Date of Award
Fall 12-20-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Marlene Hennessy
Second Advisor
Gavin Hollis
Academic Program Adviser
Janet Neary
Abstract
Many interpretations of the Green Knight portray him as a personification of nature or as nature’s embodiment. Ecocriticism, however, challenges a more anthropocentric approach, calling into question deeply ingrained ideals of chivalry and human dominion over nature. The Green Knight is a hybrid creature whose striking features mark his otherness; yet, through his familiarity, he challenges the knight of Camelot and asks them to consider their chivalric identities as well as the nature of their Trojan ancestry and legacy. Among them, Gawain is forced to confront his identity as he ventures into the wilderness of Wirral, and his interactions with Lord Bertilak reveal him to be a ‘green’ knight in an entirely different sense. Gawain is young and inexperienced yet he is capable of growth and regeneration. Through Lord Bertilak and the contrast between Camelot and Hautdesert, the Gawain-poet critiques 14th century’s nobility and their tendency towards overconsumption driven by a willful detachment from nature, offering instead a vision of sustainable engagement with the natural world.
Recommended Citation
Memko, Dajana, "Knighthood in the Wilderness: Ecocritical Readings of Nature and Chivalry in the World of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/1273
