I very much enjoyed the Mists of Avalon readings and
especially I loved getting to see more of Avalon itself. I feel like we really didn’t read much
at all about Avalon. I remember at
the beginning of the semester, we talked about our then perceptions of the King
Arthur world and I brought up Avalon-how I had no idea if it was a place on the
map, or a “heaven” or what. So I
liked that I got to see that in this reading (and in the world of king Arthur)
that it was in fact a physical place.
However, Lancelot/Galahad of course claims that it isn’t of their
world-that is really isn’t real.
Another reason why I liked the first Avalon reading was because it was focusing a lot of the priestesses. When do we really get to see women of power in king Arthur readings? I mean, it feels like anytime a woman is written about in our past readings, she’s presented as an inferior/subordinate person, sexualized object or an obstacle in a quest.
Another reason why I liked the first Avalon reading was because it was focusing a lot of the priestesses. When do we really get to see women of power in king Arthur readings? I mean, it feels like anytime a woman is written about in our past readings, she’s presented as an inferior/subordinate person, sexualized object or an obstacle in a quest.
Can we talk about Morgaine for a sec? *Relating this to modern feminism* I think there is definitely something
to Morgaine being empowered and identifying with her inner “goddess”
(did you just think of 50 shades of Grey too??). She feels both wanting to be her
goddess-self and give in to her desire for Lancelot (who doesn’t like how
female dominated Avalon is).
Doesn’t this sound similar to some situations today- in some hetero
circumstances I mean. A woman who
thinks of herself as an equal/not subordinate wanting to be with man who
doesn’t think of her as an equal….the power dynamic seems uneven and a lot of
the time the woman may feel the pressure to “give up” one side of her or the
other. Just some food for thought.
OKAY so the incestuous Mists of Avalon reading…I wasn’t
grossed out when I was reading it.
I was actually really intrigued with this reading because of a few
reasons (besides the fact that I enjoy reading fucked up shite):
1) The ritualized the priestess giving her virginity to the half animal man (sophisticate name, I know) is very…animal themed. Why is this so?
1) The ritualized the priestess giving her virginity to the half animal man (sophisticate name, I know) is very…animal themed. Why is this so?
2) I find it interesting how insect comes up a lot in
Arthurian readings…I mean, why does that keep coming up? Makes me think…
3) We finally got a sex scene
3) We finally got a sex scene
I simply wasn’t grossed out that they were brother and
sister. I have to admit, I wasn’t
surprised that they were related because this isn’t the first incestuous
instance that we’ve read in past texts.
This is 4 out of 5
You aren't alone haha to be honest, the sex scene was a wtf moment for me, but I have seen way worse on websites like tumblr. The fact that they were brother and sister didn't really get to me either because it wasn't me. I was just reading about it.
ReplyDeleteI also was grossed out when the priestess gave her virginity to the half animal man. This was a wtf moment for me.
ReplyDeleteIt was definately strange, even morganite had her misgivings. In order to look past it, I decided to focus on why the ritual took place, instead of the details. The scene harkened back to ancient Celtic coronation ceremonies, in which the king was married to the land symbolically. Though this scene is uncomfortable, I saw it as the legitimization of Arthur's rule. This itself was interesting, for it shows a Christian king engaging in the most pagan ritual imaginable in order to be seen as a rightful ruler by his subjects.
ReplyDeleteAs for the animal theme, I think that it's supposed to symbolize the union of the male and female aspects of society. Arthur as a stag is primal, representing stereotypical male traits like strength, virility, and sexual appetite. Morgaine in contrast represents the feminine aspect of nature. Their union creates balance. When you think of ot this way, the ritual starts to make sense because Arthur can be no true king if he was either impotent, or did not unify the land and elements of nature.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't an Arthurian tale without incest :)
ReplyDelete