Avalon High

           Reading Meg Cabot's Avalon High sent me into a complete and utterly déja vu moment. This moment in particular sent me right back to middle school, where I must admit I spent so much time in the school library that all the librarians came to know me on a first name basis. As poisonous as this was to my reputation, I found that I just didn't care. It was probably this moment that I should have realized that I was destined to be an English major. This was one of the first books I had read about any Arthurian legend, so you can imagine how confused I was until I did a little bit of research.

            What I liked best about this book in middle school was the ending. Not because it meant that the book was finally over, but because it fueled my want for a 'Happily Ever After'.  Ever since I was little, and I am sure that I am not alone in this, I have been a hopeless romantic looking for the elusive 'One'. Cabot fulfilled all of my romantic hope that Elle and Will would end up together, no matter what the evil Marco did. To bad it never came with a disclaimer reading: "WARNING: This does not actually happen in real life".  Anyway, what I honestly liked best about the book after I read again for class was that portions of Tennyson's poem were put on the beginning of each chapter (that way, at least, there is an inkling of intelligence in the 'book').  

            One thing that really rubbed me the wrong way about the book was how much Elle stereotyped people. For example: When Elle assumes things about people based on how they look. Just because a person has tattoos doesn't mean that they do drugs. I myself am a prime example of this. I do have a tattoo, and I somehow manage to not do drugs. It can be done.

            Though there are only a few things in common throughout the many, many texts on Arthurian legend, the single thing that I consistently abhor is the affair between Gwen and Lance. It is hard for me to describe in polite words how I truly feel about the entire thing, and had I been Arthur, I would have beheaded them both and put their heads on stakes at the gates of Camelot... I guess it's a good thing that I was never destined to have an ancient kings past intertwined with my modern day life. 

(2/5)

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!

Looking In the Mirror: Allegory and the Lady of Shalott

A woman and her loom: weaving for economic independence

The “Lady of Shalott” looks into the mirror as she weaves,why?  Kathryn Sullivan Kruger tells us that weavers using certain types of looms face the back of their tapestries and gaze at the front side of the tapestry in the mirror  (Weaving the Word: The Metaphorics of Weaving and Female Textual Production).  Weaving on that  type of loom, the weavers see only a reflected image of the art that they are creating. They do not have a direct experience of the image.  Tennyson’s mirror metaphor is a cleaver spin, in this case weave, on the ancient “Allegory of the Cave” in Plato’s Republic. 

The weaver's focus is on the work in front of her.  Most of us are like the weaver.  We pay attention to what is  before us and call it real.

Plato’s metaphor likens people’s perception of reality to that of prisoners in a dark cave, chained tightly with their back to a low wall, and unable to turn around.  Their field of vision, their perceived reality, is limited to the reflected images that appear on the back wall of the cave or what is in front of them. This cartoon clip is a bit long but does a nice job of explaining the allegory of the cave.  .

What do we stare at? What is in front of our face, or the Lady’s face, that we call reality?  The Lady is staring at her life’s tapestry.  What do we focus on?  Like the Lady, we weave threads of thoughts and ideas into the fabric of our consciousness and daily lives.  What cave or tower are we trapped in?  Are we aware of our chains?  Are the images that we stare at so engaging that we have trouble taking our eyes away from them to turn around and look at the sun?  Do we find comfort and security in what is familiar?                                                    

Backs to the wall 

We might think that we are different from the Lady and perhaps we are. I suggest that we are unwilling to turn ourselves away from the projected and reflected images that capture our attention.  The Lady of Shalott was brave.  She dared to leave her tower and turn toward the unfamiliar. Venturing outside brought death.


Growing up, growing old, and death are all rites of passage.  Eventually we all die.  Turning away from what she was told to do and thinking  for herself might have been Tennyson's response to Kant's essay "Enlightenment."    Allegories provide multiple possibilities.

What would happen if we put aside our technology for a day or two, ventured outside, and  turned toward the sun?