Sir Gawain and the Green Knight · Chapter
Fit III explained
Gawain continues to be tempted by Lady Bertilak while the lord hunts.
What happens
Gawain continues to be tempted by Lady Bertilak while the lord hunts. He resists her advances but accepts a green girdle that supposedly protects him from death, hiding it from the lord. The chapter ends with Gawain confessing and receiving absolution.
Themes in this chapter
Temptation and Testing
Lady Bertilak repeatedly tempts Gawain, testing his chastity and loyalty.
Truth and Deception
Gawain hides the green girdle from the lord, breaking the terms of their exchange compact.
Mortality and Fear
Gawain accepts the girdle out of fear of death from the Green Knight's blow.
Characters to notice
- Sir Gawain
Resists Lady Bertilak's temptations but accepts the green girdle for protection, later confesses his sins.
- Lady Bertilak
Continues to tempt Gawain, offering a ring and then the green girdle, which he accepts.
- Bertilak de Hautdesert
Hunts deer and a fox, exchanges winnings with Gawain.
- Gringolet
Mentioned as Gawain's horse, prepared for departure.
Key passages
“Then said Gawain "I grant you, since good it you seems; I shall kiss at your command, 'tis a Knight's duty— Nor would I displease you; so plead it no more."”
Gawain agrees to kiss the lady, saying it is a knight's duty and he does not want to displease her.
Gawain reluctantly complies with the lady's request for a kiss, adhering to courtly courtesy.
“For the man that is girt with this girdle of green, So long as 'tis firmly fasten'd upon him, There's no athel under Heaven can hew him to ground, He may not be slain, for sleight upon earth.”
Whoever wears this green girdle cannot be killed by any means.
The lady claims the girdle has magical protective properties, which tempts Gawain.
“Then he shrove him clean and show'd his misdeeds, Both the less and the more, and mercy besought, And absolution he ask'd of the priest; Who assoil'd him surely, and as sinless him made As if day of doom should have dawn'd on the morrow.”
Gawain confessed all his sins to the priest and received absolution, becoming as sinless as if it were Judgment Day.
Gawain seeks spiritual cleansing before his impending encounter with the Green Knight.