The Ritual Master Hello everyone, and welcome to the 22nd day of Advent here, at The Ritual of Reading. This episode is an unexpected appearance of a subject that, not so long ago, I considered to be of little interest for me : the Arthurian legend. But letting yourself be surprised is one of the great gifts of life, and so, while I was preparing this year’s Advent Calendar, I realised I couldn’t leave aside such a central subject of English medieval literature. But just to be on the safe side, I chose a novel that revisited the story, and most importantly, one that I knew I had a good chance of enjoying since the movie adaptation is still a great memory for me. So here I am, 42 years after the release of this modern classic, finally reading Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Mists of Avalon.
The choice was not guided by this criteria, yet now, as I look back at our Advent series, I realise that a feminine retelling of King Arthur’s life is perfectly in tune with my medieval adventure guided by strong female characters. The Mists of Avalon follows the life of Morgaine, a Celtic priestess trying to save her religion from the great Christian threat, and the destinies of the women surrounding not only herself but the entire story of King Arthur : Igraine, Viviane, Morgause and Guinevere. My analytical brain still struggles with the blurry concept of Athur’s existence, since every time I heard of the subject, everything seemed historically accurate, at least for the amateur reader. Yet, with historical fiction, I am slowly relaxing my researcher mind, in order to simply enjoy the story, whether it is based on reality or not.
The great support in my reading, and I believe one of the keys in the complete transformation of my approach on the subject, has been the audiobook narrated by Davina Porter. For some, her interpretation might be a little theatrical, but given my background in theater studies, this has been an absolute pleasure. Her voice has been my guide in what I believed to be hostile territory, and what ended up enchanting me for life.
You see, The Mists of Avalon have been a rite of passage for me. They have allowed me to see beyond the knightly wall of confrontation between tribes that never appealed to me, and go deeper into the mystical lives of what the book calls the Old People. Is this accurate or not ? What difference does it make, since the only important thing is to let your imagination roam free, and with The Mists of Avalon it’s like I discovered a whole new planet I can explore with my mind. I admit, my only term of comparison is Chrétien de Troyes’ arthurian stories, and it’s not really fair to compare XIIth century writing with XXth century historical fiction, yet what I feel so strongly about in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s book, is the importance given to the dialogues and the psychology of the characters. It’s still action packed, yet somehow I don’t feel as a spectator in front of a screen, more like a silent witness, a ladies’s maid who happened to be present while the main characters were discussing or deciding. And that subtle quality can only be a testimony of the beauty in her writing.
I am looking forward to my next Arthurian inspired read, a novel that appeared in front of me during my latest bookshop visit. Sophie Keetch’s Morgan is my name, sounds like a story written under the spell of The Mists of Avalon, and I’m curious to see how far she will dare to take Morgaine’s story.
I cannot say I’m fully converted to fantasy as a genre, since I still feel the need of some anchoring in real elements that I can recognise. Yet, I feel my Medieval adventure has opened some unexpected gates that I am ready to explore and see where they take me. The story of any reader, I suppose.
“There is no such thing as a true tale. Truth has many faces and the truth is like to the old road to Avalon; it depends on your own will, and your own thoughts, whither the road will take you.”
― Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon
Until tomorrow, Merry Advent !
