Thursday, March 26, 2020
Lancelot Does not Care
When we first started reading stories about Lancelot I thought they were pretty cool and that Lancelot was going to be an awesome addition to the Round Table, I was wrong. This guy is awful. In Le Morte d'Arthur he was total jerk to Elaine. Lancelot bombarded this family and totally ruined their lives. They did so much for him only to leave them and have Elaine die of a broken heart. Elaine was a maiden that would have done anything for Lancelot, instead Lancelot is focused on the one woman he absolutely cannot be with. That is just messed up, Guinevere is just leading him on for no reason and we just constantly read about their toxic actions. It does not take much to look past one's self, but with Lancelot that seems impossible. However, the most disturbing part of this story is the end after they find out Elaine had died. Everything went back to normal and no one seemed to care that this woman had died. It was even said in the story that "she is not the first young noblewoman to break her heart over" Lancelot (467). This simple quote alluded to the fact that there had been other deaths due to Lancelot's reckless behavior. To give Lancelot some credit he never lied to her, he told her the truth that he did not want to marry her. Regardless, Lancelot obviously knows his effect on people and always uses it to his advantage by destroying their lives in the process.
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The way he is described in Tennyson's poem - so bright and shining but also completely unaware of the effect he has upon the Lady - really reinforces this, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteAlso ... How much responsibility do any of us have for the way that other people feel about us? It's easy to feel sympathy for Elaine and pissed at Lancelot. But can he control the way she feels? Is he in some way obligated by her feelings? Most of us today would say NO WAY, but because the power dynamic here is so different, I agree that it's hard not to want to just up and punch L in the face, whether or not he actually deserves it. What's the lesson in any of this for us as readers? What are we supposed to learn from Lancelot or Elaine?
I also believe that Lancelot knows the effect that he has on the woman and I believe that he uses it to his advantage. The fact that he knows that he doesn't have to lie to the women to get them to do what he wants. He recognized that Elaine loved him as soon as she set her eyes on him so he uses her love to get the badge from her to hide his identity
ReplyDeleteLancelot is tricky. I'm not so sure he uses his "effect" that he has on women in a purposeful way, because I truly do not feel like Lancelot is a malicious character at all.
ReplyDeleteIt really is hard to imagine Lancelot as a good guy. but, with that being said, i don't think he INTENDS to be malicious. Its so interesting because it seems that it's not his actions that are bad but the EFFECT of his actions; like, walking behind a mirror in and of itself isn't bad, it's quite innocent. BUT, it caused the death of The Lady. What does this mean for Lancelot? Is he flawed, or is the world around him flawed?
ReplyDeleteYes! Lancelot is a walking ball of fire. Everywhere he goes he has a disastrous effect on anyone he comes in contact with. I completely agree. However, in this story I'm not sure he killed Elaine purposefully. Just as Lancelot wants someone he can't get(Guinevere), Elaine wants someone she can't get(Lancelot). The heart wants what it wants baby.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you here. There are lots of things in this world that people cannot have and they do not die because of it, so I think Elaine might be acting a bit overly dramatic when it comes to not being able to have Lancelot.
DeleteI understand where you are coming from, however I believe the way Elaine's feelings are out of Lancelot's control, as well as his own feelings. He has feelings for another woman and that woman is not Elaine. The death of Elaine is out his control.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting point, during both of the readings this week, it does make Lancelot an interesting character. Through the other readings we've read, with the exception of the fact he's in love with his kings wife, Lancelots always seemingly described as the bravest and kindest and most noble knight. However both of these stories show him being a little uncaring of the emotions of others. In contrast though, its also impossible to truly know and understand the feelings of others, plus it doesn't appear that Lancelot know about The Lady of Shalotts curse, so I don't think he intends to come off this way.
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