Blurring the Boundaries of Culture and Nature in Ywain and Gawain1

Abstract

Ywain and Gawain narrates Ywain's knightly adventures due to which he is spiritually transformed into a perfect knight. His adventure begins with his departure from Arthur's court with the intent of avenging his cousin Colgrevance upon hearing his anecdote of combat with a knight and his subsequent defeat. At the beginning of Ywain's journey, culture/nature binary opposition becomes visible with the sudden change in topography from the civilised court to the wilderness. According to anthropocentrism, culture and nature are often thought to be separate from each other and dichotomous. At first glance, it seems that Ywain and Gawain also adopts such an anthropocentric viewpoint, that is, culture predominates nature. However, it can be observed that culture/nature binary opposition and its rigid definitions are challenged and blurred throughout the romance. In this regard, this paper aims to explore Ywain and Gawain's treatment of culture/nature binary opposition and analyse how the narrative challenges the strict boundaries of these two concepts through the lens of Donna Haraway's term natureculture(s) which acknowledges the inseparability and equal importance of culture and nature.