The function of the figure of Gauvain underwent an historical change. As a courtly character in
the classical romances he reacted in the interests of Arthurian society to its deficiencies
so that the action provoked by the disturbances came to rest. In the later romances a process
of emancipation in the role of the protagonist sets in. The personal motivation connected with
this role stood in conflict with the function of the figure of Gauvain as established in the
tradition of the genre and this led to problems of causality in the texts. Despite this
process of emancipation however the figure remained remarkably stable in a consistent
narrative model. In this model Chrétien de Troyes had set the figure up as an antagonist to
that of the protagonist and the figure of Keus the other courtly character. This model
describes the deployment and of the various figures and their tendency to act in particular
ways and could be verified in all of Chrétien's romances as a basic structure of Gauvain's
actions but showed itself to be a particular motivation for his actions in the romances with
Gauvain's quest.
