Journal of Taibah University the first issue

10
Haitham Abdulaziz Saab
maintains a total trust in Christ’s “Five Wounds” as well as in Mary’s
“Five Joys.” Therefore, we are first introduced to Gawain who “was
faultless in his five Senses” (640) and whose faithfulness is to “the
five wounds/ That Christ got on the cross” (642-3). The hero is also a
devout Christian even in his military outfit. In the description of his
preparation, Gawain puts on a proper Christian armor with plenty of
accessories and gold that adorn his red shield, and with the blessed
‘pentangle,’ which is “a sign by Solomon sages devised to be a token
of truth” (625-6).
The symbolic significance of the pentangle is examined by M.
Mills who considers the red pentangle a happy choice representing
Gawain’s virtues. It has the unity and perfection of a circle.
Moreover, Gawain has the image of Virgin Mary ‘on the inner part of
his shield’ (649), which is juxtaposed with the personal emblem of the
pentangle on the outside of the armor. The anonymous poet therefore
successfully connects Gawain’s virtues with some fixed points of the
Christian faith. 13 Wearing the pentangle, ‘the token of truth,’ Gawain
in fact seeks eternal truth. On the other hand, the image of “the high
Queen of heaven” (647) is next to his heart, making him the
embodiment of medieval Christianity and knightly devotion.
In the course of his adventurous mission, Gawain also has to
undergo a test of adversity, following medieval conventions. He has
to climb cliffs and fight “Now with serpents…now with savage
wolves” (720) and he also must fend off with “wild men of the
woods” (721). According to Victoria L. Weiss, Gawain’s plight from
the beginning is that he can hardly distinguish between the play world
and the real world. For Gawain, the ‘aristocratic’ Knight, to accept
the challenging game of the Green Knight, is to put himself and his
chivalric values into a great confusion. Although he is perplexed, for
the game becomes serious, at times, and rather momentary and
diversionary, at others, Gawain “unconsciously formulated a rule for
distinguishing the two.” 14 There is a strong sense, however, in which
Gawain is committed to God as he pursues this sacred mission. As a
devoted Christian knight, Gawain’s actions should always conform to
his Christian faith. In the temptation scene we referred to in the
beginning, Gawain’s resistance to falling into sin is manifested in his
reply to the seductive lady: “God forbid…that shall not befall” (1776).
Nonetheless, the religious knight eventually fails the test of faith and
honor when he has overvalued his life to the extent that he disregards
God’s Providence. In the first place, he doubts God’s Providence
because he agrees to take the lady’s girdle, as a magical safety
measure. Moreover, by keeping it, he has already broken the covenant
with Bercilak, lord of the castle, that he should not seek protection,