Topic > Lady Bertilak's Chivalry In Sir Gawain And The Green...

On Gawain's last day in the castle with Lady Bertilak she offers him a ring. “A rich ring she offered him of red gold fashioned, with a stone like a star standing clear bearing bright rays as bright as the sun: I grant you it was worth wealth beyond measure” (Sir Gawain 93). The ring represents much more than just monetary value. It represents the infinite and limitless love and commitment that two people have for each other. “It is also clear that the lady who gives the ring in the tales is often romantically linked to the hero. In this way, Lady Bertilak's offering of the ring implicitly casts her and Gawain as lovers, fitting in well with her previous attempts at seduction. Gawain may not accept the ring because of its cost, but also because it is a clear token of love” (Cooke 5). Gawain doesn't want a commitment to Lady Bertilak, or a relationship, so he claims he's worth too much money and rejects him. Lady Bertilak is still desperately trying to get him to love her and it's not working. In her last attempt to give him something, she gives him her belt. “If you say no to my ring… I will give you my belt” (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 94). At first he says no, but then she tells him that “As every one goes girded with this green ribbon, while he keeps it tight around him, there is none so hard under heaven that could cut it; for he could not be slain by any cunning of hand” (Sir Gawain 94). She knows his fear of death and his recent nightmare, so she tells him that this belt has magical powers and if he wears it no one will be able to kill him. This causes him to take her love token, but he leaves soon after; his plan