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Comparing Malory's Merlin And Le Morte D Arthur

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Overt sexual desires. A quick temper. Manipulative tendencies. These are just a few of the character flaws that a male protagonist in literature often can demonstrate and still be upheld as the narrative’s hero. Yet if a female character exhibits these traits, she is condemned, often vitriolically so. Arthurian literature is not immune to this misconception, as seen in Alfred Tennyson’s “Merlin and Vivien” and even in Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur. But while Tennyson demonizes Vivien as maliciously manipulative and refuses to give her human complexity or realistic motivations, Malory chooses to combat the double standard by characterizing Nimue as opportunistic and shrewd, but still a just character often aligned with Arthur and his knights. …show more content…

There is no mention that Merlin loves her in the account; at best, a dotage could mean an affection out of measure, but the specification that he is after her virginity adds the negative connotation of simply sexual desire towards a much younger, beautiful woman. Kenneth Hodges, in his essay on The Chivalry of Malory’s Nyneve, argues that Malory’s Nimue acts on “a sense of justice based not merely on technicalities but on larger circumstances and motive” (Hodges 79). This sense of justice as a broader concept justifies her actions with …show more content…

Like Merlin, Nimue as the Lady of the Lake manipulates events and people for the benefit of Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, and by drawing that parallel, Malory places Nimue on the side of good despite her actions with Merlin. In fact, Hodges goes so far as to assert that “the defining action for Malory’s Nyneve is not [emphasis mine] the imprisonment of Merlin (although that is the act that defines her in most texts)” (Hodges 78). Nimue burns Accolon’s sword so Arthur can defeat him (Malory 117) and makes Ettard fall in love with Pelleas after Ettard humiliates and rejects him repeatedly (Malory 139). Even more importantly, Nimue intervenes in both episodes to right a specific wrong: Accolon’s treachery with Morgan, and Pelleas’ deep hurt after he sees Ettard sleeping with Gawain, the knight he trusted to win her for him. If Nimue were only biased to assist Arthur’s court, she would have interceded on Gawain’s behalf; instead, she sides with the wronged party. She imparts justice, whereas Merlin’s agenda seems much more single-minded – get Arthur on the throne at all costs. Merlin makes Uther appear like Igraine’s husband so Uther can sleep with her and conceive Arthur (Malory 4); saves Arthur’s life by casting a sleeping spell over Pellinore right as he

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