Gawain True Romance

True romance stories are hard to come by; stories about the chivalrous knight with magical powers that saved the damsel in distress or the evil witch defeated by the heroic once poor but now mighty man, many stories have these elements but only a few can be titled a romance. The story Gawain and The Green Knight, written by John Gardner has very common elements included in most romances such as: the chivalrous knight, the tragic antagonist, and the problem the hero has to overcome; thus making it definitely a true romance.

Gawain and The Green Knight suggest that honesty, chivalry, non-lust driven motives, and courage are all great traits that should be expressed to be successful in life. Furthermore, Gardner writes, “Sir Gawain the Good is come to the Green Chapel! If any man would meet me, make it now”(Gardner, 231), Gawain showed honor by showing up a year later even though he knew his fate. This shows true bravery and is the knightly thing to do in this time period. This trait could be known as chivalry which the hero of any romance must maintain. For example, Gawain writes “He accepts kisses and true to his bargain returns them to his host” (Gardner, 229), this shows that Gawain is honest and reliable. This is another aspect of Chivalry which furthermore proves that Gawain is a romantic hero in the story; his receiving of the kisses and not pursuing the wife shows his good intentions and non lust driven mind. Lastly, Gardner writes “ lady gives Gawain not only kisses but also a

Through Gawain's hardships and consistent proof of legitimate Chivalry and strict following of the knightly code, leaves the story with great ideas and romance at its finest. Labeling this story as another genre other than a romance is like labeling a tomato a vegetable; it may look like it and it is not sweet but everyone knows that a tomato is labeled a