The Mists of Avalon: Re-Writing a Siblings’ Bond

• Autor(es): Martins, Ana Rita
• Data: 2013
• Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10451/10057
• Origem: Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa
• Assunto(s): Arthurian Legend; Modern Retellings; Arthur; Morgan le Fay
• Tipo de Documento: Artigo
• Idioma: Inglês

Descrição

The tales of King Arthur and his brave Knights of the Round Table were possibly the most popular narratives read in the Middle Ages and have remained a source of never-ending curiosity both for the academia and a worldwide audience. However, of the numerous articles published on the Matter of Britain, very few studies have paid attention to the emotional connection between two of its best-known characters: King Arthur and his half-sister, the sorceress commonly known as Morgan le Fay. Therefore, our goal is to analyse the sibling bond between the two. First, we will take a closer look at their representation during the medieval period, namely in the work of Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte D’Arthur (1420). Second, we shall focus on how Arthur and Morgan/Morgaine’s relationship is depicted in the internationally acclaimed collection The Mists of Avalon (1983), by Marion Zimmer Bradley. This paper aims to show how Bradley’s retelling has not only helped redefine women’s role in Arthurian tales, but has also shed a new light when it comes to portraying Morgan le Fay/Morgaine and Arthur’s relationship and, in particular, the love ties that bind them as sister and brother, mother and son, and as lovers.