Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Would you have waited?
In the poem, the Lady of Shallot waits until she sees Lancelot to finally leave and test her curse. Since she did not know what her curse was would you have waited that long before leaving? Would you have left for someone that is most likely the most sought after man or would you have gone for someone that was more attainable? Why do you think she choose that time to finally leave?
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I think she choose to leave for Lancelot because of how he was. I think him being the most sought after man added to how the Lady of Shallot felt about him and how he was the person who she was willing to risk testing her curse for. I think if it was me I would leave because the alternative would be to stay there weaving forever and that seems worse than her curse.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I don't think that I would have stayed there are waited that long with her curse because I would have gone insane watching everyone and never being able to go do it myself. I think that she both yearned for him and his life as it was something that she had been unable to previous attain.
DeleteI don't think she actually thinks she's ever going to get him. In fact, I think she knows that she won't. I don't think that Tennyson's lady so much wants Lancelot as she want what he symbolizes - life and vibrancy. He sings like she does, but out in the world where he can be heard and where he can interact with others. She sees him almost as what she wishes she could be, rather than what she wishes she could have.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think that she finally realizes that she should not have to live by someone else's rules, that the limits that were placed on her should not be what determines her destiny.
What do you think about my theory?
I think she chose that moment because it was the final straw of sorts. As I mentioned on someone else's post, if it aint broke, why fix it? She has a system that works (well, keeps her alive. I guess that's kind of a bare minimum...), and as soon as something disrupts that system, the urge to explore that is too strong to resist. I have to admit, I'd be pretty curious as well!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. There was so much life happening around her that curiosity and want took over and she could no longer restrain herself. I do not think that it was solely Lancelot that made her decide to leave, but the culmination of all the life events that were described in the poem.
DeleteI agree with both of you. I think that there were other actions as play and she felt as if she was missing out on life itself and that's what finally did her in and made her want to go outside and see everything. However, I also think that seeing Lancelot in comparison to everyone else with all of his over the top features made it so she wanted his life the most and finally went for it.
DeleteI think that she didn't want to be with Lancelot and more wanted to be him. She saw herself in him the minute he appeared in her mirror. Until she left, I believe she was living vicariously through him until she couldn't take it any more. She figured that if she was free to roam she could be just as beautiful and accomplished as Lancelot.
ReplyDeleteI'm inclined to agree. The Lady is more likely interested in life outside her tower than she is in pursuing love. We're so used to seeing women fawning over Lancelot that it's easy to project that idea onto this Lady, especially if she is supposed to be the same character as Elaine. But through the poem, we can see the Lady's desire for a different life, and that she specifically admires the society of Camelot.
Delete