Fall Into The Mists

Legend and myth are much a part of our lives today as they were when they were first told. Movies, television shows and music are heavily influenced by tales that have stirred children’s imaginations for centuries. These legends are often perceived as being very ancient; however, some legends have originated from as recently as one hundred years ago. Due to their somewhat youthful age, as far as legends go, they are shoved into the all-too-general fiction genre.

Numerous novels have been written about legends and myths, and, naturally, those novels were converted into movies and/or television series. Arthurian legend is well-known throughout the world due to constant references and how long ago it supposedly took place. From the origin of the tale of King Arthur and his infamous knights of the round table, Morgan Le Fay has always been perceived as evil. Women, in general, were perceived as the temptation of the devil. The Mists of Avalon proved women are not evil and are just as important, if not more so, than men by Marion Zimmer Bradley‘s use of a fresh perspective, religion and a positive view of Paganism.

Bradley’s semi-lengthy novel, The Mists of Avalon, won her critical acclaim in the early 1990’s. It was so widely accepted by fantasy fans and Arthurian buffs alike, it was made into a three-hour television movie by TNT. Up until this critical point in the lifetime of Arthurian legend, women were not put in a kind light. Arthur’s sister, Morgan Le Fay, was a sorceress and a priestess of the mythical island Avalon. In books such as Once and Future King by T.H. White, Morgan (it was actually Morgause in this novel) was said to have seduced her brother, Arthur, into sleeping with her. Some of the name and actions are changed in these two novel, due to the fact that it is Arthurian legend. Morgan is titled “the Queen of the faeries” due to her unknown and magickal upbringing. According to Bradley’s novel, she is a very strong woman. Of course, she must be. A priestess of Avalon cannot be weak or easily misled. Her beauty is not that of Gwenhwyfar; however, she is noted to be attractive. She was not considered “evil” whatsoever. “Morgaine's life is shaped by her desire to serve her religion and the Goddess, and to preserve the Old Religion while watching common folk and royalty discard it in favor of Christianity” (Spark Notes).

If anyone could’ve been misconstrued as evil, it would’ve been Vivianne, the Lady of the Lake. She was not truly evil either; however, she put Avalon first and foremost, because it was her livelihood and life’s work. The only evil woman in Bradley’s novel was Morgause. She is said to be sister to Vivianne and Lady Igraine, Morgaine’s mother. Morgause and her husband sought the power of ruling Camelot and when Morgaine gave birth to Arthur’s child, Morgause “generously” suggested to raise him as her own. This is solely because Arthur’s wife, Gwenhwyfar, would not produce an heir. Mordrid, Morgaine and Arthur’s child, was his first heir, and therefore heir to the throne. Lady Igraine is Morgaine and Arthur’s mother. She was used by Vivianne for the sake of Avalon -- much like Morgaine. Eventually, she decides to become a nun to escape her fate. Bradley’s fresh perspective was a key element in making her version of King Arthur a true legend, after all, no one had heard it from the women’s perspective.

Religion has played a key factor in history in general. Wars have been fought over it, and relationships have been torn apart. In The Mists of Avalon, both issues occur. The underlying battle between Paganism and Christianity is always at hand in this novel. People are beginning to shy away from the Mother Goddess and worship Jesus Christ. The Pagans embrace Christianity as simply another spiritual path; however, the Christian priest abhor Paganism. They scoff at the Pagans and their Goddess and declare that Christians must worship Christ and only Christ. After all, all polytheists will go straight to hell. The majority of the women in this novel are Pagan. The only women who practices Christianity is Gwenhwyfar. This is an interesting difference in many of the Arthurian tales. Gwenhwyfar is usually depicted as Pagan because she shaped herself in the image of Diana, the goddess of the moon. In Bradley’s tale, alternately, Gwenhwyfar is, indeed, Christian and destined to become a nun until Arthur chooses her as his bride.

Morgaine, the story’s protagonist, is a priestess of Avalon. Morgaine is brought up on the teachings of the Goddess and Christian God, because her mother, Lady Igraine is a priestess of Avalon and her father was a follower of Christ; however, she is later taken by Vivianne and solely taught the ways of the Old Religion. Although her father was a devout Christian, he died long before she was mature enough to understand the concept of religion. She goes years upon years without seeing her mother and brother. Arthur is also learning about his destiny from Merlin. In this version of King Arthur, Merlin and Vivianne are accomplices in saving Avalon. The audience does not see much of Merlin in the movie, however. Morgaine has an epiphany after she can no longer lift the mists. When she visits her mother, Lady Igraine, at Glastonbury, she notices many women worshiping a female figure, Mary. She sees that the Mother Goddess is not gone, just reincarnated.

For over two millennia, Paganism has been perceived as the devil’s religion. If one were to look up the definition of Paganism in the dictionary, one would find that the term literally means country-dweller. Of course, this was once true, but is far too over generalized. Most Pagans wanted to be closely in touch with their Mother Goddess, whatever name they called her. Therefore, the rural portions of the world were where most of them dwelled -- hence the definition. To avoid this definition, many people chose a branch of Paganism, such as Wicca or Druidism. Although Wicca was only formed in the 1950’s, it was been well-established by Gerald Gardner. The Mists of Avalon brought Paganism back into the limelight with its tales of magick and mysticism. Thankfully, Bradley did it in a kind way. Through the eyes of Morgaine, Bradley showed the struggle between Christianity and Paganism while showing the Pagans being completely empathetic and welcoming. These are the true feelings of Pagans, even today. When Lady Igraine attends the choosing of a new High King of Camelot, she is forced to defend Avalon and her beliefs when a follower of Christ belittles them. The leaders of Christianity are anything but kind to the followers of the Old Religion. Naturally, they feel threatened by Avalon, especially when they discover how they embrace all religions because this proves they are, truly, the evil ones for not doing the same. Many of the recently-converted followers of Christ are sympathetic with the Pagans, because they too were once Pagans and, therefore, understand. The fight has raged on and even a few years ago, Pagans were being persecuted for their beliefs. When the company I work for, WitchSchool.com, moved it’s headquarters to Hoopeston, Illinois, all of the churches wanted them out of their town. They tried everything in their power to stop them from “corrupting the people of Hoopeston.” Even in other states, Pagans are being treated harshly. In Piqua, Ohio, the Wiccan Heritage Temple was planning on celebrating their first annual Witches Ball and a local Baptist church held a meeting to “claim Piqua for Christ.” The meeting was held (conveniently) on Halloween night and the Heritage Temple decided to attend to see what exactly they were saying about them. Eventually, they were sought out and asked to leave; however, they learned the Christian perspective of Paganism is completely skewed. The Mists of Avalon took place many, many years ago, but the battle still lives on and (most likely) will continue to do so.

The novel makes the situation blatantly obvious that women and Paganism are utterly misunderstood by the vast majority of the world. Proof does lie, however, in Europe that conveys acceptance of the Wiccan religion. For ages, places such as England were worse than American in welcoming Pagan religions, but today, England is more so. For instance, the book series Sweep, by Cate Tiernan is only called Sweep in America. In England, it is called Wicca. The Mists of Avalon was just what Paganism needed to grow to what it is today. Of course, with its positive highlights, it also has negative ones. The negative aspects are not increasingly obvious to those who are not aware of how Wicca works, however. Many Wiccan traditions are at war with each other. Much like the Christians, they debate over which tradition is closer to the ultimate truth. This goes against the Wiccan Rede and general belief that all religions lead to the same place. The novel showed how even back then Wiccans fight against their fellow Wiccans for no real reason. As the all-too-true saying goes: those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. It not only applies to Paganism, but the past in general.

Although no one knows which legend is the true legend, for the feminist mind, this version is nice to believe. Women are the soul of the novel and they are empowered by their desire to rule and keep their religion in tact. Realistically, no person is truly evil, per se, their actions are. Evil is in the eye of the beholder and based on perspective, as The Mists of Avalon has proved. Morgaine appeared evil in other versions of Arthurian legend, but suddenly she’s the woman everyone is cheering for simply because the story is being told from her perspective. The future will find new evidence to add to King Arthur and the infamous land of Camelot, but the message will always remain the same.