wardice since accepting the protective green girdle from the Green Knight’s wife by lines 2035-2036, "That girdle of green so goodly to see / That against the gay red showed gorgeous bright." Gawain wears the girdle to meet the green knight, and the red of his robes, which is symbolic of bravery, foils the girdle’s cowardly green. Though the girdle saves Gawain’s life, it ruins his reputation.The Green Knight’s wife attempts to seduce Gawain each of the three days he is a guest at the castle and the court goes out to hunt. Each day, he politely refuses her advances, and she comes back more aggressive and with less clothing on. Lines 1738-1741 describe the third and most aggressive bedroom hunt scene through fabric and jewelry. "No hood on her head, but heavy with gems / Where her fillet and the fret that confined her tresses; / Her face and her fair throat freely displayed; / Her bosom all but bare, and her back as well." Lady Bercilak convinces Gawain, after some persuasion, to accept a green girdle with life-preserving power on the day of this meeting with the Green Knight. Turning to this girdle for protection signifies Gawain's diminishing faith. He depends upon a trinket of sorcery instead of placing his life in God's hands. The mundane girdle couldn't possibly match God's power. The girdle is supposedly magic, but why should Gawain accept the word of a temptress? Still, he accepts the girdle; an impulsive act, considering his position. Gawain does not relinquish the girdle to Bercilak, as he should have because of a pact between them. Instead, he keeps it to protect himself. He breaks his word as a knight, which could certainly offend the god he serves and discredit the name of his king. The way Gawain refused to let go of the belt serves to show us the mystery behind men’s knottiness," This knot Gawain ties is relevant primarily because it also figures for Dante the "volume" which in turn figures ...
