1) What Do Women Want? The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Hag Ragnell: Told by Ralph Metzner

Let me begin by saying I have provided revisions and additions to this legend--it is the story of Sir Gawain (one of the knights of King Arthur's round table) and the Hag Ragnell. Sir Gawain was King Arthur's nephew and regarded as one of the most nobel, virtuous and courteous of the knights.

One day King Arthur was out hunting. Seeing a male deer, he followed it into the woods and killed it. After killing the deer, King Arthur was suddenly surprised by a very large knight in black armor, who confronted him, holding him at the point of a sword. The black knight said: "You are now in my power, and I am going to kill you. Because I don't like you."

King Arthur said, "It is not a good idea to kill the King. Your reputation will be terrible. It is not an honorable thing to do. Why don't you tell me what it is that you want from me and I will give you my word that you will have it." The black knight (whose name was Sir Gromer Somer Jewer) said, "Okay, I will let you go. But you have to give me your word as knight and king that you will come back here in exactly one year's time and give me the answer to this riddle, which I will tell you. And if you do not give me the right answer to this riddle I will kill you then." King Arthur gulped and said, "Okay, I give you my word as knight and King. Now what is the riddle?"

Sir Gromer Somer Jewer said, "The riddle, the question, to which I want you to provide me with the answer (this is a question that interested Freud very much), is: What do women want?" (Freud worried about this question a great deal. He never knew the answer either). In reply, King Arthur said, "Okay, I will meet you back here in one years time with my answer." King Arthur really did not know what he was getting into, but since his only real choice (that is, if he wanted to live) was to say okay.

Afterwards King Arthur began the journey back to his castle, where on the road he met Sir Gawain. Due to this encounter with the knight in black armor, King Arthur was in very deep thought, reflecting on the knight's question, and looking very sad. Sir Gawain noticed this and asked, "Sir King, what has happened? Why are you in such deep thought and looking so sad?" Replying to Sir Gawain's question, King Arthur told him about his meeting with Sir Gromer Somer Jewer and the riddle that he had been asked to provide an answer.

Being the noble knight that he was, Sir Gawain said to King Arthur, "No sweat Sir, we will find an answer to that question right away!" (Sir Gawain was always jumping up and volunteering to do the noble deed. For instance, on another occasion, King Arthur and his knights had experienced the vision of the Holy Grail being carried in. This miraculous vision just suddenly appeared to them, and then, just as strangely, vanished into thin air. Leaving King Arthur and all of his knights just sitting there, stunned, until Sir Gawain jumped up and said, "We must go and search for the holy Grail!" This search for the Holy Grail was actually a big mistake, because King Arthur and his knights confused the outer and the inner worlds of psychological and spiritual reality. Believing the Grail was something outside, something tangible, something material, and something separate from themselves to be found like an object in nature. But all of this is really another story for anotner time and is something that Sir George Trevelyan has elaborated on).

(To Be Continued)