Medieval literature largely revolved around the exploits of knights and kings, and were therefore male centric. Women in these works were quite often the exploit itself or at least the cause or reward for the adventure. Arthurian legend is no exception and it maintains the highly religious ideology of the time period in which much of it was written. It does this by presenting women as Eve figures who tempt the heroes and instigate the downfall of both individuals and kingdoms. The few women in Arthurian legend who have any agency are portrayed negatively, and are meant as a representation of the faults of humanity, discouraging female readers from attempting to gain agency themselves. In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, Guinever is presented negatively as she often is, and Morgan le Fay represents the exceptions of independent women who are often sorceresses and disliked. However, the character who best displays the diversity of negative roles women occupy in Arthurian legend is the Green Knight's wife. In being a nameless object of desire, a temptation that results in breaking of chivalric code and an instrument of her husband's while simultaneously calling on the motif of adultery, the Green Knight's wife represents the negative roles of women in Arthurian tradition.
As is the case with all women in Arthurian legends, the Green Knight Bertilak's wife is introduced with an emphasis on her physical description, positioning her as an object of desire. She is introduced to the story with the description; “The fair hues of her flesh, her grace and her hair/And her body and her bearing were beyond praise” (37). The objectification is further developed when it is written, “bosom fair to behold” (37). Her beauty is made more apparent through the contrast between her body and Morgan le Fay's. They are compared, “one was fresh, the other was faded” (37). The glorification of the wife's body given her role in the story and the demeaning of an intelligent woman such as Morgan is typical of Arthurian literature. Throughout Sir Gawain And The Green Knight the emphasis on the woman's body continues in exaggerated detail, “So faultless her features, so fair and so bright” (56). The focus on physical appearance is important in the understanding the Green Knight's wife's role as well as the role of all women. The reason for its influence is it is the objectification of women.
Men are sometimes described by their armour, but the focus of their description is generally about their chivalric qualities or accomplishments. That the women are treated differently in terms of description exemplifies the male gaze of the writing, with the narrator objectifying women, in this instance the Green Knight's wife, just as the male characters do. This objectification through physical description is also apparent in works such as Chrétien de Troyes's Erec et Enide, in which emphasis is put on Enide's body. Chrétien de Troyes writes, “for Nature had used all her skill in forming her” (Chrétien de Troyes 4). He elaborates, “God never formed better nose, mouth and eyes” (Chrétien de Troyes 5), and concludes the lengthy passage about her appearance with “she was made to be looked at” (Chrétien de Troyes 5). In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, Guenever has similar exaggerations of her beauty, “Fair queen, without a flaw” (17). In addition to descriptions of her body Guenever's introduction emphasizes the riches around her, displaying her as vain. Vanity is often a defining quality of women in Arthurian narratives. Detailed physical description that is exaggerated towards perfection or imperfection, depending on whether the woman is an object of desire or an independent obstacle to the hero, demeans women in Arthurian legends.
Bertilak's wife's most notable role is that of a temptress. Her function in the story is to tempt Gawain into crossing the boundaries of courtly love and betraying the deal with his host. It is apparent from the beginning that she is testing him, “The lady, with guile in heart/Came early where he lay” (49). By drawing attention to guile in her heart the author is demonstrating that the wife is serving as more to the plot than a woman attracted to Gawain. That Gawain's reactions to her advances are mirrors of the prey that the Green Knight hunts aligns him with the hunted. This in turn, makes the Green Knight's wife the "hunter" using primarily physical means to trap Gawain.
The wife as an Eve figure is reinforced by Gawain's misogynistic speech at the end of the work. It presents a view common in Arthurian literature, “And through the wiles of a woman be wooed into sorrow/For so was Adam by one, when the world began/ And Solomon by many more, and Samson the mighty/Delilah as his doom…Could one but learn to love, and believe them not” (72). This directly links women to Eve as temptresses who through attraction cause the destruction or corruption of men. Gawain uses this as an excuse for his behaviour, “And one and all fell prey/To women that they used/ If I be led astray/ Methinks I may be excused” (72). The language within this passage demonstrates the lower social position of women, for they are described as those used by the heroes of the story.
