Temptation in Sir Gawain and the Green KnightIn the poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", Gawain is a guest at Hautdesert Castle. Three separate hunts take place during his stay at the castle. These hunts also parallel the temptations aimed at Gawain by the wife of the lord of Hautdesert Castle. In each hunting scene, a characteristic of that hunt's prey is personified in Gawain's defense against the advances of the Lord's wife. Gawain's first temptation is perhaps the most difficult for him to defend. This temptation corresponds to the deer hunting scene. In terms of hunting, deer is hunted because it is a staple of the diet, or it is something that satisfies a person. Likewise, the Lord's wife saw Gawain as an artistic animal she was hunting. She persecuted him solely on the basis of her carnal desire. This, his first temptation, is totally sexual. He says “Do with me what you will: this pleases the Inc., / For I quickly yield and ask for grace which, in my opinion, since I must, is by far the best thing” (1215-1217-). Gawain was just like a hunter would see a deer. She has no interest in any kind of relationship and does not flirt extensively with him as she does in the next two temptations; she simply wants sex from him, plain and simple. In a sense he is "hunting" Gawain; hunt as he is chasing Gawain with the sole purpose of making him his trophy. If he falls prey to this temptation, then she has killed him. In his reaction to the lady, Gawain behaves much like a deer. He initially tries to ignore her completely, but this tactic was unsuccessful. Then, he furtively avoids her advances, not by directly confronting her, but by subtly downplaying the extent of her… half of the card… comes into play here too; he accepts this sash as a cunning attempt to outsmart the Green Knight in their upcoming encounter. By accepting this sash, however, Gawain showed his weakness, cowardice. As a knight, Gawain should only be protected by God. By accepting the sash, Gawain has shown that he has lost faith in God, as he feels that the sash will do a better job of protecting him than God would. Even though it may be his only weakness, Gawain's cowardice did him no good in behaving as an honorable, God-fearing knight. In these temptations, it is evident that Gawain was being tested. Knowing the final outcome of the story, it is possible to see that Bertilak and his wife planned the hunts and temptations to coincide with each other. Whether this is true or not, Gawain certainly proved his honor during his brief stay at Hautdesert Castle.