Contrasting Views of Arthurian Legends
Prompt: Provides a comparison between The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Knight Life by Peter David. Focuses on comparisons of characters' relationships. Describes how though the settings and plots may be similar, character development differs.
Even with just one Arthurian story, there are various versions of it. Though the settings and plots may be similar, character development differs. Similarly, The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Knight Life by Peter David tell of the same Arthurian legend but portray characters and their growth in different contexts. While Bradley tells of Morgaine and others in a deep and foreboding tone with many serious situations, David portrays them in a light-hearted point of view with a humorous touch on the basic legend. Therefore, even though both books may depict the same occurrences and infidelities, characters' relationships and portrayals such as Arthur and Lancelot's, Lancelot and Gwenhwyfar's, and Arthur and Morgaine's, vastly contrast and is found to have few similarities regarding meaning or love. In both novels, Lancelot and Gwenhwyfar have an obvious relationship with each other, but the motives in each book contrast. In The Mists of Avalon, they have a loving affair with meaningful love. Differing, is Knight Life in which they live together without concrete feelings. Bradley depicts Lancelot and Gwenhwyfar of having a romantic and lustrous affair. Unlike other infidelities, however, theirs has love and raw desire to be with the other. Both are constantly testing their loyalties toward Arthur, but Gwenhwyfar finally gives in after realizing she can no longer withstand her passion. After having been raped by her illegitimate brother, Meleagrant, Lancelot comes to her rescue and she gives in to her every temptation, "(...) Gwenhwyfar no longer cared; she looked straight at Lancelet, her head held high with joy and gladness. This was her true love, and never again would she trouble herself to hide it from any man" (519, Bradley) . At the moment she is vulnerable and willing to have sex with Lancelot, her savior. She realizes he is the one she will cherish forever, not Arthur or any other man, because Lancelot was the man who saved her and rewarded her with pleasure. Her love for Lancelot is not just lust, but meaningful affection. Contrastingly, David reveals their relationship to be less than adoration or even admiration, but to be pity. Gwenhwyfar and Lancelot don't love one another, but are only together because of Lancelot's inability for independence. She nurtures him out of pity instead of love and is constantly doubting his intentions, "He never went outdoors, at least in daylight, and he was sucking her dry... Stop thinking like that. You can't lose faith in him. Not you. You're all he has" (47, David) . Lancelot is jobless and mopes around the house and his girlfriend, Gwenhwyfar has to reassure herself she is the only person looking out for him. Because their relationship lack any meaning, it is doomed for disaster. Similarly, in The Mists of Avalon, their love is also catastrophic and meant for destruction. However, both are also different due to the difference of feelings in each.
Arthur's and Lancelot relationship with each other differ between affection and mutual hatred. Bradley divulges of their undying love for one another by sacrificing their own desires to achieve the other's. David, on the other hand, declares their disgust and yearning to deprive the other of Gwenhwyfar. In The Mists of Avalon, Lancelot and Arthur are best friends who are willing to fulfill the others wishes and aspirations. Their everlasting loyalty and friendship proves its greatest extent when Arthur allows Lancelot and Gwenhwyfar to have sex. Arthur is aware of their star-crossed lust and gives in to their temptations and shares his wife with Lancelot, "(...) Gwenhwyfar has no child - and do you not think I have not seen how you two look at each other? (...) a friend is one whom will lend your favorite wife and your favorite sword..." (448, Bradley) . Arthur offers Lancelot and Gwenhwyfar a chance to act upon their forbidden love and have sex with his approval. Because he and Lancelot are loving companions, they understand and want to fulfill the other's needs to and extent where both are willing to have a threesome. Their loyal friendship, however contrasts with David's depicting of their lack of respect or feeling for each other. In Knight Life, Arthur is outraged with Lancelot's disreputable feeling for Gwenhwyfar and rather have him dead than alive. Once Arthur discovers Lancelot has been abusing Gwenhwyfar, he is furious and ready to kill him:
Arthur stood in the door frame, and there was cold fury in his eyes. Lance took one look at the intruder, and griped a steak knife off a nearby table and charged. Arthur effortlessly sidestepped, gripped the knife hand at the wrist, and drove a knee into Lance's gut. (...)
Arthur: If you ever raise a hand to this woman... or any other woman... I shall cut it off. Then I will make you eat it. Do we understand each other"
Lance managed a nod, but not much more than that. (143-145, David)
Arthur is on the verge of pulverizing Lancelot, but is stopped by Gwenhwyfar who reminds him to have common sense. Because of Lancelot's consistent abuse to her, Arthur hates him and is compelled to kill. David portrays the two characters as enemies while Bradley sheds a positive view of their companionship.
In both books, Arthur's and Morgaine's involvements with each other are the same; together, they had Mordred while unconscious of their being brother and sister. However, their similarities end and their differences arise. Bradley reveals their complicated sibling love while David tells of their enmity. Bradley speaks of Morgaine having always looking out for her brother and soothing him when necessary. Morgaine has been like Arthur's mother and mentor. Even through their disagreements over religion and beliefs, both Morgaine and Arthur have been able to love each other against the odds. At Arthur's deathbed, Arthur cries for Morgaine, his loving sister and mentor:
Arthur: It is you, Morgaine... you have come back to me... and you are so young and fair... I will always see the goddess with your face... Morgaine, you will not leave me again, will you"
Morgaine: I will never leave you again, my brother, my baby, my love (868, Bradley
Despite Morgaine's treachery and Arthur's breaking of the sacred oath, both are able to overlook the others' failures and still find love for each other. As he dies, Morgaine promises to never leave him and realizes that their relationship conquers all. While Morgaine is upset and saddened by Arthur's death in The Mists of Avalon, in Knight Life, she would be ecstatic about it. David portrays her as an evil sorceress scheming to kill Arthur as revenge. She passionately hates him and attempts several times, "A sister loves her brother. And you always kill the one you love. You're going to die Arthur. The only question is whether it's going to be from the blade or from the blood" (332-333, David) . Morgaine's heart is filled with nothing but wrath for Arthur and she never learns to love him or resolve their problems. Although Arthur is willing for forgiveness, Morgaine isn't and later dies scheming for revenge and hate. However similar their sibling ties, the two works shine different light on it and tell of both love and hate.
However similar characters may be, their relationships differ in The Mists of Avalon and Knight Life, in the sense that the portrayals and feelings differ. Love, hatred, and pity between Lancelot, Gwenhwyfar, Arthur, and Morgaine depict the very idea of both the difference and similarity of relationships. Because character growth and development vary with such great depth of just two books, it is essential for the reader to be aware of the various depictions and realize there isn't just one verison of the Arthurian legend.
Cited:
Knight Life by Peter David
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Even with just one Arthurian story, there are various versions of it. Though the settings and plots may be similar, character development differs. Similarly, The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Knight Life by Peter David tell of the same Arthurian legend but portray characters and their growth in different contexts. While Bradley tells of Morgaine and others in a deep and foreboding tone with many serious situations, David portrays them in a light-hearted point of view with a humorous touch on the basic legend. Therefore, even though both books may depict the same occurrences and infidelities, characters' relationships and portrayals such as Arthur and Lancelot's, Lancelot and Gwenhwyfar's, and Arthur and Morgaine's, vastly contrast and is found to have few similarities regarding meaning or love. In both novels, Lancelot and Gwenhwyfar have an obvious relationship with each other, but the motives in each book contrast. In The Mists of Avalon, they have a loving affair with meaningful love. Differing, is Knight Life in which they live together without concrete feelings. Bradley depicts Lancelot and Gwenhwyfar of having a romantic and lustrous affair. Unlike other infidelities, however, theirs has love and raw desire to be with the other. Both are constantly testing their loyalties toward Arthur, but Gwenhwyfar finally gives in after realizing she can no longer withstand her passion. After having been raped by her illegitimate brother, Meleagrant, Lancelot comes to her rescue and she gives in to her every temptation, "(...) Gwenhwyfar no longer cared; she looked straight at Lancelet, her head held high with joy and gladness. This was her true love, and never again would she trouble herself to hide it from any man" (519, Bradley) . At the moment she is vulnerable and willing to have sex with Lancelot, her savior. She realizes he is the one she will cherish forever, not Arthur or any other man, because Lancelot was the man who saved her and rewarded her with pleasure. Her love for Lancelot is not just lust, but meaningful affection. Contrastingly, David reveals their relationship to be less than adoration or even admiration, but to be pity. Gwenhwyfar and Lancelot don't love one another, but are only together because of Lancelot's inability for independence. She nurtures him out of pity instead of love and is constantly doubting his intentions, "He never went outdoors, at least in daylight, and he was sucking her dry... Stop thinking like that. You can't lose faith in him. Not you. You're all he has" (47, David) . Lancelot is jobless and mopes around the house and his girlfriend, Gwenhwyfar has to reassure herself she is the only person looking out for him. Because their relationship lack any meaning, it is doomed for disaster. Similarly, in The Mists of Avalon, their love is also catastrophic and meant for destruction. However, both are also different due to the difference of feelings in each.
Arthur's and Lancelot relationship with each other differ between affection and mutual hatred. Bradley divulges of their undying love for one another by sacrificing their own desires to achieve the other's. David, on the other hand, declares their disgust and yearning to deprive the other of Gwenhwyfar. In The Mists of Avalon, Lancelot and Arthur are best friends who are willing to fulfill the others wishes and aspirations. Their everlasting loyalty and friendship proves its greatest extent when Arthur allows Lancelot and Gwenhwyfar to have sex. Arthur is aware of their star-crossed lust and gives in to their temptations and shares his wife with Lancelot, "(...) Gwenhwyfar has no child - and do you not think I have not seen how you two look at each other? (...) a friend is one whom will lend your favorite wife and your favorite sword..." (448, Bradley) . Arthur offers Lancelot and Gwenhwyfar a chance to act upon their forbidden love and have sex with his approval. Because he and Lancelot are loving companions, they understand and want to fulfill the other's needs to and extent where both are willing to have a threesome. Their loyal friendship, however contrasts with David's depicting of their lack of respect or feeling for each other. In Knight Life, Arthur is outraged with Lancelot's disreputable feeling for Gwenhwyfar and rather have him dead than alive. Once Arthur discovers Lancelot has been abusing Gwenhwyfar, he is furious and ready to kill him:
Arthur stood in the door frame, and there was cold fury in his eyes. Lance took one look at the intruder, and griped a steak knife off a nearby table and charged. Arthur effortlessly sidestepped, gripped the knife hand at the wrist, and drove a knee into Lance's gut. (...)
Arthur: If you ever raise a hand to this woman... or any other woman... I shall cut it off. Then I will make you eat it. Do we understand each other"
Lance managed a nod, but not much more than that. (143-145, David)
Arthur is on the verge of pulverizing Lancelot, but is stopped by Gwenhwyfar who reminds him to have common sense. Because of Lancelot's consistent abuse to her, Arthur hates him and is compelled to kill. David portrays the two characters as enemies while Bradley sheds a positive view of their companionship.
In both books, Arthur's and Morgaine's involvements with each other are the same; together, they had Mordred while unconscious of their being brother and sister. However, their similarities end and their differences arise. Bradley reveals their complicated sibling love while David tells of their enmity. Bradley speaks of Morgaine having always looking out for her brother and soothing him when necessary. Morgaine has been like Arthur's mother and mentor. Even through their disagreements over religion and beliefs, both Morgaine and Arthur have been able to love each other against the odds. At Arthur's deathbed, Arthur cries for Morgaine, his loving sister and mentor:
Arthur: It is you, Morgaine... you have come back to me... and you are so young and fair... I will always see the goddess with your face... Morgaine, you will not leave me again, will you"
Morgaine: I will never leave you again, my brother, my baby, my love (868, Bradley
Despite Morgaine's treachery and Arthur's breaking of the sacred oath, both are able to overlook the others' failures and still find love for each other. As he dies, Morgaine promises to never leave him and realizes that their relationship conquers all. While Morgaine is upset and saddened by Arthur's death in The Mists of Avalon, in Knight Life, she would be ecstatic about it. David portrays her as an evil sorceress scheming to kill Arthur as revenge. She passionately hates him and attempts several times, "A sister loves her brother. And you always kill the one you love. You're going to die Arthur. The only question is whether it's going to be from the blade or from the blood" (332-333, David) . Morgaine's heart is filled with nothing but wrath for Arthur and she never learns to love him or resolve their problems. Although Arthur is willing for forgiveness, Morgaine isn't and later dies scheming for revenge and hate. However similar their sibling ties, the two works shine different light on it and tell of both love and hate.
However similar characters may be, their relationships differ in The Mists of Avalon and Knight Life, in the sense that the portrayals and feelings differ. Love, hatred, and pity between Lancelot, Gwenhwyfar, Arthur, and Morgaine depict the very idea of both the difference and similarity of relationships. Because character growth and development vary with such great depth of just two books, it is essential for the reader to be aware of the various depictions and realize there isn't just one verison of the Arthurian legend.
Cited:
Knight Life by Peter David
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley