Guinevere is a complex character in Arthurian legends, often depicted as a childless queen who commits adultery with Lancelot. Her story involves abduction, exposure of her adultery, and her involvement with Mordred. Modern accounts, such as TH White’s The Once and Future King, portray her as a more human character with good and bad impulses. The downfall of Arthur’s kingdom is caused by a combination of factors, including Guinevere’s actions and Arthur’s mistreatment of Mordred.
Guinevere is the legendary wife of King Arthur, who appears in almost every tale of the Arthurian canon and whose character is interpreted in numerous ways depending on each author. Due to the vast number of interpretations regarding Queen Guinevere, it is difficult to construct one simple story about her. She is usually depicted as the childless queen who commits adultery with Lancelot. Whether she sinned more against than sinned by this act really depends on how fully her character is drawn in each tale.
In some accounts, Guinevere is the daughter of King Leodegrance and in others of Roman origin. Many of the tales concerning her involve a story of abduction which occurs in most Arthurian legends. Again, it’s hard to know exactly who Guinevere is kidnapping, as this varies. The accounts of those who rescue her also change, where sometimes Lancelot or Arthur rescues her, and other times, peace is brokered between Arthur and the kidnapper. The story of the abduction resembles the Greek myth of Persephone/Demeter in which Hades abducts Persephone.
Another of the tales associated with Guinevere is the exposure of her adultery with Lancelot. Because of the proof of his deception, Arthur sentences the queen to death. In almost all accounts, Lancelot then saves her, but kills the young knight Gareth in the act, forcing his brothers Gawain and Agravaine to swear vengeance on Lancelot. Alternatively, the story does not take place, but Guinevere later becomes the lover of Mordred, Arthur’s illegitimate son (or nephew depending on the narrative).
The latter story forms part of the tragedy of the Arthurian legends. When Mordred is either kidnapping Guinevere or forcing her to become her lover, Arthur attempts to save her and is killed. This tragedy is doubly felt when Mordred is portrayed as Arthur’s son, for in the end, Arthur destroys his son, himself and the wondrous days of Camelot in the process. In whole or in part, Guinevere’s actions contribute to the downfall of King Arthur’s just reign and destroy the dream of righteous and courteous behavior.
Modern accounts of Guinevere do much more to establish her character. In TH White’s The Once and Future King, for example, White portrays the queen as very human, with good and bad impulses. She is much younger than Arthur and helplessly trapped in a relationship with Lancelot that both characters try to avoid. Furthermore, it is very clear from White’s perspective that Arthur is fully aware of the affair and, due to his love for both the Queen and Lancelot, begs the two to do nothing that would make the affair obvious to Arthur’s enemies (mostly Mordred).
White’s perspective is certainly a modern take, showing compassion for the weaknesses of humanity at large and adding a much more balanced approach to how Arthur’s kingdom is ultimately destroyed. In this case, Geneva’s shares are only one side. Arthur’s neglect and mistreatment of his illegitimate son and nephew Mordred is also the cause of Mordred and Arthur’s eventual clash against each other.
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