I have to admit having a few lingering thoughts on Malory myself, specifically with his last chapter, The Deth of Arthur. I'm still bothered by the silence of Arthur during the battles between Lancelot and Gawayne. Arthur spends most of the battle weeping, fainting, or notably staying silent. This silence seems purposeful. Though I can't for the life of me settle on what purpose it serves. In a way it distances Arthur from the conflict, when he ought to have been in the middle of it all. Arthur is unable to forgive Lancelot, either because of Gawayne's insistence or his own desire. Perhaps his inability to vocalize forgiveness also strips from him the ability to speak at all. He does exchange words with the maiden sent by Lancelot and spends some time lamenting, but I think it's importance to make note of the difference here in that we're not just missing Arthur's presence or his voice like we have before, we are specifically told that while Arthur is bodily present he is mute. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has any insight into the section.
Something else that's been nagging at me pertains to the section in that final chapter when Gawayne learns of the deal of his brother Sir Gareth, and his other brother but whatever. Arthur instructs his men not to tell Gawayne of the death of his brothers, but someone does anyway. That someone is never named in the text, he's referred to simply as "the man." Considering Malory's passion for names--he does after all give us nearly all of the names of the bazillion of knights that are part of the Round Table at it's height--this seems odd. It's possible this is done to reflect the fact that Gawayne's murdered brothers were unarmed when Lancelot killed them, the knightly equivalent of going unnamed.
This was what was lingering in my mind after we finished discussing Malory in class. Anyone else have any unfinished thoughts or ponderings?
I think that the reason Arthur doesn't speak out during Lancelot and Gawain's battles is because he simply doesn't know how he feels about what is happening, and therefore has no idea what he should say. I think he is experiencing intense internal conflict. He feels obligated to denounce Lancelot, but at the same time he hates turning on Lancelot, even though Lancelot already betrayed him.
ReplyDeleteHe's probably been suppressing his questions about what Lancelot means to him, what Guinevere means to him, and what their relationship should mean to him since he first had his "deeming," and now they're all bubbling up at once. He knows what he has to do as king, but can't bring himself to do anymore than the minimum. Denouncing Lancelot, or cheering on Gawain would be too much for him. At the same time, he obviously cannot side with Lancelot, his current enemy, over Gawain, his ally and nephew. Because of these conflicting emotions and interest, he finds himself unable to articulate what he feels to himself, let alone to the world.