Friday, October 1, 2010
Lancelot's heart; noble, but foolish
It is truly a pleasure to see Chretien portray my lord Lancelot so accurately. One can clearly discern just how brave and honorable my lord is from his text. One instance that demonstrates this comes when Sir Lancelot shows mercy to a knight that had the misfortune of facing my lord in battle, upon the plea of a damsel. My lord could have delivered him a final lethal blow, and was certainly prepared to do so, but the kindness in his heart succumbed to the request of a poor damsel. Yet his noble heart will prove to be his downfall. That which brings him life belongs to a woman who does not deserve it, and abuses her influence over him. My lord continuously risks his life in the name of an illicit relationship. Not only is my king being betrayed, but the queen also takes advantage of my lord Lancelot. This is illustrated when the queen flatly rejects my lord after he has defeated Mallegant in battle, all in the name of a sick joke. My lord did not think it funny because he nearly died as a result of the queen's vile humor. The queen might love Lancelot, but it is not nearly a balanced love. Therefore, she will continue to have great influence over my lord. Although I may think otherwise, my lord has fallen for the queen and as wrong as that relationship may be, it is my duty to serve my lord and to do my best to assure his safety and happiness.
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4 comments:
Perhaps Lancelot's nobility is not the means of his downfall but the source of his redemption. The arrogance and lack of honor he would have shown by killing the knight at the bridge would only make him more deserving of some terrible, ironic misfortune. The queen may have had no real loyalty to Lancelot, thus making her apparent rejection of him cruel but fair. What he must do is prove his nobility if he may never have the love of the one he fights for. One of the worst things a man could do for his honor would be to strike a man down in sheer spite and arrogance for simply interrupting his thought. It is through the arrogance of man in trying to have or keep me as their own that there has been much bloodshed over me. The only redemption for this is to remain honorable not matter how difficult. I kept my word to Ysbaddaden and honored his wish for me to stay with him until, against all odds, comes Culhwch and King Arthur's men to fulfill this agreement. If the queen is to reject Lancelot, he can at least know he is honorable, for what is love worth without honor?
Lancelot is portrayed with great honor by Chretien, and I have great respect for Lancelot. He helped defend mt honor when i was blamed for lying with the Queen, though I did not. I do have a problem with how Chretien portrayed me and my role in our legend. It seems Chretien thinks I am unable to defend myself for the Queen or Court. Yet he does not state how I was defeated, only that I was. He did not state whether I was facing down an army of Knights, all on my own or not. Then according to his story, my long lasting injuries almost caused Arthur to believe I would love his Queen. This is all blasphemy. I am the most loyal Knight in my court, and in total confidence of my abilities. I respect Lancelot, but feel i deserve a better legacy...
Oh, Sir Kay! Lancelot is unworthy of your respect and sympathy. He's dishonoring his king...how possibly can you blame the queen?! A man should respect his king not be trying to screw his wife. It's a sign of weakness and lack of loyalty. Regardless of the queens attempts., her lax taste in humor he was far too easily persuaded by her actions.
Those are great observations Olwen. However, I believe you have misunderstood the point I was making. Perhaps I made it a bit unclear, but if you look carefully you will note that I did not blame my lord"s nobility for his eventual downfall, but rather his foolish heart. The point that I was making was that his heart is both noble and foolish.
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