ARTHURIAN LEGEND ABOUT MORGAN LE FAY
We see Morgan Le Fay first introduction into Arthurian legend by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his “Vita Merlin” (c.1150). Her true origin however like many Arthurian characters is traced back during the Celtic Mythology and has developed with every new edition of the tale. Morgan le Fay’s personality is fascinating enough, and so is her name (Perez & Kristina, 2014, p.159).
Morgan Le Fay, an enchantress yet a healer, is the half-sister to King Arthur according to legend and literature. We see Morgan Le Fay scheme to overthrow Arthur from his thrown throughout Arthurs reign to an extend of attempting to take his life although she does not succeed. Vividly we see Morgan always trying to bring danger and mystique in Arthurian stories (Perez & Kristina, 2014, p.159).
Her character
In literature we perceive characters as good or evil, antagonists or protagonists clearly demonstrated. However, some characters cannot be easily defined. We see Morgan Le Fay as one of the latter case. Despite of being half-sister to King Arthur and understood as his greater enemy, Morgan Le Fay is also a healer (Larrington $ Carolyne, 2013, p.123). Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Why is she important
We see Thomas Malory “Le Morte de Arthur” author adapt Morgan Le Fay character from Celtic legends, where she is an established enchantress and a shape shifter. We see Morgan as a character not to be trusted and easily disguise herself to accomplish her own intentions. She changes her appearance easily, becoming beautiful, old, ugly, or young, at will. Morgan Le Fay gives Arthurian legend what is very important in every good story, Mystique, and an ever-present danger possibility. We see Morgan as a representative of the ‘beautiful evil,’ as it was, the craved-after yearning that can destroy. Because of Morgan like characters, we have strong bases of storytelling magic, out of which come other anti-heroes in tales narrated from generation to generation(Larrington $ Carolyne, 2013, p.123)..
Legendary action
In most of the legends before we are shown that Morgan and Arthur are not in good terms although the reason has not been clearly explained. Different researchers however have given their ideas. For instance, we are told that Morgan, who is invariably presented as evil, had a plan to steal King Arthur’s sword and bring him down, on a different note, we are told that Morgan had a quarrel with Arthur(Larrington $ Carolyne, 2013, p.123).
Immediately after Morgan comes to Avalon Island as a foretold, she starts a great plan over the outrage which she thought King Arthur had retained upon her house. We see that the more she thought about it, the more big it boiled in her mind. She lastly finds herself restless unless she could punish the king for what he had done. Yes, she would be glad to see the king down at her feet out of the burning anger she had against him (Larrington $ Carolyne, 2013, p.123).
We perceive Morgan as a character who needs to remain in control of people and situations, in some legends, we see Morgan as a mistress of Merlin where through seduction she uses and manipulates him in order to know his spells. We see Morgan even manipulating situations to cause pain to King Arthur. For instance, Morgan uses his power to destroy the ties in the Arthur court in the Guinevere and Lancelot courtship hence ruining his reputation and pride. Out of the action, the kingdom begins to enjoy a long, peaceful and glory with king Arthur maintaining justice and knights helping the people in distress.
Work cited
Jill M.Hebert. Morgan le Fay, Shapeshifter. Web. July 2012. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=3SwwL9Dm9MC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&o ts=8ZfWT7Qs5v&sig=1HznO205X5xBa2IB29n0T4KdhYA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage& q&f=false
This study re-examines Morgan le Fay in early medieval and contemporary Arthurian sources, arguing that she embodies the concerns of each era even as she defies social and gender expectations. Hebert uses le Fay as a lens to explore traditional ideas of femininity, monstrousness, resistance, identity, and social expectations for women and men alike
Larrington, Carolyne. King Arthur’s enchantresses: Morgan and her sisters in Arthurian tradition. IB Tauris, 2014
Morgan le Fay, an enchantresses also referred to the lady of the lake turns marlins magic against him. It emphasizes that enchantresses are not witches but sexually attractive females applying the magic for their own benefits and not Satan.
“Tennyson used Arthurian motifs to explore contemporary social problems and the Victorian Revival wouldn’t have been the same with-out his influence”
Pérez, Kristina. “Follow Me: Beguiling the Victorians.” The Myth of Morgan La Fey. Palgrave Macmillan US, 2014. 159-181
The definition of mutations is used in this work to explore the victory obsession at the moments when the patriarchal society is in fear of the New Woman in attempt to transform into an educated woman and men consider it against nature. Morgan is used in this work to narrate the beguiling of Merlin and Victorian Revival under her influence.
“During the nineteenth century, it was the Lady of the Lake as seductress who captivated the Victorian cultural imagination, far outstripping Morgan la Fey herself in popularity”.