"Mistress of Magic" Section

So in this book of the Mists of Avalon, as we discussed in class before the reading, it has feminist leadings.  What is most interesting to me are these feminists' leanings, but also the social context of the book.  This is the first time in which we see the way in which women were oppressed.  The only other times these were discussed were briefly in the other books, such as De Troyes, but here it is emphasized.  Also with this social context we see more of the theme that you can not hide from your fate.  As Viviane states to Igraine, “You cannot hide from your fate.  It is given to you to play a part in the salvation of this land” (Bradley 20).  What I found interesting here is that this story seeks to absolve Igraine of this crime in the way they portray her as a victim of fate as well as from the oppression of men, especially seen in her husband Gorlois when he abused her for the crime of adultery she did not commit with Uther (at least she did not commit the crime yet).  In this way I think it gives us a new look at all the blamed women in Arthur, especially Guinevere.  Although in this book she is portrayed in a negative light when we first meet her, do you think the social context and example of Igraine and Uther help us see Guinevere in a more positive light in other books?  In my opinion, it does.  Igraine was forced into a loveless marriage to her duke, as was the same with Guinevere and likewise both seemed to grow and care for their husband, but both are a victim of fate, both had been prophesized to be with another man.  Yet although it was their fate, both were admonished by their cultures, this culture view is represented in the ideas of Father Columba when he states, “Now you see what comes if your wilfulness, my lady” (Bradley 79).  So my question to you two is, do you think this portrayal of Igraine made your view of Guinevere more positive?

Merlin

 

I chose to mention only a few points I found interesting on Merlin because the rest of my ideas will be presented tomorrow.  One event that I found interesting in the film is how the two Elaines were combined and how, unlike every story we have read so far on Arthurian Legends, Elaine is actually with Lancelot and they seem to be very in love with each other.  What is most interesting about this is how we view Lancelot and Guinevere’s affair as a result of this.  Because Elaine and Lancelot were in love prior to the affair, it makes the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere seem even more sinful because both of them were already involved or married to someone else and also Elaine’s death even more tragic.  So one question I pose to both of you is, why do you think the director chose to do this?  Because it made the affair more sinful? Or because it was simply easier to combine the two Elaines?

T.H. White: The Ill-Made Knight

In this chapter, we get to see how Lancelot and Guinevere's relationship began. This is particularly interesting because this is the first text we've read that offers an explanation as to the origins of their relationship. It is also interesting in the way that it examines the instant bond that Lancelot and Arthur have when they meet.

Earlier in the chapter, Lancelot is described as being jealous of the king because he got the girl that he had wanted, this being Guinevere. But then when he comes face to face with Arthur, he cannot help but like him and have respect for him. White writes, "Lancelot looked up at the breathless King, who held out both hands to help him to his feet, and his jealousy and grief were over" (White 326). He then goes on to describe how they cannot stop talking to each other all the way back to the castle. It is clear here that Lancelot and the King clearly have an affinity for one another, and develop a natural bond and friendship despite Lancelot's preconceived notions of the king.

Interestingly though, this same feeling does not happen right away when Lancelot meets Guinevere. White writes, "He did not notice anything particular about her, because his mind was filled with previous pictures which he had made for himself. There was no room for pictures of what she was really like" (White 327). This is interesting because with Arthur, Lancelot's jealousy's vanishes immediately when he meets the king. However, this is not the case with Guinevere. It takes a lot longer for him to realize that she is a "real person" who can think and feel, not someone who robbed him of what he desired. After reading several texts about the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere, I think it is very interesting that T.H. White chose to have their relationship start out with Lancelot disliking the Queen. Although there is no evidence of this in other texts, I pictured the two of them having an instant connection as soon as they set eyes on each other. Instead, White does this with Arthur, Guinevere. My question for you guys is, why do you think he constructs these relationships in this way? Is this how you imagined the origins of these relationships?

T.H. White: "The Queen of Air and Darkness"

First I would like to say that I thought that this T.H. White version was very interesting.  It is the closest piece to our type of literature as it was made in the late 1930s and it gives us interiority to characters we didn’t know all that much about.

I found the beginning interesting as one of the first narrative motifs that this novel examines is Arthur as a passive character.  In this novel we even see Merlin forcing Arthur to think for himself.  Merlin asks Arthur, “And what is going to happen when there is nobody to tell you?  Are you never going to think for yourself” (White 216)?  As a reader we finally get to see Arthur transition into his role as king from passive, to ruthless, to trying to be a moral king.  At first, Arthur seems to be portrayed as ruthless, getting pleasure out of the spoils of warfare.  Although we see this ruthlessness briefly in the beginning of Malory with his first battles and with trying to kill his child Modred after he is born, it is emphasized more in White's version.  This emphasizes Arthur’s relationship with his brutal father, King Uther who fought for the sake of power.  Although Arthur eventually becomes aware that “Might is not Right” and tries to correct the wrongdoings of others, who try to use their strength over the weak because they can, he can not escape the shadow of his father.  Even while correcting the “mistakes” of others he is still forcing his views on others.  For instance it is mentioned that Arthur is fighting, “to impose his ideas on King Lot” (White 261).  Again this shows the narrative motif of the dynamic relationships between father and son.

However, a new dynamic relationships are revealed in these passages, for instance those between mother and son and a narrative motif of unrequited love.  For example I thought the quote, “Perhaps we all give the best of our hearts uncritically to those who hardly think about us in return” said a lot about the relationship between Queen Margause and her sons (White 213).  It also highlights the relationships such as those between Lancelot and Elaine, (both Elaines) Arthur and Gwynevere and Sir Pelleas and Lady Ettarde, and they all resort to extremes to gain the other's love.  We see, for instance, Queen Margause’s sons, Gawaine, Gareth, Gatheris, and Agravaine try so hard to please their mother, leading to the disturbing scene with the unicorn.  As they are committing the act, the disturbing act reflects back on them because as they are destroying this beautiful creature into something mangled, it reflects on the evil and the sin inside of them and the repulsiveness of the act turns into being repulsed of themselves.  “They became responsible for spoiling its beauty, so they began to hate it for their guilt” (White 254).  My question is: What do you think about the relationship between these four brothers and their mother Queen Margause?

Phelps: The True Gwynevere...Guenever....Guinevere...

This will be post 1 of 2 so I can catch up, I'll be posting 2 either tonight or tomorrow.

I love this version of Guinevere. It's a somewhat uncourtly story. It almost seems like Arthur and Guinevere are not really King and Queen, and that Lancelot is not actually a knight. Arthur is cooking toast (how very undignified) and the only "throne" to be seen is a bird of paradise chair. The whole thing has a small, cottage-y feel to it. I can't decide yet if I love it or hate it. Arthur is portrayed as this lovable, doofy, typical man. He's very regal but COMPLETELY inept at ANYTHING that has to do with affection. Guinevere on the other hand is a time bomb of passion. She wants it all the time, and she wants it with Lancelot. We do see that she wishes for Arthur's affection but is so bored by him and sends him the wrong vibes, which in turn ruins any romantic moment they might have. This story of  a creature of passion--really simple attention, versus the bumbling king, makes you love them and hate them both. Lancelot is not a big role besides a handsome, occasionally brooding shadow to the king. It seems in this that Arthur is so unaware of how to handle Guinevere, he doesn't even see her affair. So in this case, he's just an idiot (though a lovable one). Guinevere is a misunderstood shrew as far as I can tell. She can never express what she wants. She thinks and broods over his lack of affection, but when he approaches her she shrieks "I'll have it out!" (meaning the tooth) instead of thanking and appreciating Arthur's suggestion of the ever mysterious "drops" (214).
The toothache, I think is a symbol of the infidelity of Guinevere. It gets worse and worse and is cured by laudanum  which, coincidentally leads her to be cured of her infidelity via hallucination (and toothache?) She has a hallucination that she is running away with Lancelot, but has a moment where she feels so disgusted by herself she wishes "I seek no throne! I ask for no crown! All I want is to go back and be clean." (219). The guilt is overwhelming (just like the toothache), and when she wakes up she seems to have leaked some of the story to Arthur's caring hand. Whoops. But he, being boring and regal and not-drama-starting, tells her "We won't talk about it now"(220). Classic, boring, married couple. The question is, is it resolved? Does she love Arthur and resent Lance? I think she's starting to come to grips with her sin. Thoughts?

Tennyson: Lancelot and Elaine

I loved Tennyson's version of the story of Lancelot and Elaine. He is a beautiful writer, which made the ending of the story, when Elaine dies, that much more powerful. Because of the vivid details in this text I feel like there is so much to mention and write on, however I will try and stick to just a couple of things that jumped out at me the most.

This story is overflowing with conventions of courtly love, but I thought the most notable convention in this text is Lancelot superiority to Elaine. Tennyson makes it a point to obviously state, not just imply, that Lancelot is of a higher status than Elaine. Interestingly, he gives readers the perspectives of this relationship from other characters points of views such as the queen's and Elaine's father. Tennyson writes: "all had marvel what the maid might be, but most predoom'd her as unworthy. One old dame came suddenly on the Queen with the sharp news. She, that had heard the noise of it before, but sorrowing that Lancelot should have stoop'd so low" (pg 187, lines 722-727). Here the reader learns that Elaine is clearly of a lower status, one that most knights would probably not succumb to. Then we see the other perspective when Elaine's father tries to dissuade Elaine from going to take care of Lancelot. "And sure I think this fruit is hung too high for any mouth to gape for save a queen's" (pg 188, lines 69-70). This is interesting in the way that we get to see two sides of the social spectrum. The king's people clearly think that Elaine and her family are not up to par, and Elaine's family clearly knows where they stand. Something even more intriguing is that although everyone else sees this difference in social status, Elaine is blinded to it and proceeds to pursue Lancelot anyway.

The other thing that I thought was quite interesting is that in comparison to Malory, Tennyson really did not emphasize the fact that the character of Elaine died a virgin. This is the most obvious in Elaine's letter to Lancelot. In Malory, it is clearly stated that Elaine dies a virgin but in Tennyson there is no clear mention of her being a virgin. This could be because it is meant to be implied since it is made clear that there is a large age gap between Lancelot and Elaine, and she is described as being rather youthful.

When reading this, the painting that we looked at in class of Elaine on the barge floating down the river kept coming into my mind. I think that the artist definitely based his or her painting off of this version of Lancelot and Elaine. I gather this because the detail in the painting matches perfectly the vivid descriptions in Tennyson's story. More specifically, the old man in the painting is somewhat of a focal point, giving viewers the idea that he is perhaps significant in some way. I remember talking about him specifically in class too, and discussing his significance and how is body language is depicted. In Malory, we did not get much information about this man, but Tennyson mentions him many times. In fact, he is continuously mentioned as being stupid and dumb. My question to you guys is, why do you think Tennyson made it a point to say these things about the poor guy rowing the boat who is clearly affected by the tragedy of Elaine's death. It certainly confused me and I'm not sure why it is significant.

Interpretive Post-Tennyson

First Interpretive Post- I figured I would add to what I have already written about “The Lady of Shalott” by Tennyson.  From my first post on the poem, I would like to expand about how the parts show different tones and turning points in the story.  For instance, in the first part of the poem brings a sort of air of mystery to the poem, as it describes nobody having ever seen the Lady of Shalott.  In Part II, however it shows a transition from this contentedness she feels to this jealousy of the two lovers she sees passing by.  Then in Part III when she sees Sir Lancelot through her mirror, and takes on this awed tone and is very similar to the passage of Malory’s “The Knight of the Cart” comparing lovers to blossoming flowers in the spring as everything is new to the Lady of Shalott as she sees the world she has missed when she looks at the reflection of Lancelot.  Then finally, the fourth part turns to this forlorn tone using gloomy descriptive words enhancing the sad, yet romanticized death of the Lady of Shalott.

 Second, I wanted to comment on part of the discussion that we had in class about the comparative piece about the curse and how it was also similar to the story of Adam and Eve, where God tried to protect them from the knowledge and yet Eve was tempted and ate the apple.  In this poem it seems to be showing that this curse is protecting her from the temptations of the world but also perhaps from heartbreak.  We see this with her desire to look directly at Lancelot.  Tennyson writes, “She left the web, she left the loom, She made three paces thro’ the room” (Tennyson 148).  Perhaps this curse was protecting her from the heartbreak or perhaps sinful nature of courtly affairs.  However, her death is very ambiguous because we do not know if she actually died of heartbreak like Malory’s Lady of Astolat or if she died because of the curse.  Although we do not know the cause of her death, she seems free.  Especially the imagery of the Lady of Shalott floating down the river, it is almost a symbol of her freedom, as water is a symbol of freedom, as it is an uncontrollable object.  The particular passage that symbolizes this freedom for me is, “She loosed the chain, and down she lay; The broad stream bore her far away” (Tennyson 149).

            The third particular interesting part of this poem is the way in which she died as her blood, “Was frozen slowly, And her eyes were darken’d wholly” (Tennyson 149).  To me this is representative of the Lady of Shalott numbing her feelings and if she did indeed die of a broken heart, it romanticizes her love of Lancelot, this love at first sight that would never be returned.