@article{article_1414876, title={Substitution and Suppression: Sexuality in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight}, journal={Akdeniz İnsani Bilimler Dergisi}, volume={9}, pages={519–528}, year={2019}, author={Ulu, Berkan}, keywords={Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sexuality, Substitution, Suppression, Imagery}, abstract={In the Middle Ages few works with content that aroused sexual desire were fortunate to escape the censorship of the Church through some creative and cunning ways and means hidden within the pages. Although it is initially a story of chivalric virtues, a religious piece for edification as well as a didactic masterpiece, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight has been considered one of those texts that carry concealed sexual allusions indicated by a seductress eager to kiss a newly arrived guest, a man kissing another man, a girdle and a ring as symbols of sexuality and so on. This paper argues that certain parts of the text, particularly the hunting and butchering scenes, are exceptionally rich in terms of pornographic imagery, to the point where they leave behind the obvious sexual undertones of the provocatively dressed lady and the bedroom foreplay. Through textual analysis, this study questions whether these sections potentially function in the development of, or in abstention from the sexually charged sub-thematic plot.}, number={2}, publisher={Akdeniz Üniversitesi}