Sir Gawain and the Green Knight The Supernatural Quotes Page 2

The description of the castle Gawain sees certainly makes it sound appealing. But the fact that it shimmers and shines should clue us into the fact that it may be involved with magic somehow. That, and its location in the middle of a forest full of ogres, dragons, and wild men.

Here, Bertilak responds to Gawain’s question about his identity with a long description of Morgan le Fay, almost as if his own identity is swallowed up in hers. In a sense, it is, since Bertilak implies that he only holds power through her. Bertilak’s description of Morgan le Fay is somewhat ambivalent; although he calls her an "accomplished scholar," he also reminds Gawain of how she acquired her learning using sex, and implies that her aim is to "tame" people with her power.

If we’re on the fence about Morgan le Fay, this passage doesn’t necessarily do her any favors. For although testing the honor of the knights of the round table (and teaching them a valuable lesson) doesn’t necessarily seem so bad, Morgan also wanted to terrify Guinevere… to death. So, the portrait of the sorceress remains ambivalent, but we can’t help but feel that she’s abusing her power.