Fit 3 Q. 1

The parallelism between the bedroom scenes and the hunt not only reveal the connotation of violence between the two, but also reinforce the theme of games. The physical hunt of Bertilak and his men and its connection to the lady with Gawain helps the reader to better understand the tactics she is using, as well as giving us an idea of how Gawain might be reacting. The scene with the deer helps the reader to better understand the extent to which Gawain is feeling trapped with the lady in his bedroom ("were blocked by the beaters, with bellows and cries" ln. 1153). There is nothing he can do to stop her from coming in and attempting to seduce him because of his status as a guest, and it can be argued because of his attraction to her. In the second hunt, Gawain is more mentally prepared for when the lady enters his bedchamber. The author helps us to see this by giving a detailed desription of the damage that the boar causes to the hunters before he is actually caught ("he charged at the men that checked his way" ln. 1438). Finally, we see through the cunning of the fox how the virtue of patience serves Gawain very well. The fact that he finally outwaits the lady is not really reflected in the fact that the fox does eventually get caught. The catching of the fox is shown when Gawain accepts the silk girdle. This shows us that, mentally and spiritually, he is putting most of his trust in the bond that we see between him and not only the lady but also the people of the castle. The loudness with which the king and his men hunt ("they blew their bugles loudly...the hounds bayed, making great furore" ln. 1141) suggests that the author is wanting to make known Gawain's failings in taking the girdle from the lady. He may not fail in the bedroom, but he does fail in his quest to be perfect. While it makes him more human, it somehow makes the reader like him less.