In this area of Tale II, both the audience and the women in the story are overcome with pity and raw emotion upon hearing of the muleteer's wife's tragic end. "This pity, or compassion, that they feel is an empathetic response associated with knowledge that a similar fate might befall them: each devisante considers what she would herself do "si la fortune leur advenoit pareille [if a similar misfortune should befall them]" While the woman hope nothing similar will ever happen to them, they know it is not unlikely and look towards the muleteer's wife as totem of strength and unwavering morality.

Baker, Mary J. "APPEALS FOR PITY IN THE HEPTAMERON." Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature, vol. 53, no. 3, spring 2001, p. 191. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A79236033/AONE?u=23043_lakec&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=9d0b5eae. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Rough translation from Latin to English: "Censorinus, lib. about the birthday Arist. book 7, chap. 3 & 4, on the nature of animals. Gellius, lib. 3, chap. 16. Servius, in his exposition upon this verse of Virgil's eclogues, Matri longa decem, &c., and a thousand other fools, whose number hath been increased by the lawyers ff. of his own, and reads..."

Professional-grade Latin Translation Service. Seamlessly Translate English to Latin Online with Our Cutting-Edge Service. (n.d.). https://www.m-translate.org.ua/translator-en/latin#text=Censorinus,%20lib.%20de%20die%20natali.%20Arist.%20lib.%207,%20cap.%203%20&%204,%20de%20natura%20animalium.%20Gellius,%20lib.%203,%20cap.%2016.%20Servius,%20in%20his%20exposition%20upon%20this%20verse%20of%20Virgil’s%20eclogues,%20Matri%20longa%20decem,%20&c.,%20and%20a%20thousand%20other%20fools,%20whose%20number%20hath%20been%20increased%20by%20the%20lawyers%20ff.%20de%20suis,%20et%20legit&direction=a-en

Drew Maxwell, author of "Is This Really All There Is?": The Role and Representation of Women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and David Lowery's The Green Knight explains, "rather, it is a narrative that shows how Gawain's pursuit of upholding "trawthe" becomes increasingly difficult for him as he encounters tests of his "trawthe" that do not involve the usual quests and chivalric combat, such as the bedroom scenes and the offer of the green girdle." (Maxwell, 2023). Gawain knows that he failed to fully show courage in the end against the Green Knight because he took the girdle given to him by Lady Bertilak. Thus he wants to keep the girdle as a reminder that he still has much to accomplish as a knight and he has much growth he can strive for. Taking the girdle with him will motivate him to do better and become a stronger and braver man worthy of his title.

Maxwell, Drew. "'Is This Really All There Is?': The Role and Representation of Women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and David Lowery's The Green Knight." South Atlantic Review, vol. 88, no. 2-3, summer-fall 2023, pp. 78+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A766241414/AONE?u=23043_lakec&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=74fa9289. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

Courtesy, chivalry, civility, courtesy, and politeness. These are certainly all the qualities we would expect from King Arthur's knightly court. However, all of this upstanding attributes were far more important within the culture of the Middle English Period (~1100 - 1500) than one might first assume. According to Andreas H. Jucker, author of "Courtesy and politeness in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", the meaning and actions behind these words were so important, that during this period, "67 terms from the Historical Thesaurus under the narrow headings "courtesy, n", "courteous, a" and "courteously, adv". 30 of these 67 expressions were first attested between 1150 and 1420" (Jucker, 2014). He goes on to say that when compared to the Early Modern English Period, there is quite a drastic jump in significance of these words or related words. In other words, they were not used as much during the Early Modern English Period and thus, were not as relevant to the culture.

Jucker, Andreas H. "Courtesy and politeness in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Studia Anglica Posnaniensia: International Review of English Studies, vol. 49, no. 3, Dec. 2014, pp. 5+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A417895816/AONE?u=23043_lakec&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=21c163c6. Accessed 7 Mar. 2024.

Political satire is incredibly common and well loved by many. With origins in Greek comedies like Lysistrata, to political cartoons during this country's revolution, many SNL skits, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, to Late Night with Seth Myers: 'News of the Week'. People love to make commentary on the happenings of the world, and particularly with an attitude expressing, "how ridiculous is this?". Poking fun with comedy does just this, while also attempting to alleviate some stress felt by those affected by said political tensions. That being said, while popular, political satire often brings along much "controversy when they [comment] on current events" and is not immune to backlash, (2010).

Hope for america: Performers, politics and pop culture satire enters television. Library of Congress. (2010, July 11). https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/hope-for-america/satire-enters-television.html

While Arjuna is not an avatar of Lord Vishnu, he is a jiva reincarnation of Nara, who represents Vishnu's knowledge and wisdom. In this passage we can compare how his morals and thoughts differ from Vishnu's "duty of preserving and protecting the world as well as the law of the Vedas," (Rallapalli, 2015). The way Arjuna denounces murder and killing in battle as a means of acquiring worldy possessions, most notably wealth, reminds me of one of Vishna's first avatars, Kurma. According to Rallapalli, Kurma helped save the gods from a sage who had cursed them for showing too much contentment from their wealth. In this form, Vishnu's purpose was to show that “wealth eludes the insecure,” (Pattanaik, 2011). Despite Arjuna technically being linked to the god, their sense of purpose and right and wrong differs greatly. Where Vishnu values duty as moral code, Arjuna believes all life has value, and strives to honor filial piety over worldly possessions like wealth and power.

Rallapalli, Monisha . “Vishnu: The Savior, the Preserver, and the Protector.” Religion 100Q: Hinduism Project A Student Blog about Aspects of Hinduism, Word Press, 2015. https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/rel100hinduism/2015/11/24/vishnu-the-savior-the-preserver-and-the-protector/ [accessed digitally: February 3, 2024.]

Pattanaik, Devdutt. 7 Secrets of Vishnu. Chennai: Westland, 2011. Print. http://bookwormsrecos.blogspot.com/2011/11/7-secrets-of-vishnu.html [accessed digitally: February, 3, 2024.]