Walk the Talk

Shame upon him who thinks evil of it. I looked up what “Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense” meant before I started reading the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and almost the entire way through, I couldn’t find any instance of where Gawain was “evil.” Unfortunately, however, the third time the lady came to woo Gawain into lusty sin, Gawain gave in—not to sexual pleasures but rather something far worse. Gawain gave himself and unfair advantage by taking the belt that would protect him from anything. As I was reading this story, I felt that Gawain had done well by refusing the advances the lady made. However, Gawain faltered when it came to protecting his own life. And I’m not sure if I can’t blame him.

Gawain was doomed to die. The servant who took him to the green chapel even said himself that “For allee the golde upon grounde I nolde go with the, neb ere the felaghschip thrugh this fryth on fote fyrre.” (“For all the wealth in the world I would not go with you, Nor keep you company through this wood one further step.”) (2150-2151). As I was reading, I was worried for Gawain. He was this extremely successful knight who had everything going for him and was to die because he chose to be brave in take on the Green Knight in Arthur’s place. Previous posts have claimed that Gawain was responsible for his choices and be responsible for those choices. However, I think that the idea of life and preserving life is key. I think that Gawain was justified in taking the “lace, the ladiez gifte” (belt, the lady’s present) (2030), however, I agree with my peers in that overall, people should be responsible for their actions and face the consequences of those actions.

I believe that “"Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense” is the motto of the highest order of Knighthood because it encourages individuals to stick to the path of the righteous. My argument defending Gawain for taking the belt and “thou fes for ferde er thou fele harmez” ([flinching] for fear before he feels any hurt) is only human nature (2272). I suppose that when one reaches the status of knighthood, he is expected so shed his humanly instincts and act with honor. However, the relevance to me is a stretch. In life, I try to live day by day, making decisions that I don’t regret. I try to live life without regrets and own up to my choices. If I hurt someone or do something bad, I will take full responsibility for it. It’s about being mature and a rational being. Because everyone has the rationality to make their own decisions, I feel that we should be accountable for those choices. Thus, the motto “shame upon him who thinks evil of it” isn’t calling us to not flinch in fear or to sacrifice our lives wholeheartedly but rather, to not be “cowardice and covetyse” (cowardice and covetousness) and to live up to our word (2508).

A common cliché is “walk your talk,” and I feel that the moral of the story, if you will, is to stick to you word. Gawain and the Green Knight was an interesting story, and also relates to our discussion about heroes in that a hero, in addition to the criteria outlined by Campbell, is someone who is humble and walks their talk. Knights were considered heroes in their days because not only were they self-sacrificing, but they were expected to be true to their word—something that even Gawain failed at.