Mists of Incest

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. 

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?

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

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

Late Night Thoughts/FanFiction, Holt

Now that we have finished the Mist of Avalon, I was once again fascinated at getting a different perspective in which the women portrayed were the main focus even though Arthur was involved.  To me, it was interesting to see the female characters actually have a lead story built in besides Guinevere (even though she was included too). I do like change ups in story and this shed some new light as to how what the women were saying and thinking during that time. It was good to be in their shoes for once instead of being in the knights’ the whole time. Even coming through a guy’s point of view, I’ve wondered at times during some of the past readings what possibly could have been going through some of the maiden’s head.  When combined feminism with the Mist of Avalon, the part when Lancelot doubted Morgaine could climb the Tor because of her skirt really stuck in my head. Her best quote was “…surely men know that women have legs like their own. It cannot be so much of an offense of modesty to see what they must be able to imagine.”  I think this was the perfect quote to compare when talking about the ideas of feminist.  Morgaine wasn’t afraid to get rough and dirty as all maidens are supposed to have some moral of staying clean and proper for their men. Lancelot was surprised that she was out of the ordinary, but men today are shocked how women can do the same things men can do, even better. I am interested in reading Knight Life. I am looking forward to the kid-type merlin and a 1980’s Arthur running for mayor.

Unlike everyone in class, I thought the ritual of the hunting of the dear was stranger than the incest between Arthur and Morgaine.  It took me a while to realize that Morgaine was under the influence of something (basically drugs). However, the whole process of hunting the deer had me a bit lost until I read further and with a little more assistance in class.

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When we discussed fan fiction, I didn’t quite understand what it was until I investigated it further. I had an idea of what it was but my perception was a little off.  There is actually a site: www.fanfiction.net in which you can see all types of genres based on shows, games, movies, etc. All fan fiction. Some of the stories are so detailed to add an extra storyline to what has already been conceived.  It is crazy how people can carry on with such an imagination with their favorite novels or movies. I always thought of fan fiction for TV shows were related to spin off shows. For example “Breaking Bad” was a television show, but they are doing a spin off show concentrating on Saul “Better Call Saul” could this be a fan fiction? I don’t know how spin offs work but that’s what’d I’d imagine a fan fiction to be.

MIsts of Avalon... WHAT?

As I read Mists of Avalon, both sections, the word "what?" crossed my mind quite a few times. I said what about their religion because I did not understand it and I was interested. That was not a bad what, especially when there were many more whats to come. I was very confused and said what about Galahad deciding that he wanted to change his name. I was completely thrown by that change and I did not like it. I saw the necessity of it to show that Galahad was no longer a part of Avalon.The first reading did not have me saying what as much as the second set. When I began the second section I was nervous, already questioning the reading  I was getting ready to read. As I started and the ritual was explained I was like "what the heck", I definitely wanted to stop reading after that but I knew I had to keep going. As Morgaine was painted and "probed" I was definitely starting to feel uncomfortable. This reading succeeded in continually being uncomfortable; from Morgaine and Arthur sleeping together to Arthur bringing it up again. When Arthur and Morgaine slept together for the second time it was so awkward and I was questioning every single thing that was happening. I was talking to the reading like I talk to the TV. "Why don't you know your sister! Why do you want to sleep together, its your sister! STOP! STOP! STOP!" I got over it long enough to finish the reading but I was still completely weirded out and questioning Viviane more than anyone. Arthur only made everything worse when he told Morgaine he would always love her and would always remember her as his first time; before he realized it was Morgaine it was awkward, the second time it was agonizing to read. I was talking to Arthur and it was like in movies when you "say go in there" I was telling him "close your mouth, stop talking" This was my biggest question and I was completely done with this reading. My "WHAT" was so far gone that there was no point in even trying to figure anything out or questioning it because there was too many questions and no answers to make me feel better.

This is 3 of 5

Why Merlin's Guinevere is the best Guinevere

During my Merlin presentation I repeatedly mentioned that it was my favorite and in my opinion the best representation of Guinevere I’ve encountered so far. Reading the excerpts from the Mist of Avalon has just reaffirmed that opinion. Gwenhwyfar is apparently the picture perfect beauty, so much so she causes the proud and strong Morgaine to become self-conscious, but all I see in her description is a wimp, a lost little girl who is pretty pathetic, especially in comparison to Morgaine. I hate that she fits snugly into the “damsel in distress” category.  I prefer a Guinevere with more bite to her.  I’d say I liked T.H. White’s Guinevere a tad more, but she tended to be too whiny and self-centered, much like the other Guineveres we have seen in our readings.

Movie wise I have yet to be impressed by a Gwen. With the exception of Keira Knightley’s Guinevere in the 2004 King Arthur movie, most other film depictions of Gwen make her meek and a very flat character, yet again a damsel in need of constant saving. And honestly the only reason I slightly like King Arthur’s Guinevere is because, well, it’s Keira Knightley and I think she is nice to look at and I’m not afraid to say so!

Anyway, Angel Coulby is by far the best Gwen recorded either by pen or film. (Also, I see it fit now to warn you all that spoilers of the show may follow in my rant about how great she is). 

First off, she is not the typical image of Queen Guinevere, which is one thing I truly love. I don't think I have to explain much in the way of how she is different, it's pretty obvious, but I will make the comment that part of her appeal as Gwen is that she isn't the traditional pale skinned beauty that most other adaptations described her as. BBC provides us with a unique and beautiful Gwen, which is truly refreshing. 

We don’t know much about Gwen’s background besides that she has a living father (for the first few episodes) and a brother who becomes one of Arthur’s knights of Camelot.  She serves as Morgana’s servant but their relationship is not so formal, they are best friends in truth, rather than mistress and servant girl. Not only is she mentioned to be a gifted seamstress, but she also knows a great deal about how to mend armor and work with weapons because her father is a black smith. In my opinion she gets major bonus points for such a skill. Merlin’s Gwen is not afraid to break social barriers that usually constrict women. And although she initially is timid and awkward, as the series goes on she begins to grown in self-confidence. Initially finding Arthur to be unapproachable and unlikable, as time passes she begins to open up to him. However, she never becomes doe eyed and enamored with him, or even Lancelot (with one exception, but she was under a spell so it doesn’t quite count). Gwen doesn’t fit the girly type. She’s brave and loyal and everything I want in a leading lady.

And let’s not forget that she eventually becomes the queen of Camelot. Talk about climbing the social class ladder! 

I’m not saying it wasn’t a very challenging climb, the director of the show tried to make it as believable as possible (or as believable as any BBC show about magic can be), but she made it none the  less and stood up against the nay sayers, the principle one being Arthur’s own father. When she does become queen, she rules alongside Arthur, and in his absences she is strong willed ruler. we can also assume that after his death she continues to rule Camelot as Queen Regent, which shows how respected she is despite her "low" birth. She does not shirk away from the responsibility.  She also has a darker, manipulative side to her, which I absolutely LOVE. I want a Gwen who isn’t perfect, a Gwen who gets a little power hungry and creative with her royal liberties from time to time. That keeps things interesting!

Anyway, that is my rant about Merlin’s Guinevere. You should all give the show a try, if not for the best Gwen yet, then at least to hear Olivander’s voice come from a cheesy CGI dragon.

2 of 5

Very Interesting

So, the readings this week sure have been...interesting. These readings are definitely not what I thought we were going to be reading about in this class. At first, I thought we would be reading all about Arthur being King, Merlin being this amazing sorcerer, Lancelot being the best Knight ever, and the quest for the Holy Grail. I certainly did not think we would read about incest.
To tell the truth, when Dr. Mitchell-Buck told us that we were going to read about the conceiving of Modred and how it might be uncomfortable, I was only expecting a little bit of detail. However, when I was reading, I stopped about three or four times and said to myself, "What?" The description of their intercourse was more than I thought was going to be provided.
Another part that was disturbing was when the woman "probed" Morgaine to make sure she was a virgin.
When Arthur brought up that incident when he next saw her was weird. I do not understand how you would want to remember something like that.
Even though these parts were disturbing, I really enjoyed these readings. It was a nice break from the usual readings focused mainly on knights.

Umm...

So, the readings this week have been very interesting. The first reading, which I missed the class discussion on, was pretty intriguing to me. I thought that it was interesting that even though Morgaine is a woman she very strong to be able to compete and win against Lancelet. Through out the first text the feminist point of view can be seen. This is most prevalent in the belief that before religion came to Avalon the fairies ruled and their leader was a woman. The fact that the fairy leader was a woman was pretty cool just because you always here of men being the ruler not the woman. Also, this made me think too. I'm not to religious but what if the god that christians pray to is not a man as so assumed by the use of male pronouns. What if God is a female? That would completely turn our male normative society on it's head and cause a strife. Overall, it was really nice to read something that offered a different point of view and challenged the standard of how we read King Arthur.

Marion Zimmer Bradley, Rant of dislike

     I feel that these readings are a little strange, even for King Arthur readings.  I have not completed the reading for tomorrow's class, so I shall rant about the pages that were due this past Monday.
     I have no quarrels with a women being able to beat me in an activity, especially in an athletic activity.  In high school I ran against a really fast girl, who always won the 800 meter dash.  Recently she had became the world champion in the indoor 800  for women.  So I'm perfectly okay with being beat by anyone who is better than me, but I found it hard to not get a bit agitated by the constant outlandish examples Marion Zimmer Bradley was shoving down my throat.  It is safe to say I do not like this version of the King Arthur story. 
     I'm not sexist and I support women's rights, but I find it a bit ridiculous that Morgaine would be able to beat a knight up the mountain, but then two seconds into seeing Gwenhwyfar she believes she's uber ugly.  Come on that is not even real life.  I understand we should not bring reality into these stories, but it was written by a modern day women and is still farfetched.
      I looked deeper into the story and it has a clear resemblance to Marion Zimmer Bradley's life.  She was born and grew up in a time that women were second class citizens and this book is a triumph to empowering women.  When reading the story all I could think about was the world war two posters "we can do it".  When their husbands went off to war, it was up to the women to run the country.  So I think this time period influenced her and it was show especially when Morgaine was climbing the mountain and showed her legs.  You go Morgaine, you climb that mountain.
     Another reason why I did not like this reading was that she had such contradictions to what she wrote.  Marion Zimmer Bradley talks about empowering women and that a women does not need a man, but that she comes back around and makes the goddess the epitome of beauty.  I know we had talked about this in class, but it still frustrates me that a women in power isn't looked past her beauty.
     Sorry if I offend anyone, but I honestly did not like this reading.  

Crazy or Nahhh?

These reading that we have done this week, The Mists of Avalon, is very interesting. Is anyone else as intrigued as I am??? I love that Morgan is a fairy priestess. However, the readings that are supposed to be due for tomorrow, they are a little crazy!!!! Viviane set Morgan up to sleep with her own brother!!! How disgusting. Before Morgan even takes apart of the ritual, she sleeps in some random woman's bed and the next morning, this older woman is checking to make sure her "cherry" is still there. Ughhhh. And then to sleep with a deer man with your body dyed a blue color and covered in blood?!?!?!?! It's definitely weird. They were extremely high on herbs and roots, must have been some strong weed. She had collapsed on the hill, but still while running with the deer and then becoming the deer. Sounds crazzzeeeeeeee. She should've needed a couple days to recuperate after that. Plus, y'all know she doesn't really eat anything, which just makes it worse. She should've had some serious munchies. She ate meat for the third time in like six or seven years??? That would've added to her being way out of it. Apart of me is so disgusted by this whole ordeal, but then it is also a sacred ritual. Don't some cultures do some crazy ass things when it comes to virginity and sacrifice??? Or am I just wrong?

Plus, we've seen something that we've never seen before about Excalibur. Excalibur is made from metal from a meteorite, and the sheath is made by Morgan, who used her magic. We always hear that Excalibur is given to Arthur through the Lady of the Lake, her hand appears above the water and Arthur must retrieve it from the hand. But, in this version, Arthur and Merlin and Kevin, whoever he is, actually go to Avalon to take apart in an oath before receiving Excalibur. He must rule fairly no matter what God is being blessed. Christian or Druid, Arthur must rule fairly. And we all know he does this.

I am intrigued by the magic that is being described in the Mists of Avalon. It is a lot nicer than any other readings we have done. I believe its because its explained a little bit more than in any other text we've read so far. But these readings are also the craziest we've read so far as well.

"I'm No Superman"

How many times have we found ourselves saying, "I totally wouldn't do that" or "Well, it's different for me because...?" It's easy for us to criticize things when we are on the outside looking in, and then find it quite humbling when we are in a similar situation. Many people have found Morgaine's behavior in The Mists of Avalon less than admirable. What happened to that strong, athletic girl who kicked Lancelot's butt at hiking and won our hearts for it? How come the girl who shamelessly showed off her legs is now yearning to cover them...and all because of a guy? What happened to our heroine? A girl worth admiring should be tough, ruthless, and too confident take any negativity from anybody. Right?

Wrong. Girls have feelings. People having feelings, and Morgaine knows it. Consider the passage at the very beginning of the section,

"Anger was mixed with affection, to neither of which she was allowed to give voice, and it did strange things to her mind. She wondered at herself, because she had been taught to control her emotions as she controlled her words and even her thoughts."

Morgaine knew she was imperfect. She felt anger, she felt conflicted, and in this way it makes me love her more when she has her moments of confidence. Morgaine is a real woman, and in this way I feel that the story is more feminist than if she was written as an untouchable, godly figure. Similar to many girls, including me (especially me...) she is smart, skilled, and special, but resorts to self loathing when the man she likes rejects her for somebody...prettier.

The Ugly Duckling

I don't know about many of you, but my mind immediately went to middle and high school during this part of the story. (Time to recall blocked out memories...yay!) How many of us have been given attention by that special person? How many of us have skipped home from the bus stop because the cutest person in the world looked in our direction, smiled at us, asked to be our partner for a project? And how many of us have ran home crying when that person has chosen someone else over us, especially when we feel that their new sweetheart is better than who we could ever be?

Luckily, not all guys are like this

 There's a complete change in emotions when this happens. One day you feel like you're walking on air, and the next you're noticing every flaw you have...the zit on your nose, your awkward hair, your extra fat, or lack of. Our self image, which should be dependent on ourselves, is dependent on the other person. And while this is wrong, while we look back at our younger selves and laugh, many of us are prone to doing it even today. I'm not calling us Hood College Arthurians needy, whiny people, I'm just saying we are human. And that when Morgaine is filled with sorrow, she is being human too.

It's this human side in characters that I love. It was brought out in Morgaine's flirtiness, her desires, her dreams, and in her shame. It was brought out in a fallen Arthur, asking the million dollar question, "Are people truly good?"  

“Leggo my Ego,” said Lancelet.

If the first excerpt from The Mists of Avalon were a music video, it would basically be for the song called The Worst by Jhene Aiko (not my typical choice, but Pandora plays it). Essentially, in the song (for those of you that don’t know it), the female singer is fighting an internal battle about loving a dude that she shouldn’t love. She repeats that she doesn’t need him, but admits that she wants him anyway, which kind of shines a light on the feminist/not-so-feminist scenes we highlighted in class. Although this song probably isn’t focusing on the empowerment of women and being independent from men, it’s still the song that came to mind while I was reading.

            I don’t really identify as a feminist, but I do appreciate reading about a sharp-tongued woman who socks it to an arrogant guy. Guys, don’t get offended; I’m sorry other dudes before you pushed an egotistical predisposition on you, but it’s awesome when a woman proves a narcissistic man wrong, especially when they prove to be more physically capable. You go ahead Morgaine with your bare legs and muscular endurance.

            I have a problem with how Morgaine handles herself in this passage, though. She’s supposed to be a strong, independent priestess who doesn’t need a man to complete her. But wait, she’ll completely lose her shit when Gwenhwyfar creates some competition for the man she shouldn’t even be in love with. She needs to hike up those skirts to fight that war going on in her head. I do feel bad for Morgaine, but I don’t. She’s all about saving herself for when the time is right, but she entertained the thought of ruining that for a guy that doesn’t even see her as an equal. I’m glad Gwenhwyfar came along because that moment brought Morgaine back to reality and her original morals of being a priestess. I guess everyone deserves a little temptation and false hope.

This is 2 of 5

Versions of Arthur Concluded, Holt

Before we move onto the Mists of Avalon, I’d like to conclude my thoughts on the age difference found from our past readings to T.H. White’s version of King Arthur.  With our presentation on “The Sword in the Stone” and T.H. White’s version of the young Arthur or ‘Wart’, we get a new perspective of Arthur in his very younger days.  He was very scrawny and naïve to most of his surroundings.  Comparing this to previous versions of Arthur where we didn’t even get to experience him as a child. I think seeing Arthur’s up and comings were a great new way of understanding Arthur and even if they are told in different versions, we’ve come to notice different tales told in a variety of versions (i.e. Dracula). It was also interesting to see Merlin in a new light. As discussed in class as previously reading being the son of the Devil, Merlin is just as real as you or me, except his a powerful magician with a tremendous beard. I enjoyed Merlin’s silly approach to things in the story, as well as Arthurs. It was a lot better than the serious Merlin in the early readings who predicted everyone’s death.   Also seeing the difference between a clean and organized Merlin (Death of Arthur) rather than a disorganized messy Merlin (Once and Future). 

Overall I felt that the “Once and Future King” version of Arthur gave me a better perspective at a more ‘real-er’ version of him. Hearing a godlier version of him in the “Death of Arthur” books felt a little too overwhelming even though the things he did were pretty badass.  I felt that the version in T.H. White’s version was more relatable only for the fact that he seemed more human and seeing him grow from a thin boy to a king, we could see his uprising and how he changed the throne and led the knights of the roundtable.  As I said in class, if I could have the best of both books combined into one Arthur, I would have envisioned my Arthur as the Aragorn type in which he had a personality, feelings, and could lead an army of undead.

-J.H

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The Sword in the Stone

I really enjoyed this reading, mainly because it went to a completely different time period of King Arthur's life. We're so used to seeing him as the mighty king and him as an older man but never really saw where he started. I remember seeing the movie as a child and I like how it was made so young children could understand it. Most of the stories are intense so it was nice to have a
little bit of relief and a story that was about King Arthur's growth. I found a little bit of comedy in it as well so that was nice instead of being angry that someone is cheating or that there is a load of violence going on. Personally, I think this movie was made for kids because it sends out a powerful message saying that you really can be anything you want to be, as corny as it sounds. King Arthur was technically looked at as he was not meant to become a King. He had to work very hard to get his title and learn much on his own.Younger children can become discouraged easily so I think it's good to have a movie with such a powerful message. Merlin demonstrated such a good role model and a source of guidance. I gained much respect for him throughout this story.

The Passing of Arthur (1/5)

      I know that this is late, however, I've been having trouble with the website, so bear with me as I catch up. Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem "The Passing of Arthur", though beautifully crafted, nearly made my heart break. Personally, I love anything that has to do with the romance and magic that is associated with the Arthurian time period, and this ending of the legend left me curled up in bed with a mug of coffee and Disney's "The Sword in the Stone". Does anyone else feel this strongly, or is it just me? Even if you don't share my love for this time period, anyone with eyes can appreciate how beautifully this poem is written. One particular set of lines that drew my attention was "As from beyond the limit of the world/Like the last echo born of a great cry/Sounds, as if some fair city were one voice/Around a king returning from his wars" (Lines 288-292). I found these lines very interesting because the first line in this stanza almost makes an allusion that Arthur is leaving this world, not merely dying, and going to heaven after the long, violent years on Earth. After all, where else would Arthur go? He was the greatest Christian king ever recorded. Did anyone else wonder if he would become some high powered official (if they even have those), in heaven? Food for thought...

    Another line that I found interesting was "And the new sun rose bringing the new year" (Line 300). Though we did talk about this particular line in class, I can't help but wonder why or what caused the end of this era. Was it because Arthur was such a great king that there was no way anyone else could fill his shoes, or was it because God decided it was time for the world to move on to a new era? As someone who is really not religious in even the slightest of ways, I tend to lean towards option one. However, if option two is correct, what a fascinating book that could be!

Feelings about Arthur

I am really looking forward to the readings next week. Ever since we read Idylls of the King, I have wanted to read what really happened to Arthur. Now that I know we are going to be reading about him next week, I am really excited.

When I was growing up, I thought of the Holy Grail and Merlin when I heard King Arthur. I also thought about Arthur pulling the sword from the stone. That is why I loved the readings from Book 1 in White's book. The details of Merlin's house painted a real life picture inside my head (although the long paragraph that detailed it was a little annoying). It was also nice to see an interaction between Merlin and Arthur for more than a few paragraphs. And the way Merlin is portrayed in this story is the way I have always thought of him. He is the guy who has things from the future, the guy who has moving furniture and dishes, who has a talking owl and glasses, and who is a tutor to Arthur. 

Also, growing up, I was under the impression that Arthur receives only one sword which is the sword that he pulls from the stone. But after taking this class I come to find out that there are two swords that are obtained in two different ways. 

Animation has come along way

I never watched The Sword in the Stone  as a child and watching it for my film project I was disappointed at first. This movie had a lot of animation issues that it noticed as I watched. When an object was suppose to appear in Warts hand, it showed up in the opposite hand or just the graphics in general got a lot of hate when  receiving feedback, but after watching it a second time I ended up really enjoying it and I picked up on a lot of similarities to our book. I was very surprised that our readings of The Once a Future King resembled the Disney movie so much. I found it interesting that in the Disney movie, Merlyn was not as scary and Stand offish as he has been portrayed in texts. I think it is because they made this a Disney movie, they do not want kids to be afraid of the characters in the movie. It was not surprising that merlyn's house had magical items and that he could see into the future. All authorian stories have some sort of magic in them that we have read so far. It is no longer a shocker that everyone is seducing each other and finding out later on that a persons related to someone else, so when Lancelot thinks the least of mordred in the book The Once a Future King and later finds out that he is Arthur's son, this was no shock to me or when Lancelot tells Arthur that Morgause seduced King Pellinore's. If  leaders of our world actdvlike this today, people would go crazy and demand consequences. I am looking forward to our next reading to see what lies ahead for King Arthur.

2 of 5