. Moreover, In the three tasks set against Gawain on the Isle of Man, the Turke solves all of them and does so non-violently. Therefore, the only violent act that occurs in the text is the Turke's beheading, which ironically enough is done by the text's protagonist, the opposite of the text's Other.
As seen in "The Song of Roland" and "Beowulf," there is a fine line between the text's protagonist and the "other" or monstrous figure in the texts. This line often becomes blurred causing the difference between the protagonist and the monstrous or the Other to become unclear.
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