“Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense,” meaning “shame on him who thinks evil of it” may have much to do with Sir Gawain’s fear of death; he sees death as evil and would not put his life on the line in order to obey the “code.” However, like Megan said, the code means everything—it is honor, it is right, and everything diverging from the code is evil. Thus Gawain’s act of accepting the green belt to preserve his life can be seen as falling under temptation and greed. Sir Gawain blames his temptation on Bertilak’s wife when he says “Bot hit is no ferly thagh a fole madde, And thurgh wyles of wymmen be monen to sorwe, For so watz Adam in erde with one bygyled, And Salamon with fele sere, and Samson eftsonez—Dalyda dalt hym hys wired—and Davyth therafter Watz blended with Barsabe, that much bale tholed” (2414-2419). He attempts to justify his falling under this temptation by comparing his experience to biblical heroes. Sir Gawain goes on to say “For thes wer forne the freest, that folwed alle the sele Excellently of alle thyse other, under hevenryche that mused; And alle thay were With wymmen that thay used. Thagh I be now bigyled Me think me burde be excused,” (2422-2428).

Because of Sir Gawain’s fall into temptation, lying, and guilt about it, I feel we should question who is the true hero in this story. While Sir Gawain is the character embarking on the quest, he is not willing to die to fulfill his duty. Shouldn’t a true hero be willing to risk his life in the name of something great? On the other hand, the Green Knight comes across as menacing when he proposes a deadly game: “If any so hardy in this hous holdez hymselven, Be so bolde in his blod, brayn in hys hede, That dar stiffly strike a strok for an other…” (285-287). However, at the end of the story, the Green Knight, or Bertilak, was really teaching Sir Gawain a lesson. Perhaps his character simply serves a mentor figure, but he does have some heroic attributes.

Though most heroes have dangerous scenarios thrust upon them, Sir Gawain stands up and accepts the Green Knight’s challenge. For this reason, I don’t think he should fear his death; death is not “evil” and he should not “think evil of it.” It is simply part of the cycle of reverting back to the natural world. The Green Knight serves as a magical, undead connection, a kind of “father nature”.