I’m beginning to see a theme here…forgiveness seems to
be at the forefront of many of the last stories we’ve read in this class. I’m sure this one will have its critics too,
but I like to NOT try to find everything wrong with the story and focus on some
of the good. (What can I say? I’m an eternal
optimist.) So I’d like to share my on-going debate about whether or not our
hero/villain actually learns his lesson in the Christian realm of things. Because I really think that is the point of
these stories. Regardless of the level
of assholery in these characters, we can still see that they try to seek
forgiveness (With the exception of the knight in the Wife of Bath’s Tale…I’m
still not completely convinced of that one.) Anyway, this story is refreshing,
because no one that is supposed to be (somewhat) likeable treats the main
female character like shit. That’s
really awesome.
It’s interesting because yes, Gowther was a horrible
person. Yes, he burned down a convent.
Yes, he killed people senselessly.
But I don’t feel as much malice toward him as I thought I would.
So here’s my theory: The stories we've been reading
have been part of some sort of progression in achieving forgiveness. The Wife
of Bath’s Tale basically teaches us what not to do. Emare gets a little better because we get the
sense that her father actually WANTS forgiveness, and he does at least a little
something on his own volition to do it. Sir
Gowther actually suffers to earn his forgiveness. I mean, eating from the mouth of dogs and
being a fool…in my book, that’s dedication to a cause. He also valiantly fights for a kingdom that
has basically treated him as a joke. So
I’m completely okay with Gowther because I feel like he really does earn his
forgiveness.
It’s really not like this, where Emare’s father is
like “Hey, these are my sins. Good?
Okay, done.”
I’m kind of tired of this “good person vs. bad
person” conversation, because that’s all we ever seem to talk about now. We can sit here and criticize these
characters and pick apart every bad thing they do, but in the end I think we
need to look at them as a whole. Have they
earned good-person status, despite their mistakes? In some cases, maybe not.
But in many cases, they have. Sometimes
we just need to take an alternate point of view.
In addition, I think we really need to focus on the time period. In the present, this story would be the serial killer in the news. History was so different and there were a lot of variables to consider. I think this story also goes along with forgiving but not forgetting. It's not like Gowther continued to terrorize everything... I don't think anyone will forget what Gowther is, or what he did; however, he proved himself forgivable by following through all the trials.
ReplyDeleteBecca, you make a good point in saying we should focus on looking at the characters as a whole. Tiffany, I agree that we should Also take the time period into account. Did Gowther do bad things? Absolutely! Was he remorseful and did he try to do something about it? Yes he did! I think that his seeking forgiveness was not because he was the devil's son, but rather because he saw that he was letting who he was make his decisions for him and that was wrong of him.
ReplyDeleteCommenting here (late) because one of my group members didn't post. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteI think you raise a lot of good points here, especially when you describe the progression of forgiveness we see in these stories. That's something I hadn't noticed, although it's totally true. I like that we get to see characters who are increasingly guilty about their misdeeds seeking forgiveness. To me, that shows a progression of both theological and literary elegance, which is fantastic.
I agree that we need to look at these characters as a whole instead of trying to focus on just the good or the bad, since that's what we're supposed to do with people, too! Approaching them from a different perspective allows us to explore a side of them we miss when we sit and criticize.
I will say I'm not as concerned or interested in "good person" or "bad person" status. Generally, I don't think it's fair to recognize people as either, since we're so mixed in either category. We're just "people."