Igraine
Igraine is married at a young age to Duke Gorlois of Cornwall and has a daughter, Morgaine, by him. Although she is married with a child, she views herself as a child in many ways. She hints that she has always relied on Viviane for direction as a child would. It is not until she encounters Uther that she begins to feel like a woman. With Uther, she finds true, "adult" love. It takes her a long time before she learns to rely on herself for guidance. Long after she is married to Uther, she continues to mourn the children she has lost either through miscarriage or shortly after birth. Igraine sees this loss as her penance for both doing wrong to Gorlois and lying with Uther before Uther's and her wedding ceremony. Even as Uther lies dying, she refuses to allow the Merlin to use his healing spells on him because she has become Christian.
After Uther dies, she agrees to retire to a convent. Igraine does not want to live near Avalon to be closer to Morgaine because she feels it is unseemly for a Christian queen to do so. She only leaves the convent once, to accompany Gwenhwyfar to Caerleon for her wedding ceremony to Arthur. Igraine is the first to see the attraction between Gwenhwyfar and Lancelet. She tries to stop the wedding between Gwenhwyfar and Arthur from occurring, but it is too late to do so. Years later, Gwenhwyfar travels to see Igraine as she is dying from a heart condition. It is on her deathbed that she mourns Morgaine's absence from her life and wishes she had done things differently. She dies never knowing where Morgaine has gone.
After Uther dies, she agrees to retire to a convent. Igraine does not want to live near Avalon to be closer to Morgaine because she feels it is unseemly for a Christian queen to do so. She only leaves the convent once, to accompany Gwenhwyfar to Caerleon for her wedding ceremony to Arthur. Igraine is the first to see the attraction between Gwenhwyfar and Lancelet. She tries to stop the wedding between Gwenhwyfar and Arthur from occurring, but it is too late to do so. Years later, Gwenhwyfar travels to see Igraine as she is dying from a heart condition. It is on her deathbed that she mourns Morgaine's absence from her life and wishes she had done things differently. She dies never knowing where Morgaine has gone.