In some respects I see The characters of Gawain and the Green Knight as aspects of the one psyche. They too, like Gawain and Arthur, can be seen in terms of Summer/Winter Kings and it is, obviously, a mythology concerned with the natural cycle of the yearly round, but what does the behaeding aspect wish to relay to us?
I believe any beheading symbolism is teaching us the dangers of living “too much in the head” and neglecting the need to stay in touch with our body. Gawain is a representation of the Green Man (as is the Green Knight). As such, he is very much in touch with his natural state, his bodymind.. The challange issued by the Green Knight is – “Who is courageous enough to lose his reliance on his head/logical/rational/intellectual self and take note of his body/instinctual/natural self. It should be of no surprise that it is Gawain, alone, who steps forward.
