The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle - Analysis

Analysis

"The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle" was most likely written after Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath's Tale", one of The Canterbury Tales. The differences between the two almost identical plots lead scholars to believe that the poem is a parody of the romantic medieval tradition. The physical characteristics of Dame Ragnelle are exaggerated in comparison to the earlier text. Other characters, such as Sir Gawain and King Arthur, are portrayed as very stylized stereotypes of themselves.

There are many references to aristocratic practices which seem to indicate the author's overall distaste for them. For example, Dame Ragnelle behaves appallingly at the Wedding feast, offending the onlookers; however, because she is now married to a knight, she must be considered better than the population regardless of her atrocious manners. Also, when King Arthur is presented with the challenge by Sir Gromer, it is expected that a knight should take on the mission for him. In other Arthurian stories, the challenge often involves danger or threat to the king, but this instance seems like a silly task to delegate, although the king's life is still at stake if the correct answer is not found. The other most prominent ritual is the spoken oath. The author lends a more approving tone to the notion of using a spoken word as a trustworthy contract. Throughout the story, everyone remains good to their word, and nothing bad comes of it. Perhaps the author used this as a contrast to indicate that, while most social practices were ridiculous, it was appropriate to keep the useful ones.

Another major theme in the poem is the perversion of stereotypical gender roles. Because Dame Ragnelle is a hag with no manners, she falls out of the expected female role. While Gromer is attempting to regain control of the land that he claims should be his, Dame Ragnelle simply circumvents the system. She manipulates Gawain with information in order to marry into a more desired class with a title, at which point she no longer needs to regain her family's land which would have gone straight to the male heir, Gromer, regardless. Ragnelle's power over others and in society generally increase through the poem; some scholars suggest she becomes more masculine in behavior and status as a result. In this reading her production of a male heir symbolizes the final stage or her gender perversion.