Part I
Lady Ragnell: a summary version as it is usually told

While out riding one day, King Arthur encounters a ferocious knight, who bests Arthur in battle. This Black Knight threatens to take Arthur’s life, but then spares him on one condition. Arthur must return in a year with the answer to the question, "what do women want?" Arthur searches in vain for the answer, asking the women at court and in town, peasants, nobles, young and old. Each woman replies with a different answer, and none reply with an answer which Arthur feels is the one, true answer. Finally, as he rides to meet the Black Knight and face his doom, Arthur meets a hideous hag who offers to help him, but only if he agrees to grant her whatever reward she requests. Arthur agrees, and the hag, Lady Ragnell, tells him that what women want is the right to choose for themselves. (Also phrased as the right to decide for themselves, the right to control their own lives, or simply sovereignty.) Arthur confronts the Black Knight with this answer, which is the correct one, and so saves his life.

For her reward, the Lady Ragnell claims Arthur’s loyal knight Sir Gawaine as her husband. Gawaine reluctantly agrees. On the wedding night, however, Ragnell reveals herself to be a beautiful maiden suffering a fearful enchantment. She must be a hideous hag half the day, a beautiful maiden the other. As her husband, Gawaine must now choose the terms of the enchantment. Does he wish her to be a hag during the day, in public, and beautiful at night, in their chambers or does he want her beautiful by day and a hag by night? Gawaine chooses first one option, then the other. With each choice, Ragnell protests, pointing out the flaws and selfish aspects of each choice. (If she is to be beautiful at night, that is fine for him, but she is subjected to public humiliation every day. If she is beautiful by day, Gawaine gets to show off his beautiful wife, but will not be able to stand to share his bed with an ugly hag.) Finally, Gawaine gives up trying to figure out which option is better and tells Ragnell to make the choice herself. She tells Gawaine that he has just granted her what every woman most wants: the right to choose for herself (or whatever formula was used in the first half of the story.) By doing so, Gawaine has broken her enchantment; she will remain a beautiful maiden for ever after.

on to Part II
Why I Hate Lady Ragnall

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