Thursday, April 16, 2020
harp strings and swords
One quote that caught my eye was on page 147, when Morgaine is describing Lancelot's physical appearance. She says, "...his slender hands, exquisitely shaped, fashioned for harp strings or weapon, but calloused just a little across palm and the insides of the fingers, more on the right than the left." What caught my eye in this line, other than the fact that it told us Lancelot is right handed, was the dichotomy between "harp strings" and "weapon." Harps are typically seen as a gentle, angelic instrument whereas weapons are, so to speak, instruments of death, and seen as anything but gentle. It's clear that Lancelot is caught between two worlds here, and he is the one bringing them together simply by existing. Perhaps this use of the words "harp strings and weapon" was to further elaborate on this point, of two opposite things colliding and coming together through one person.
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I really liked the imagery of harp strings and a weapon. I think that it showed how Lancelot was with when he lived with Viviane is represented by the harp strings and his current life is the weapon. That he still retains the part of him from his mother.
ReplyDeletePutting aside my distaste for Lancelot, I can see your point here. It does create a harsh dichotomy. Maybe the same can be said of all the knights? That they are stuck between wanting to be gentle toward the people they care about, but must pick up swords and fight to protect those very same people. Perhaps Lancelot just struggles with this contradiction more because he has an attachment to the ladies still.
ReplyDeleteVery true! I hadn't thought about tying it back to all knights, but I definitely see your point! I hadn't ever considered the almost opposite set of standards knights are supposed to uphold, being gentlemanly and kind but also living weapons, simply put. Very interesting!
DeleteThere is a dichotomy there for sure, but intriguingly, there is also something that draws them together: both are something that you do for others. Making music and fighting battles are very different in lots of ways, but both require a lot of skill and training and both do leave their mark on you (harps may sound gentle but the strings do a lot of damage to your hands!)
ReplyDeleteI think we see this dichotomy in his actually character in all of the original texts, and thats why I think it is mentioned like this in this text. Lancelot is either out here being the best knight and fighter, OR, out here sacrificing everything for love.
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