Sir Gawain and the Green Knight translated by James J. Wilhelm and Yvain the Lion Knight by Chrétien de Troyes are both Arthurian tales that focus about the tales of chivalry and the adventures of two very brave knights, Gawain and Yvain. Although the stories are very different in their adventures and conflicts, key elements and roles occur within both stories chivalry is the protagonist component of what drives the story and provides reason and logic behind the way Arthur's court is organized. But it is not just the world of men in the Arthurian romances love and care for the women around you The main purpose of fighting as a knight is to defend the king and the woman the knight loves, or just women in general women tend to be the ones who are saved or need to be defended because the female shot is normally depicted as weak and helpless, however in the case of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Yvain the Lion Knight the female characters are not always the damsel in distress. Although Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Yvain the Lion Knight express femininity in different ways, both texts show the reversal of gender roles by giving female characters more powerful parts such as Morgan the Fairy, the host's wife, Lunette and the ladies. in the woods helping Yvain. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the main conflict arises when Arthur's court is challenged by the Green Knight sent by the powerful Morgan the Fairy. Gawain accepts the challenge and cuts off the Green Knight's head; little did he know that the Green Knight would be able to raise his head and challenge Gawain to the same fate a year later. Gawain, being a man of his word, accepts the challenge and plans to leave and find the Green Knight's chapel a year later. On his way to meet the Green Knight, Gawain stays in the castle of a kind Guest where he meets the host's wife who seduces him and tests his sincerity. This is the first instance where we see a strong female character in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. While the guest is hunting, the guest's wife is hunting Gawain. Since Gawain is a guest in their home, he is resting comfortably in bed when the guest's wife enters his chambers and attempts to seduce Gawain and tries to convince him to sleep with her. The host's wife tells Gawain “'My husband and his minions are hunting far away. The servants sleep downstairs with the maids. The door was slammed shut and the latch sprang; Now I have at home the hero that the whole world adores and I will spend my time as long as he lasts, with my eyes set on collecting stories. My person is your pleasure, your every desire to avail; hospitality makes me your servant and I will lack in nothing'” (Wihelm, 442). Here it is clear how this female character seduces Gawain and does not allow him to get out of bed because she wants to sleep with him. This is a direct example of how gender roles are reversed in this story because this woman is taking on a character that is normally very masculine. Normally a man would flirt or seduce a woman, because men are generally considered to be "in control" or "in charge" of sexual activities, however this is not the case with Gawain. While the wife is trying to seduce or "hunt" Gawain, the master of the house himself, is on the hunt, which creates a very interesting parallel and cinematic comparison within the text and between the two scenes. Theredescription of one of the hunting scenes that the text provides is: “They allowed the stags with their heads held high, as well as the stags with their widely branched antlers, to pass safely through, since the generous lord had forbidden in the off-season to any man of molest one of the male deer. The hinds were surrounded by a 'Hey!' And an "Oh!" While the hinds were brought with din into the clearings” (Wilhelm, 440). This scene is significant because it is a symbol of the seduction scene between Gawain and the host's wife. The hunted doe represents Gawain and the hunter represents the host's wife, which is a direct example of reversal of gender roles, and this also gives power to the host's wife because she holds the power in the situation and is the one who gives the 'start and molest Gawain for sexual purposes. Another very powerful female character that emerges in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, who is also behind the whole story, is Morgan the Fairy. Morgan the Fairy is a powerful, magical woman who actually lived on the host's property and is a lover of Merlin. Morgan the Fairy transformed the Host into the Green Knight to scare the Queen of Camelot, Guinevere. Queen Guinevere symbolizes the perfect Arthurian lady, she is beautiful and poised and is often the damsel in distress, and is seen in the same light in other Arthurian legends, such as Lancelot or Chrétien de Troyes' The Chariot King. Obviously if Morgan the Fairy is attacking or disliking Guinevere, she is attacking the ideals of chivalry and how women are perceived through them. Guinevere and Morgana the Fairy are opposite characters, one is the Queen of Camelot, but she has no real influence and simply gives in to the social pressures of being a married woman; while the other is an independent, powerful and magical woman who does not defend chivalric ideals. Overall Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a text that fully embodies the idea of ​​gender reversal and features many strong-willed female characters. In Yvain the Lion Knight the gender roles are also reversed. In Yvain the Lion Knight, Yvain goes on a quest after hearing a story from another knight about traveling to a distant place where he encountered a battle with a red knight and where he ultimately lost the battle. Hearing about this Red Knight, Yvain decides to embark on his own quest to try to defeat him. After arriving at the correct field and performing the same movements as the previous knight, Yvain lures the Red Knight into battle. During the battle the Red Knight is wounded and retreats to his castle, Yvain chases the Red Knight directly into his castle but when he first enters the castle one of the gates closes on the back of Yvain's horse and kills his horse. Meanwhile, another gate closes before Yvain, trapping the knight between his dead horse and a gate, inside the Red Knight's castle. As Yvain panics and worries about certain death, a female savior comes to his rescue. Lunette, one of the queen's ladies of the castle, finds Yvain and tells him that the Red Knight has died from mortal wounds sustained in battle and now the rest of his court is coming to kill Yvain. Surprisingly Lunette had a magic ring that she gave to Yvain to make him invisible and save him from being killed by the Red Knight's court. This is clearly a reversal of gender roles, in most novels, women would be in some danger and a big, strong knight would swoop in and save the day. But in this scene the opposite happens. This is once again a situation where a strong female protagonist gives a magical gift to a knight. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the.