Between the Lines of Happily Ever After.

... Between the Lines of Happily Ever After Nan Ni After a long journey of travail and tribulation, the valiant hero returned to the arms of loved ones. Oh, Mr. Unknown Medieval Author, what a predictable ending, how you disappoint the readers of the twenty-first century! Is there is some artful insight that I am missing about this standard romance ending? Indeed, at first glance, the last fit of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight seems to leave our protagonist blissful, unscathed and morally correct once again. However, delving deeper, one finds that the ending of the novel is a series of events and revelations that profoundly changed Gawain. The conclusion informs the audience much about Sir Gawain's self-perception. Before accepting the "splendid stratagem to escape being slain", it is safe to assume that Gawain thought himself to be remarkably virtuous in his dealings thus far. In fact, even after he "swore

want to read more? →