In most ways, Sir Gawain has many of the traits needed in a Romantic hero, among them bravery, loyalty, and persistence. However, alongside the traditional aura of hero-goodness is a slightly dark element that seems almost more modern than romantic. While he is still the ideal character acting as the agent of good, namely offering his life for his king and pursuing an obviously strange challenger through wood and strange keep, Sir Gawain’s character is neither flawless nor honest. What seems like such a basic virtue for any hero to have is not completely present in Sir Gawain, which makes him more subject to comparison to a modern hero/protagonist. In this case, that modern hero is Harry Potter.

Easy similarities can be found in their respective worlds; both live in realities where magic is common and oftentimes the source of malevolent sources, and both worlds have environments that hold mysteries fueled by dark powers. The most important feature each character has, however, is the lack of a perfect moral track record. Despite being expected to practice total and rational honesty by the reader, each character has a lying streak. While neither of the characters are compulsive liars committed to sabotaging their own existences with un-truths, a common mistake made in each case is the employment of lying. Sir Gawain tells a simple lie to Sir Burtilak in the face of the attempted seduction made by Lady Burtilak, to protect the two of them when the exchange of the day’s hunting comes about. Harry lies with greater frequency, but primarily as a measure to cover up what he believes to be even more curiosities in his life. Although, for significantly different reasons, the same ability to lie when deemed the most practical option in a situation definitely makes Sir Gawain more easily viewed beside today’s flawed protagonists.

Outside of obvious character flaws, Harry and Sir Gawain are fairly similar, despite one of them being an active student and the other’s position as an Arthurian knight. Both of the characters have definitive parties of foes involved through long periods of time. While Morgan le Fay is the commonly-used villain in the tales of Arthur’s court, Voldemort and his Death Eaters are the malicious force behind every book of the Harry Potter series. Just as King Arthur is the reigning figure in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Dumbledore acts as the guiding presence directing Harry’s efforts. The Knights of the Round Table have with them the same bond which ties together Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Both characters complete grand quests filled with long journeys and confusing mysteries, but each still lies in self-interest, whether it is Harry’s lies throughout the series to Dumbledore or Gawain’s singular lie to Sir Burtilak.

Although one character is created notably earlier in real time than the other, nothing truly separates the moral conduct and values of Harry and Sir Gawain. What appears during his stay at Burtilak Keep is an element of slight moral grey common to today’s literature, but seemingly unexpected in such a traditional portrayal of a Romantic hero. (quotes will be added)