Afternoon of Alterity - Nazareth College

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“declares him so clean and so pure” (And of absolucioun he on thesegge calles) (1882). The priest is not able to absolve Gawain for twoimportant reasons. Firstly, Gawain does not have true Christian faithbecause he chose to confess his sins to a priest instead of God. Thepriest is not allowed to absolve people for their sins: “absolution canonly be licit if it is declarative of God’s prior and quite independentforgiveness” (Aers 98). A true Christian understands that only Godcan absolve a person’s sinful deeds. According to Aers, this could bea radical attack on the “church’s claims for its sacrament of penance”(97). The second reason this confession is unsuccessful is becauseGawain kept the magical girdle for protection instead of relying onGod. Gawain must first reject all non-Christian, pagan elements inorder to become the Christian he claims to be.It is not until he is confronting the Green Knight that he discovershis mistake. There are three important moments during thisconfrontation: the confession, the recognition as a sinner, and thefinal rejection of Paganism. The first moment is Gawain’s confessionwhen he discovers that the Green Knight has been under Morgan leFay’s spell. He is speechless and then finally speaks with anger,Lo! Ther the falssyng foule mot hit falle!For care of thy knokke cowardyse me taghtTo acorde me with covetyse…Now an I fawty and falceMy downfall and undoing; let the devil take itDread of the death blow and cowardly doubtsmeant I gave in to greed…I am found to be flawed and false (2378-23820)Gawain realizes his faults lie in taking the girdle for protection andrelying on magic instead of his Christian Lord. The second mostimportant moment is Gawain’s recognition of being “permanentlyjaime griffith 35
stained with sin” (Spearing 221). He chooses to wear the girdle untilhis dying day, as a symbolic atonement and reminder of his sinfuldalliance with paganism. The third moment, and certainly the mostimportant, is when the Green Knight attempts to offer absolution,which would be impossible since he represents paganism. Hetries to reconcile with Gawain by inviting him back to the castle.According to Spearing, the Green Knight takes on Devil-likequalities while he tempts Gawain to overlook his sins and “makemyry” (2468). Gawain’s refusal to follow the Green Knight marksa transformation and a saving of his soul. By refusing the GreenKnight, he is ultimately refusing to accept paganism in his life, andfollow his true Christian path.Literature often helps present a culture’s attempt at establishingan identity. Britain’s invasions by Angles, Saxons, Scandinavians,Normans and more, evoked fear in the Christian culture due tothe pagan traditions these invaders followed. England seems toreveal personal struggles with the lingering pagan and Christiantensions in this Arthurian Romance. In the late Middle Ages,since England became a “product of diverse cultural experiences”and most European invaders brought their own religious viewsand culture, paganism became a threat to Christians who viewedthem as monstrous (Hawkins 44). Bildhauer and Mills point outthat Medieval Europe’s “non-Christians living in proximity withChristian communities could also be depicted with monstrouscharacteristics (9).In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain represents the Christianpopulation within this culture that needs to clarify their identity byrejecting the monstrous paganism, i.e. The Green Knight. Throughthe character Gawain, the culture appears to reject paganism inorder to follow the true path of Christianity. An Arthurian Romanceis the ideal setting to present these cultural tensions because theessential Christian values are not sustained in King Arthur’s court.36 afternoons of alterity
Page 1 and 2: Afternoons of Alterity A Codex of t
Page 4 and 5: Table of ContentsFrom Medieval Mars
Page 6 and 7: From Medieval Marsh Monsters toFutu
Page 8 and 9: imagination, we must first attempt
Page 10 and 11: seed of monstrosity within themselv
Page 12 and 13: essence as a monster, it seems reas
Page 14 and 15: she bore two sons, one from the imp
Page 16 and 17: perhaps, anti-heroes) of the futuri
Page 18 and 19: to watch the murder and mutilation
Page 20 and 21: and modern audiences through their
Page 22 and 23: Works Cited“Bushwhacked.” Firef
Page 24 and 25: Projecting Otherness ontothe Disabl
Page 26 and 27: in any systematic structuration. An
Page 28 and 29: The idea of the monstrous’ vulner
Page 30 and 31: not us and are in the proximity of
Page 32: they want to be treated. The interv
Page 36: Monstrosity and theIrruption of Rea
Page 39: describing his fears of this place
Page 43: often and at will to show man somet
Page 46 and 47: What’s Love Got To Do With It?The
Page 48 and 49: story than as the beginning? What f
Page 50 and 51: It is textual content like this tha
Page 52 and 53: through the story as the Green Knig
Page 54 and 55: the first advocating voices for end
Page 56 and 57: “capable of seeing things objecti
Page 58 and 59: Darkness: The True Monster ofLitera
Page 60 and 61: the way they can make us feel, but
Page 62 and 63: not only closes out, extinguishes,
Page 64 and 65: and temptation, most especially for
Page 66 and 67: hours “led to the term ‘night
Page 68 and 69: specifically his relationship to da
Page 70 and 71: humanization of Grendel draws the r
Page 72 and 73: subconscious the message may be. Th
Page 74 and 75: Serial MonstrosityEmily Mastrobatti
Page 76 and 77: is clear that they are monsters and
Page 78 and 79: murderer that he once was. He has b
Page 80 and 81: of the killing, “When investigato
Page 82 and 83: ook “contains recipes from the bo
Page 84 and 85: asks Charles Manson to marry her, t
Page 86 and 87: Monstrous Mothers andObjectified Da
Page 88 and 89: and her sisters plot to kill their
Page 90 and 91:
easons for “otherness.” On top
Page 92 and 93:
The original ideas are still intact
Page 94 and 95:
objectified creature. “Cultures o
Page 96 and 97:
Works CitedAcker, P. Horror and the
Page 98 and 99:
Grendel: A Manifestation ofMedieval
Page 100 and 101:
ut never was his physicality hinted
Page 102 and 103:
to wander in the darkness and the c
Page 104 and 105:
Magic could not resurrect Grendel t
Page 106 and 107:
Works CitedBeowulf. Trans. RM Liuzz
Page 108 and 109:
The Monster Under the BedThe Creati
Page 110 and 111:
to procreate but the accepted manif
Page 112 and 113:
Cain had/killed his father’s son
Page 114 and 115:
can, without a doubt, be placed int
Page 116 and 117:
The vagina’s ability to function
Page 118:
Ed. Barbara K. Gold, et all. Albany
Page 121 and 122:
To understand precisely how states
Page 123 and 124:
a strict delineation between each g
Page 125 and 126:
monstrous and societal rules to fol
Page 127 and 128:
Gawain is willing to accept his mis
Page 129 and 130:
survive, challenge, and defeat. Esp
Page 131 and 132:
governmental standards, then are we
Page 134 and 135:
They Walk Among UsOccupational Viol
Page 136 and 137:
sports and regard our members of th
Page 138 and 139:
modern readers are not part of the
Page 140 and 141:
otherness and disdain for humanity.
Page 142 and 143:
are underpaid and for the most part
Page 144 and 145:
Home and Spatial IdentityPhysical t
Page 146 and 147:
closeness among the people that the
Page 148 and 149:
Into the dark gorge I ventured; the
Page 150 and 151:
the treasures that fill up their ho
Page 152 and 153:
threatened by the very existence of
Page 154 and 155:
and draped in damp, shaggy moss, an
Page 156 and 157:
individual. Home resides within the
Page 158:
Works CitedArmitage, Simon. Sir Gaw
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Afternoon of Alterity - Nazareth College

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