*crickets*
Well, apparently in this story, one cannot have their cake and eat it too. Not only do people fall in love with those they are not married to, but those who are betrothed do not love who they are married to as much as they should. What do I mean? While people in this class have been ranting about the hoe-bag Guinevere is (a point that is not altogether untrue), King Arthur does not love his wife nearly as much as he should. He is tricked out of giving away his wife by the evil Meleagant (whose name has an uncanny resemblance to Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty). What does he do? He basically says "my bad," suffers "great sorrow," and then sends Gawain and Lancelot to win her back.
Has Arthur gone soft since he's become king? Is some kind of tradition preventing him from rescuing his own queen? Make excuses all you want, Arthur, but I won't buy it.
I won't buy it.
Now, let's look at Lancelot. He stops at nothing to rescue his lady. He cherishes everything about her, even her hair, and resists the temptations of a woman who literally throws herself at him. Is that not enough for you, ladies? He crawls on a giant sword...yes a GIANT SWORD to get to her, and breaks through iron bars to make love to her (look back at the text: their time together is described as making love, and not just a one night stand). Compare him to Arthur and...
Well...if I were Guinevere, I'd fall for Lancelot too.
Perhaps that is why women identified with this story so much. Guinevere was like them: a woman married to a powerful man, but without the same passion in her marriage she wished for. Lancelot comes along, and not only is that s victory for Guinevere, but the female readers as well.
To wrap things up, I'll reference a story in which courtly love does result in marriage, and that is one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride. It is because of this that I swoon every time my boyfriend says, "As you wish!"
