Gretchen K Ippolito
Prof. Gayford
Eng105
March 23, 2004
A Power Struggle
In the readings of the King Arthur tales, and in the journal entries and papers of my fellow students, I had an epiphany. While it seems that the different characters are all attempting to reach different goals, there is a common thread. The thread is the attempt to have the upper hand. To achieve this end, they all try different hings, most of which have some basis in magic, or the supernatural.
In Jonathon Bouchard’s paper, he discussed Balin. Now this is not one of the most common characters, or even well known. Yet, he makes a fascinating study. Bouchard ascertainsthat Balin’s pride was his undoing. While I find this a difficult point to contradict, I feel that the element of power has a place in his pride. Balin wanted the power that the sword gave him, or at least what he interpreted it to give him.
There would not be pride in this case without the power. He wanted the power to feel the big bad man, and he needed the sword for that to happen. There could be a psychological argument made here that he needed two swords, to every other man’s one. The need might be construed as some sort of phallic inadequacy. There could definitely be some sexual undertones here. Bouchard says “Balin had set his heart that he would have the sword that he had unsheathed from the damsel.” (Bouchard, Paper 1) Everyone knows that sex is the most powerful thing on this earth.
Now, Jessica Weidmann makes the point that Morgan le Fey is a woman of great power. This is a woman, who “….is known as powerful.” (Weidmann, Paper 1) . Without her witchcraft, this woman would still be powerful. She has learned how to use her wiles. So to speak. In many books, she is mentioned to have seduced many men. In her seduction she is able to convince men to do things that are directly against their character. Steinbeck mentions her powers over Sir Accolon , “Sir Accolon is deeply enchanted now.”(113) This enchantment is twofold. He has had spells cast on him from Morgan, and he is enamored by her.
Another point made is Morgan’s bravery. Jessica contends that “Bravery is standing up for something that you believe inand the courage to actually going through with what you believe in.”(Weidmann, Paper 1). While I tent to agree with her definition, I do not agree with her application. Morgan is not displaying bravery in the attempt to achieve her desires. She is not one to “believe” in a certain way of thinking. In all actuality, she breaks every rule ever written, and delights in doing so. So her beliefs system is, in reality, non- existent. Bouchard argument for pride would work well here. There was never a more self centered, egotistical character. She was definitely created from a man’s point of view, as this is how many men see woman. She was the quintessential husband seeker. A woman who would do anything for her will to be followed, and the man of her dreams catering to her every will. To have control of the power. I say, let the men keep it, and all of the responsibilities that come with it. Then when anything goes wrong, we know who to blame! That is a power in itself, release from responsibility.
The most interesting paper that I read was Dan Butler’s paper on Merlin. There could not be a discussion on power without including Mr. Power-seeker himself. In all of my readings, and across all other media, I have never encountered a character so obsessed with power. Well, at least not one that actually attained the power they were seeking. Not only did he have, as Dan put it “…overseeing eyes.”(Butler, Paper 1), he had the King’s ear! In effect, he held more power than anyone else in his story. He had the power over King Arthur, for he always asked for Merlin’s opinion. He also had the freedom of knowing the outcome. On top of all of this, he held none of the responsibility. Think about this, he had the power to bewitch everyone and make himself king, and he did not do this. Why?
The answer to this question is that you cannot have complete power with responsibility. You have to be concerned with the good of the people, or perhaps, what is just. With Merlin’s ability to see the future, he had the ability to see what gain he could acquire through decisions made today. This is far more powerful than his ability to change his shape, or cast spells and such. One of the point’s that Dan made, I wanted to elaborate on. “Merlin sacrificed his own son for the sake of his dream of a unifies England-his Camelot.”(Paper1) I wish to take this one step further. If Merlin saw the future, and knew that his son would be killed, could we not elaborate and stat that that fact that he even had a son was for this very purpose? How else would he have been able to remove Arthur from the castle? To have this power, and to have not the compassion…….
While this thought is very troubling to me, it was inescapable. Did this happen because of fate, or in spite of it? Culler has you delve deep into the literature you are reading and take it apart. To examine it, as a doctor examines a patient. This humanizes the work, and us as well. After sitting in a room with a group of people analyzing the same book, each of us will come away with a somewhat different interpretation, and in the discussion, we have no choice but to learn a little bit about the other people in the room. While Dan asks if Merlin chooses his own fate, or if his conscience motivated him to take action to lean the outcome the way HE envisions it, I in turn ask, is not either answer a direct statement to the fact that the overriding tone is one of power?
Works Cited:
Bouchard, Jonathon. Balin. 2004.
Butler, Daniel. Merlin: The Catalyst for Camelot. 2004.
Culler, Jonathon. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. New YOk: OxfordUniversity Press, 2000.
Steinbeck, John. The Acts Of King Arthur and his Noble Knights.New York: Noonday Press, 1993.
Weidamnn, Jessica. Morgan Le fay. 2004.