In the
Mists of Avalon Bradley wrote about Morgaine "She picked up his hand to return the gesture, and suddenly dropped it as if it had burned her; to him it was only a game, perhaps, but it could never be so to her. She turned away, hiding her burning face in the grass. Power from the earth seemed to flow up through her, filling her withe the strength of the very Goddess herself" (152).
I thought it was so interesting how Morgaine is portrayed as having human emotions like everyone else. I feel like in most stories Morgaine is described as being this all-powerful person who seems invincible. It was refreshing to see Morgaine be portrayed with more human emotions. It makes me wonder how she ends up the way she does.
This is exactly question that inspired the whole novel, I think. Bradley does a great job of trying to figure out how and why Morgan le Fay becomes the scapegoat for so many things in Arthurian stories - what kind of circumstances would lead to the actions that are attributed to her? It's a rather long answer (and it's not JUST about Morgaine, but also about Gwynhwyfar and Viviane and Lancelot and Arthur) because it's a rather long novel, but well worth it, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was also cool to see Morgaine in a different light. Her emotions are realistic in this novel compared to the other stories we see her in. She has always seemed like a character that never does anything right. Seeing her like this also makes me wonder why she is portrayed so differently in other stories.
ReplyDeleteI think it is nice to see the difference with Morgaine in this story compared to others. I liked that her emotions were expressed deeply and how I was able to read what she was thinking and how she felt about others such as Lancelot and her mother.
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