The Mists of Avalon: The Opposition Within
For: Mr. Murray
Michaela Blaser
ENG 4UE | December 15, 2008
The Mists of Avalon, written by Marion Zimmer Bradley, is “a monumental reimaging of the Arthurian legends”, as said by The New York Times Book Review. It is a compelling story, the magical legend of King Arthur as it is seen through the eyes and lives of the women who held power behind the throne. But it is not only that which makes The Mists of Avalon such a spellbinding story. The very two-sidedness of the various dualities gives matter to greater intellectual thought and captivates the reader’s attention. Some of the various polar themes include passivity versus activity, intuition versus logic, internal issues versus external issues, and follower versus leader. However, the oppositions within The Mists of Avalon that are perhaps most important to the novel are those of duty in opposition to desire, Christianity versus Druidism, and the role of women as opposed to the role of men.
From the very beginning of The Mists of Avalon, the choosing of what is right and what is easy is an observable battle. Each character, however unique, faces a similar trial based on what is expected of them due to their social status. Each character must do what is their duty and pay no attention to (as best they can) what they truly do desire. Though there are many examples that arise of this all-too-common battle, those that stand out are the judgments of Igraine, Morgaine, and Gwenhwyfar.
“‘No! I have a husband, and I have borne him a child! I will not let you play again at skipping-stones with my life! I married as you bade me – and you will never know –’ The words choked in her throat. There would never be any way to tell them of the first year; even Viviane would never know. She could say, I was afraid, or I was alone and terrified, or Rape would have been easier because I could have run away to die afterward, but any of those would have been only words, conveying only the smallest part of what she had felt.” (Bradley, 15-16)
Igraine was but fifteen years old when she was forced to marry Gorlois, handed over to the Duke of Cornwall as a gift from Avalon. In the above quote, she is just beginning to understand what Taliesin, the Merlin of Britain, and Vivian, the Lady of Avalon, are telling her: she is predestined to have an affair with Uther Pendragon, a king destined to become High King. This arrangement angers Igraine, as she has gone through great pains from the marriage to Gorlois that Taliesin and Vivian had forced unto her years ago. This event alone had been an unwilling choice she had had to make between what she desired and what was easy (not marrying Gorlois) and what was her duty, as a priestess of Avalon.
“‘It is a matter of honor,’ she repeated. ‘I owe him this. He let me keep Morgaine, when she was all I had in my loneliness. He has been kind and patient, and for a man of his years it cannot be easy. He wants a son, he believes it all-important to his life and honor, and I will not deny him this.’ … I did [Viviane’s] will once, when I was a child and knew no better. But now I am grown, I am a woman, not so easily led as the child she gave away to be Gorlois’s bride. Now I will do my own will, and not that of the Lady of the Lake.” (Bradley, 17-19)
Igraine was also plenty outraged, claiming she would never cheat on her husband because he was good to her, allowing her to keep her daughter Morgaine with her, instead of sending her off for fostering. She also believed greatly that it was her duty to bare Gorlois a son, as was expected of a wife. At this point, Igraine’s choice duty is to her husband, as his her desire, but the duty chosen for her is to marry Uther, leaving her with a greater desire to remain faithful to her husband, Gorlois. But Igraine then meets Uther, while accompanying her husband to a royal meeting. Although nothing becomes of their chance meetings, Gorlois charges her with adultery and soon initiates a war against Uther. Through her anger at the unreasonable accusations of infidelity, Igraine finds she lusts for Uther. Once having desired Gorlois and followed her desires, she once again follows her desire (though it was once duty) in marrying Uther and having his child.
Igraine’s daughter, Morgaine, inherits a similar predicament when facing the task of what is right and dutiful, and what is easy and desired. Shortly after the marriage of her mother to Uther, Viviane discovers greatness in Morgaine, and takes her to Avalon to become a High Priestess there. She pursues her duties well… until her charming cousin flashes a smile her way.
“They ate slowly, licking their fingers free of the honey, and he reached for her hand, taking it up playfully and sucking a bit of honey of her finger. ‘How sweet you are, cousin,’ he said, laughing, and she felt her whole body alive with the touch. She picked up his hand to return the gesture, and suddenly dropped it as if it had burned her; to him it was only a game, perhaps, but it could never be so to her…’I am virgin while the Goddess wills; most likely I am to be kept for the Great Marriage…’” (Bradley, 152-153)
When Lancelet, the previously stated ‘charming cousin’, and Morgaine go off together to climb a steep mountain, Lancelet uses some of his more flirtatious qualities to make Morgaine challenge her duties as High Priestess of Avalon. One of these greater duties is remaining chaste, even though her desire is to sleep with Lancelet. But as she is so highly ranked and highly respected, she must keep to her duty and push aside her desires for Lancelet. It is only later that she comes to regret this decision. Having kept her virginity, she met the requirements to participate in a ritual known as the ‘Great Marriage’, which ended with Morgaine sleeping with her brother… and becoming pregnant.
“‘What has happened to the lady Morgaine?’ [asked Viviane]. ‘Lady –’ the young woman said stammering, ‘she – she was not in her room, and I asked everywhere. I found – I found this in her room,’ she said, holding out the veil and deerskin tunic, the silver crescent and the little sickle knife which Morgaine had been given at her initiation, ‘And they told me on the shore that she had summoned the barge and gone away to the mainland. They thought she went by your orders.’” (Bradley, 229)
Forbidden to terminate the life of the unborn child (for he would come to be the greatest of kings), she becomes angry beyond belief, and renounced her duties. Her life was soon after guided by her own desires, what she alone wished to do or not.
Gwenhwyfar was cast into a similar arrangement as that which had befallen Igraine at her young age of fifteen, only Gwenhwyfar had a few more years to her age. Daughter of King Leodegranz, Gwenhwyfar was prearranged to marry the High King Arthur. Although she was used as merely a bartering chip for alliances between Arthur and Leodegranz, Gwenhwyfar came to love Arthur dearly, and wished upon him all the best. Early on in their marriage, Gwenhwyfar desired her duty of being wed to Arthur. Only later did she come to fear she was not upholding her duty as much as she would long to. She was in her own eyes, and the mocking eyes of all else, barren. It was her desire to bear a child, and her duty to do so as well, but lack of following through with her duty of giving birth to an heir dampened her desire for her husband, even though she was forever determined to remain faithful to him. Later on, however, she began to desire Lancelet for the same flirtatious qualities that had driven Morgaine so very close to disposing of her rightly duties. Even though her duties then lied with Arthur, her desires were intended for Lancelet.
“‘When I think of that – that animal, touching you –’ [Lancelet] said, with his face muffled against her breast, ‘and I who love you barely dare to lay a hand on you-’
“And for all her faithfulness, she had only come to this; God had rewarded her virtue and self-restraint by betraying her into [self-declared brother’s] hands for rape and brutality! And Lancelet, who had offered her love and tenderness, who had scrupulously stepped aside that he might not betray his kinsman – he had to witness it!... She no longer cared, nor felt restraint. Arthur? Arthur had not protected her from ravishment, She had suffered what she had to suffer, and now, at least, she would have this much.” (Bradley, 519)
At that point in time, Gwenhwyfar had suffered through a horrible kidnapping by a man who claimed to be her brother. Believing that Arthur would not have rescued her as Lancelet did, she submitted to her desire for him, and soon lost all concern for her duty to Arthur. In the end, Gwenhwyfar ran away with Lancelet, leaving her with both the duty to Lancelet, and the desire to do that duty; “Clinging to Lancelet’s back, her gown pulled up above her knees and her bare legs hanging down, Gwenhwyfar closed her eyes as they rode hard through the night. She had no idea where they were going…” (Bradley, 860)
One might wonder why marriage was forced upon Igraine in such a manner, or why Morgaine was made to follow such ludicrous protocol, or why Gwenhwyfar struggled so greatly in attempting to make the right decisions. It is essential to know that all these predicaments occur, in a great part, because of the opposition between the two major religions of the time: Christianity and Druidism. The actions of all persons inhabiting the British Isles between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD (the approximate time that the events within The Mists of Avalon took place) were influenced by the conflicting religions.
Christianity, in general, works off of the centrality of the person of Jesus Christ. A great emphasis within Christianity is put on private devotion and individual prayer.
“…Christian way of life, one that is informed by the call to discipleship and service. The inherent worth of every person as one who has been created in the image of God, the sanctity of human life and thus the marriage and the family, the imperative to strive for justice even in a fallen world – all of these are dynamic moral commitments that Christians would accept, however much their own conduct may fall short of these norms.” (Pelikan)
In The Mists of Avalon, Christianity is a religion that is beginning to occupy the hearts and minds of many people. Gwenhwyfar is the perfect image of a Christian. She does many things to strengthen the Christian religion in Arthur’s kingdom, the most significant of which is potentially the making of the Christian banner. When Gwenhwyfar weaves a Christian banner to replace that of the Druids, she reflects her Christian belief by using her own hands to work on it.
“It was most beautiful as she planned it – blue, with gold thread, and her priceless crimson-dyed silks for the mantle of the Virgin… And into every stitch of this banner shall I weave my prayers that Arthur shall be safe, and this a Christian land from Tintagel to Lothian….” (Bradley, 384)
She also shows great service to her God by means of silent and personal prayer throughout the making of the banner. How does Christianity impact the lives of Igraine, Morgaine, and Gwenhwyfar? Igraine never really shows visible signs of truly following the Christian faith, as she is devoted to Druidism. At the beginning of The Mists of Avalon, she even goes as far as to throw a priest out of her living quarters, as she believes that all he tells is disgraceful lies.
“‘Go and the Devil take you, so that you come not into my presence,’ and turned her back. ‘If you presume to curse me, woman-’ ‘Why should I waste my breath with a curse? I would as willingly bid you Godspeed to your own heaven, and may your God find more pleasure in your company than I do.’” (Bradley, 82)
Her daughter Morgaine is influenced very little by the Christian faith when she is but a child, still living with her mother. Perhaps this is why Morgaine accepted Druidism so easily, when she was taken to Avalon by Viviane. It is only later in life that Morgaine questions her religion, because of the pain it has brought to her (i.e. falling pregnant to her own brother during a Druid ceremony). Morgaine eventually begins to accept some of the Christian beliefs, but still holds strongly on most of the Druid aspects. Gwenhwyfar is quite opposite of Morgaine, growing up in a Christian home. It is her very up-bringing that leads her to believe so strongly in her Christian faith, and thus makes great drastic changes to her lifestyle. It is only when she begins to commit adulterous acts that she questions if Christianity is really all it is made out to be.
“‘And as for Lancelet, we must by now have given him time to be gone from the Queen’s chamber…’ [said Morgaine] And indeed when Elaine and Morgaine reached the Queen, there was no sign of the presence there of Lancelet, or any other man. But once, when Elaine was for a moment beyond earshot, Gwenhwyfar met Morgaine’s eyes, and Morgaine thought she had never met such awful bitterness. ‘You despise me, do you not, Morgaine?’ For once, Morgaine thought, Gwenhwyfar has voiced the question that has been in her thoughts all these weeks. She felt like hurling back a sharp answer – If I do so, is it not because you have first despised me? But she said as gently as she could, ‘I am not you confessor, Gwenhwyfar, and you, not I, are the one who professes belief in a God who will damn you because you share your bed with a man who is not your husband. My Goddess is gentler with women.’” (Bradley, 525)
And so it is true: the Druid Goddess is gentler, but in many more ways than with women.
Druidism is a religious faith of the ancient Celtic inhabitants of the British Isles, and in the parts of Britain that were not invaded by the Romans, Druidism survived until it was replaced by Christianity, two or three years later. (Unknown) In The Mists of Avalon, Druidism is the pagan religion that is the leading power of the Land of Avalon. Although it slowly fades away as priests and bishops come to power, the Druidism power behind the throne secretly controls all of Britain. It is the priestesses of Avalon and the Merlin of Britain (highest rank of Druids) that are consulted when major changes are to be made to the control of the country. Specifically in the case of the Merlin of Britain, we see many examples of leaders that seek out the Merlin to be one of the more trusted councilors (i.e. Ambrosius, Uther, Arthur). Where the Christian faith is one of decency and appropriateness, Druidism can be argued to be a faith of sexuality and openness (both appropriate and inappropriate).
“‘Where is Avalloch?’ [asked Morgaine]. [Accolon] laughed shortly. ‘He is gone down to the village to lie with the Spring Maiden… it is one of our customs that the village priest does not know…’” (Bradley, 587)
An example of a Druid activity would be the Beltane rites, which put simply, was a night of activities that involved blessing the fertility of the lands and of the women. The above excerpt exemplifies the type of activity common to this practice. This act of adoration and sanction would be considered most unsuitable in the Christian sphere of influence. It is one of the greater reasons why many, including Gwenhwyfar who thought the rites disgusting, attempted to establish the Christian faith enough to replace the Druid faith.
But where it is insisted that Christianity replaces Druidism, we must not believe so. A duality that helps exemplify this argument is the opposition between the role of women and the role of men. Druidism ideally encourages women to “free themselves from patriarchal morals and restrictions. The religion symbolizes the feminine power that has been repressed in the Christian world.” (Huang) Druidism is sometimes referred to as the Goddess religion because of the feminine power it embodies. In her role as the priestess of Druidism, Morgaine symbolizes matriarchal freedom. For women of the Druid faith, weakness only exists in a thwarted mission.
In the Christian faith, however, women are characters of weakness. An example of this is when King Leodegranz gives Gwenhwyfar to Arthur to be married… as an extra with a gift of horses.
“‘I have daughters; when the eldest marries her husband will lead my men into battle, and can train him as he will. Tell your High King to come here, and we will discuss the matter… Beseech him, then, to come to an old man who does not want to ride out from him own fireside… If he will not come for me, perhaps he will come to know how I will dispose of my horses and the armed men to ride them.’” (Bradley, 254)
The parallel between Gwenhwyfar and the horses explicitly implies weakness on her part. After winning her way with establishing the Christian banner, it is apparent that the only way that a Christian woman can access power is to hold the power of creation. In Gwenhwyfar’s case, her faith holds her power. There are many cases within The Mists of Avalon where we see the prohibition of discussing (or even mentioning) the Goddess. In the greater part of Britain, “women’s power is repressed, brought down by male society members. The attitude towards women resembles the attitude toward pagan religion.” (Huang) Christianity can not allow Druidism to exist in conjunction with it, which causes the priests within The Mists of Avalon to be blind towards the fact that women hold the ultimate power over men through their power of creation. It is obvious through comparison that the women of the Druid faith have more respect and are favored for advice over the men of the Druid faith, whereas the women of the Christian faith are not called upon to represent themselves and their opinions, among the men of their equivalent faith.
In conclusion, the opposition within The Mists of Avalon brings out the best – and worst – of the individuals that struggle with the duality of fighting for what they desire as opposed to what they hold in duty, what is easy over what is right, and what is wanted of them as opposed to what is expected of them. The contrasting of Christianity and Druidism helps give further insight into the trials that may have affected the though-process of Igraine, Morgaine, and Gwenhwyfar as they struggled to choose between duty and desire. Through the examination of the roles of women and men within these two central religions, it is crucial to understand that the choices between duty and desire, and Christianity and Druidism build the roles of both men and women, throughout Avalon and the British Isles.
Bibliography:
Book(s)
Zimmer Bradley, Marion. The Mists of Avalon. New York: Ballantine Books, 1982.
Web Document(s)
Huang, Dina. "Mists of Avalon: From Druidism to Christianity, Replacement or Reincarnation." Agleam.net. 2002. 14 Dec 2008 .
"The Mists of Avalon." LitLovers. 2006. LitLovers. 14 Dec 2008 .
Encyclopedia(s)
Pelikan, Jaroslav. "Christianity." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. CD-ROM.2002 ed.Canada: Microsoft Corporation, 2001.
"Druidism." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. CD-ROM.2002 ed.Canada: Microsoft Corporation, 2001.
