Dr. A. Peever
HUM-396-07
2/22/19
Trickster Archetype in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight
The trickster archetype refers to a magician, an alchemist, or an anthropomorphist who creates realities using illusions in the duality of time. It is commonplace to find a trickster archetype in cultural folktales, religion, and mythology studies because the three disciplines are classical superstitious narratives. A typical trickster can be a man, woman, spirit, goddess or god that possesses extraordinary intellectual ability or peculiar powers (Jung, 35). The alchemists utilize their bizarre personality to engage in activities that contravene conventional moral rules and behaviors. They are known for breaking the law of nature either maliciously or unknowingly due to being foolish or cunning or both. For instance, in some cultures such as the Greek folktale, tricksters are revered as heroes and are actively involved in significant cultural events. However, Native American and British Columbian mythologies disregarded tricksters as pranksters and jokesters because coyote and raven stole fire from the gods. In the poem, Green Knight and Barcilak are trickster archetypes in the traditional sense while Sir Gawain is a modern trickster.
The Green Knight exhibits trickster tendencies or characteristics in the poem due to his symbolic green cloths and cunning friendship antics. Like ancient trickster myths and folktales, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight creates mayhem that seeks to establish a new social or personal order. In most cases, these tricksters use sex desire and deaths produce the several destabilizations that herald the new orders (Gerald, 267). Green Knight symbolizes the greenish color of dead body (Jung, 34). In addition, Green usually represent devilry, sorcery, witchcraft, and other evil things due to its relationship with faeries and spirits of English folk tales. In Ancient British societies, people avoided to wear the green color due its superstitious connection to misfortune and destruction. Thus, Green Knight involuntarily exhibits trickster powers because his name is ‘Green’ Knight (Anonymous Fourteenth-Century Poet, and John Ridland,550). Green Knight exhibits trickster character because of his ambiguous nature when claims to come in friendship and does not want fights. However, Green Knight’s friendly is both strange and deadly. For example, the character attaches great importance to verbal contract with expectation that Sir Gawain will do what it takes to hold up to his side of the bargains. In addition, Green Knight show is trickster characteristics of strange powers when he picks is own detached head and rides out of Arthur’s court while speaking. Simultaneously, Green Knight symbolizes the natural world he is reborn in the cycle immediately after his death.
Bertilak of Haudesert is another character that showcases trickster characteristics in the poem because of intellectual ability and double personality. Bertilak expresses a great degree of intellectual ability when hunting. He leaves every day at dawn to pursue his prey with enthusiasm before coming back home at the end of the day. He holds on this pattern to reinforce his identity with Green Knight as a primitive sun god. In addition, Bertilak’s hunting expedition lands him to natural world which is another connection to Green Knight. During the hunting expedition, Bertilak showcase great strength and bravery further indicating his trickster characteristics (Tolkien, Gordon, and Davis, 45) For instance, Bertilak attacks a dangerous animal in the name of a wild boar on foot by using a sword as the only weapon. A wild boar is dangerous animal because it has razor-sharp task and can use its intelligence to exhibit an aggressive and unpredictable behavior such as chasing after its predator. However, Bertilak was able to subdue the animal by chasing it with a single sword further showing his supernatural trickster powers and characteristics. In addition, the manner in which readers learn Bertilak’s identity is enough to prove that the character is a trickster. In this part, Morgan, a powerful sorcerer, use her powers to show that Green Knight and Bertilak was actually the same person. Hence, Bertilak is a trickster because he used his powers to create two versions of himself.
On the other hand, Sir Gawain is incarnated as a modern trickster character due to his unorthodox mannerism. The protagonist is an emblem of chivalry, nobility, valiance, and honesty. These qualities earn him reverence as a respected knight because Sir Gawain showcases these traits through many events. In fact, the poet nods his noble character when he refers to Sir Gawain as ‘the good knight’ (Tolkien, Gordon, and Davis, 44). Also, his strong virtue becomes apparent when Sir Gawain refuses to give in to Lady Bercilak’s salacious display of affection. In addition, Tolkien, Gordon and Davis (45) christen Sir Gawain as the ‘most courteous knight’ of King Arthur’s Round Table when he stays at the Green Knight’s castle with his host’s wife but resists all sexual temptations shoved at him. Gawain used his mental ability and physical prowess to evade the villain’s entrapment. Sir Gawain does not possess surreal characteristics like the mysterious Green knight who asks to be beheaded then restores his head thereafter. Neither does he have exceptional intellect like Lady Bercilak who hunts dangerous animals. However, his impeccable demonstration of loyalty, honesty, and chivalry defines his idiosyncrasy. According to the poet, his traits surpass the ordinary male behavior. The king questions the ingenuity of Sir Gawain’s character and even goes ahead to scheme a flirtatious attempt by his wife to test his (Sir Gawain’s) integrity. He wanted to prove if the good knight was feigning modesty or he would take advantage of the opportunity to yield to Lady Bercilak’s temptation. In this tale, Gawain is considered a trickster archetype because he simply receives the kisses from Lady Bercillak and returns them to Bercilak de Hautdesert. This is contrary to the Green Knight’s expectation that Gawain would succumb to his wife’s amorous advances like any other normal man. He is an emblem of modern trickster hero. While the Green Knight and Bercilak are tricksters in the traditional sense, Sir Gawain is considered a modern hero because of his ability to use his impeccable personality traits rather than relying on supernatural powers to overcome dangerous situations. In the poem the first two trickster archetypes are common in traditional mythology tales because their supernatural powers personalize them as gods. However, contemporary literature studies recognize tricksters based on their characteristics, which are not necessarily divine. In typical modern folklore or fairytale, a trickster is personified as either clever or mischievous based on how the creature uses trickery to survive challenges or dangerous episodes. For example, in the poem, Sir Gawain is clever and honest when he is approached by the Green Knight’s wife. Despite being an ancient tale, this poem exhibits salient elements of modern folklore that incarnates heroes using their clever actions.
Works Cited
Anonymous Fourteenth-Century Poet, and John Ridland. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” The Hudson Review, vol. 62, no. 4, 2010, p. 549. EBSCOhost.
Gerald Morgan. “Medieval Misogyny and Gawain’s Outburst against Women in ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.’” The Modern Language Review, vol. 97, no. 2, 2002, p. 265. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2307/3736858.
Jung, Carl Gustav. Four archetypes. Routledge, 2014. Oxford University Press. Tolkien, J. R. R., Gordon, E. V., & Davis, N. (Eds.). (1967). Sir Gawain and the green knight.
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