Finally! The story we have all been waiting for! At least, this seems to be the story for which I have been waiting. Despite all the magic, love and friendship that abounds in every King Arthur tale, it always felt as thought something was missing. I think what has been bothering me about previous works is two-fold.
If half of all that happened to me, I would most definitely be a villain. Not to mention the fact that a villain whose actions may be justified makes things a little more complex for the reader. Do we hate the villain as the enemy of the hero? Or do we sympathize?
See you in our next incarnation,
Lady Bertilak
All quotations taken from Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Pictures:
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Firstly, the fact that much of the love we see in the legends is wrong somehow. Sometimes it is a king impersonating and then killing his vassal to get the vassal's wife. Or the time King Arthur was attracted to (some say in love with) his sister, which led to disastrous incest. Even Guinevere and Lancelot, who love Arthur, are not honorable at all when they break all kinds of vows and rules to have their love affair. Some of that "wrong" love is preserved in Avalon High, in Lance and Jenny's relationship, and the whole shadowy matter of Will's (a.k.a Arthur's) father having killed his friend to marry his wife. But, this time, it seems like the main love story does not have that element of "wrongness." If Ellie and Will's relationship progresses the way it has been, and the two end up together, it will be for all the right reasons. Ellie falls for Will because he sticks up for the underdog, because he is kind, and funny. Plus, after she falls for him, she does nothing to steal him away from his girlfriend. She does not pine ridiculously, she does not starve herself to death, she makes the decision to be the girl that makes him laugh-despite the facts that it hurts to see him with his girlfriend and that her friend told her about "guys not falling in love with girls that make them laugh" (Cabot 88).
The other thing that always seemed a little strange to me about the King Arthur stories of the past was the simplicity of the villains. For the majority of the stories, villains were bad because they were inherently evil. Giants and dwarfs were always villainous, because of course if one fails to be of average size, they are evil. And evil knights like Meleagant have no reason for being bad. I like that this story moves away from making the villains so simple. It appears that Marco, (an incarnation of Mordred, perhaps) is to be the villain of this story. If Marco is the villain, I will have no trouble accepting his role. Marco has every reason to be a villain. He grew up with nothing, he just lost his father and had to uproot his life soon after to live with a perfect stepbrother and strict Stepfather. Then he finds out that his perfect stepbrother is really his half-brother (a fact hidden from him by his only remaining parent) and that his Stepfather may have had his Father killed in order to marry his mother. |
| Poor Marco, he has no Timon and Pumbaa to keep him from the Dark Side. |
See you in our next incarnation,
Lady Bertilak
All quotations taken from Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Pictures:
http://roflhumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/crocs.jpg
https://media.giphy.com/media/W6wzxdx43ikEw/giphy.gif
Lady Bertilak,
ReplyDeleteEven over several dozen incarnations, we must never lose sight over the true nature of Camelot's ultimate villain, Mordred. Even though he may be currently inhabiting the body of Marco Wagner, he is still ultimately guided by the same dark forces that originated from Arthur's unholy union with Morgaine.
It is true that Marco has had a troublesome life thus far, as had Mordred before him (almost killed by Arthur as an infant, you remember). Even so, his actions against Will are clearly motivated by forces of darkness, being an attempt to destroy Will's spirit by revealing Jennifer's affair.
I believe my current incarnation is growing up in a different high school, but Lord willing Arthur and I will reunite in college.
Yours obedient,
Gavin
My first point will be that every relationship can have what you referred to as a "wrongness" element in literature. It makes it more interesting for any kind of story, Arthurian literature or not.
ReplyDeleteMy second point is that the villians have not been "inherently" bad. Meleagant father always doubted him. Mordred was put on a ship and sent out to see by the person he hated the most. To me this does not sound inherent. I am not supporting their decisions but I can understand their actions.
Lady Bertilak,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment of the love in the previous stories always being wrong in some way. I am not so sure if I agree that the relationship between Ellie and Will is entirely not 'wrong' and harmless. Ellie was sort of informally dating Will while Will was already taken. This does not seem entirely devoid of the wrongness seen in previous stories.
HEY DON'T BE HATING ON MELEAGANT. I AND NOT EVIL. I HAVE REASONS FOR MY ACTIONS.
Ever the Craftiest,
Meleagant
Lady Bertilak,
ReplyDeleteYour discussion about villains typically being simple and, therefore, easily recognizable left me slightly confused and entirely curious. First, your example of giants and dwarves being evil because they fail to be of average size is more satirical than serious, right? Second, how can you suggest that Meleagant has no reason to be evil but Marco does? A person's resilience, especially the resilience he or she has as a child, is key to their emotional and social development. If Meleagant's childhood sounded half as obviously psychologically damaging as Marco's does, Meleagant could still turn out to be a villain while Marco could still turn out to be a hero.
Lady of the Lake