- Oct 2024
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moodle.uleth.ca moodle.uleth.ca
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his reputation has preceded him to Bertilak's castle;he is thus a constant living-up-to that reputation; throughout his time at the castle Gawainis especially anxious lest he fail in his manner, in the "fourme" [1295] of his speech andgestures; and he is time and time again through the course of the poem told, when he isnot acting like the reputed Gawain, that he is not, after all, Gawain
Gawain's reputation holds a lot of weight both with Lady Bertilak and Lord Bertilak, but in different contexts. The Lady's image of Gawain lies in courtly manner. The Lord's image of Gawain lies in his brave, honest, and other knightly attributes. Both of which he must uphold. The modern equivalent is having our reputation precede us and feeling pressure to uphold our image or face the consequences of failing.
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-but that Christian discourse is clearly notpreoccupied with female homosexual sex to the degree (and it is a high degree) to whichit is preoccupied with male homosexual relations.
Aside from christian discourse, the hyper fixation on male homosexual relation in comparison to female homosexual relations is extremely present in the modern world. Perhaps it has something to do with societal norms and how cultures view masculinity. To be masculine is to refrain from emotional and physical expression of love, care, and tenderness. Tenderness and softness are expected traits of femininity, maybe this is why it's so culturally consuming to see two men engage physical and emotional romance.
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But to return to those kisses in SGGK: it is certainly true that innocent kisses oftenoccur between men at moments of heightened emotion in late Middle English texts--justkisses, as when Arthur and his court regretfully kiss Gawain goodbye as he sets out on hisjourney [596]. Such kisses represent conventional cultural practice, informed by the rulesof courtesy and hospitality; there is nothing problematic about men's kissing one anotherper se in the medieval romance context, as there might be today in the United States
The interpretation of a kiss between men can greatly vary depending on the cultural context. I argue that if a 21st century, american, heterosexual, male were to be transported into the medieval period and integrated into society, he would be able to become accustom to kisses between men as greetings, homage, or parting of ways. It is easier to adapt the the dominant cultural norms rather than vice versa.
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