Reading the Chunksters discussion
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The Mists of Avalon
Archived 2011 Group Reads
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Mists of Avalon 7: 281-353 (Chapters 6-9)
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Sorry Stephanie, but I'm a little behind at the moment. I'm almost there!
I think Bradley portrayed the time period very well. During this medieval time, women were expected to be submissive to men; to do what the men said, when the men said it. And if they didn't, then they were chastised and castigated.Something that I noticed Bradley did though, when telling part of the novel through Igraine's eyes, was give her the ability to speak her mind (most of the time); even when she knew that Gorlois would probably strike her for not holding her tongue, she still defended herself numerous times when he verbally attacked her (accusing her of adultery).
Although, one thing I didn't enjoy was the way Igraine accepted her destiny. For a little while she told herself she wouldn't let her life be controlled by a mere prophecy Merlin and Viviane predicted; but, after seeing Uther and having that pleasant dream with herself and Uther in it, she decided that she must go along with fate and do what it said she was supposed to do. I honestly enjoy novels where the character breaks the rules and rebels against his/her's "supposed" destiny. But, I guess if Igraine would have went against her destiny, there would be no Arthurian legend...
And I loved that essay!! :D It never occured to me that in this novel the rise of Christianity symbolized man's rise to power, while the downfall of pagan religion symbolized women's loss of power. Very interesting!
One of my friends turned me on to that essay. She said that when that book first came out that people were up in arms about it because it vilified Christianity and she wanted to know what I thought. I do think it some ways it paints Christianity in a bad light, but I'm not sure there would be a way around that. In the same way that the female and the Pagan together, it seems that in Bradley's world Christianity and the male seem to connect somehow...in a perfect world it would all connect together.I never really thought about what females gave up in the name of 'Christianity'.
Interesting article. It is pretty hard to discuss Mists of Avalon and avoid feminism and religion as topics. I don't agree that Bradley is trying to villify Christianity as such, but is rather trying to portray the status of women in medieval Britain at the pivotal point that Christianity became dominant. I'm an Atheist, so I don't feel an especial need to protect any one particular faith system, but it is my opinion that feminism is a wider social issue, of which religion is only a part. As the article points out, Bradley explores the flaws in both the Christian and Goddess faith and her characters are rarely fanatically of one persuasion or the other, but usually more diplomatically placed between the two extremes.
I found this lovely article (seriously, it's good if you can muddle through all the ridiculous ads). It can be found here.
This article got me to thinking about Bradley's portrayal of women as a whole, portrayal of women in literature being one of my favorite themes. We've met several different types of women in this book and each one seems to give us a little more insight into the time period, but also a little insight into what Bradley views is the ideal woman.
If you would like read the article.
What do you feel Bradley is saying about this time period, women in general, what are some of the traits (positive and negative) that you are seeing as we get deeper into the Arthurian Legend as seen through the eyes of its female characters.