an unexpecting twist into the action—the Green Knight laughs and humorously reveals that he is Lord Bertilak in disguise and that a sorceress named Morgan Le Fay (who is Arthur’s half-sister and Gawain’s aunt) concocted the entire chal- lenge. Morgan disguised herself as Lady Bertilak back at the castle, utilizing her magical shape-shifting power to shame King Arthur, test his knights’ chivalrous reputation, and frighten his wife, Queen Guenevere. Trickery always has compa - ny in medieval English literature. Bertilak proceeds to place judgment on Gawain’s behavior, stating that his first two axe blows are for Gawain’s honesty and honor at Hautdesert following the rules of the game and returning his “winnings” (the kisses he received on day one and day two from the lady). Bertilak says the reason he nicks Gawain’s neck on the third axe blow is for Gawain’s dishonesty and failure to return the green silk girdle to him on the third day—“For it is my belt you are wearing, that same woven girdle, / My own wife gave it to you, I know well in truth” (lines 2358- 2359). However, Bertilak determines that Gawain’s behavior, while technically a failure of the chivalric code, is also not entirely dishonorable, and he forgives Gawain—“I sent her to test you, and to me truly you seem / One of the most perfect men who ever walked on the earth” (lines 2362-2363). Smithers concurs, “[T]he Green Knight himself insists that this was a wholly venial offence; that Ga- wain had committed it because he did not want to die, not out of deceitfulness” (175). Nonetheless, Gawain is devastated and mortified by the entire situation and plunges into intense self-accusation. Noted critic Anderson divides Gawain’s self-criticism into three parts—“first, he accuses himself of moral failings, principally ‘cowarddyse’ and ‘couetyse’; sec - ond, he shifts blame from himself to the ‘wyles of wymmen’; third, he takes a re - ligious view of his failure, seeing it in terms of the weakness of fallen men” (352). Gawain exclaims that he is wearing the green silk girdle for the rest of his life as a symbol of his failure, a stark contrast to his wearing of the Pentangle. An em - barrassed and deflated Gawain returns to Camelot and explains to King Arthur what happened. The king grants Gawain full absolution and showers him with steadfast support; each knight of the court vows to wear a green silk girdle in honor of Gawain and his courage. Furthermore, Gawain’s character undergoes a psychological transformation, and he begins to value his spiritual essence over his chivalric code. He is a man who is coming to terms with his actions and who he is. This assertion then solicits an answer to the following question: Do human failures make a person less admirable?
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