James DeProspero
English 269
Professor MB
Seriously? He Stood
There, Nothing Else
I feel...like
this story could’ve never taken place if one certain person had maybe seen
another human being before in her life. Let me get this straight, the Fair Maid
of Astolat would rather die than not have Sir Lancelot as her husband/paramour?
To me, this makes no sense whatsoever. The two had barely even spoken before she
was already announcing her love for him. Never mind the fact that after
Lancelot stayed with her, he went on to physically own every Knight of the
Round Table on the battlefield, she’s just going to pull a Juliet and announcer
her love for him on the spot. Moving on, how could one possibly blame Lancelot as
the cause of her death you may ask. One might say it’s because he didn’t marry
her, or that he chose not to be her paramour: “unless you can take me for your
wife or paramour, all joy must vanish from my life!” (469) Then you might
wonder, like me, why he must pledge the rest of his life with this girl for her
to decide she wants to live. Apparently, that’s the way this story wanted to be
written, a twenty-page Rom-Com that doesn’t give the events of Arthur’s court
or the love triangle the light of day. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
I had a lot of the same questions. It does seem like nonsense and if only Elaine had never seen Lancelot, the story never would have happened. Perhaps it's a warning of how illogical "love at first sight" is, or that you shouldn't devote yourself to someone you can't have.
ReplyDeleteYeah - I really give Tennyson a lot of props for taking this kind of "meh" episode from Malory and turning it into an awesome poem about rebelling against your limits and not letting the circumstances into which you are born define you. I always get aggravated by Elaine in Malory, but I so love Tennyson's lady. Sometimes the remake really is better than the original! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, my guy. I had a lot of problems with these kinds of stories in general. I simply cannot relate to people who feel love towards people they barely know or have even only held one conversation with. That is sociopathic and really dumb. I suppose that the point of this story is to prop up emotion into the readers so that people can feel for her struggle. Therefore, this meant making the story as sappy and unrealistic as humanly possible, not making it respectable or enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the true passion you showed in this response, my guy. That being said, I agree with many if your points. The thought process behind the Fair Maid of Astolat is very bizarre and is way beyond unrealistic. Therefore, I can relate to your frustration.
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DeleteJames I hear your frustration, This was a classic love at first sight for the lady and I'm not sure why she felt inclined to feel this way. With that being said that is how a lot of these stories go from earlier time periods. One look... BAM.. instant love.
ReplyDeleteThats true. i honestly found myself getting mad at Lancelot (though, i think i should still be mad at him for many reasons), but Elaine was the one who became super obsessed with him? He didnt ask for it, he made it clear he couldnt marry her, so why am i so mad at him?
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