More than just a fling?

“But then, to my utter astonishment, what Will ended up saying to me instead was, ‘It doesn’t explain what’s going on between me and you.” (Page 116)

This scene, the two are trying to explain this odd connection between them and begin exploring what they’re actually suppose to be doing. Knowing that the Lady of Shalott and King Arthur never meet (according to legend,) this is a question I found myself asking too! Why is there a dramatic connection between Ellie and Will? 

Will probably watched High School Musical 2

While reading the first half of Avalon High, I noticed that Will likes a lot of the things that the teens from High School Musical 2 like. He enjoys partying, being with friends, and the warm summer weather when sailing and hiding in that ravine.

Hooray for YA (Fiction, that is)!

Confession time: I've read Avalon High before. Probably four or five times. One of the many perks (?) of being a bookworm as a kid. I loved it then, and I still love it now, though I find myself cringing way more at the cheesiness of it all as an adult.

This of course does not mean I didn't find moments about Will that I thought were pretty consistent with the Arthur we know, such as saving the drowning kid. That's pretty noble and selfless. But I think Meg Cabot does some things with Arthur's character that we haven't seen yet. My favorite moment is when Will buys Ellie lemonade from the kids at the park. Will is silly in a way that Arthur hasn't been in our other stories. Part of that comes from being a high-schooler, but I think we also get to see how Arthur interacts with the little guy with moments like this. Even as a young man, this Arthur is a man of the people, which is pretty cool. Yes, it's corny and cheesy and ridiculous, but I don't think Cabot's a fool. She knows what Arthur means to people, and I think she's able to put him into the context of high school drama in a way that makes sense and feels genuine.

The Two Kings

The reporters had left some time ago to file their stories, and everyone in the room seemed concerned about what would be said. (Pg. 178) "Now, listen, Arthur," Elvis said, running a comb through his dark hair. "That press conference? Wonderful, my boy, just wonderful. You got me all shook up- you're a real dude, more honest than any politician I ever saw back in my day."

Arthur laughed. "Thank you kindly, Mr. Presley." He said, "I'm not sure they liked it as much as you did, though."
"Ah, nuts to them." The former singer replied with a wave of his hand, "They'll come around. But y'know... you could use a little more flair in your presentation."
"Oh really now?" Arthur asked, "What did you have in mind?"
"Nothin' major, nothin' major- but I could make a comeback to endorse you. Maybe give a little concert before your next big interview. I may've been outta the rock game for a while, but lemme tell you; they find out you got the real Elvis Presley on your side, and folks'll be all over you."
"They certainly would." Chimed in Merlin, arching an eyebrow, "In exactly the wrong sort of way. If I recall correctly, Mr. Presley, you too are a long dead King, are you not? People would ask questions. The kind of questions we don't want."
"Aw, don't be cruel, my little friend- I wouldn't worry about that." Elvis grinned, "True, them reporters've got suspicious minds, but they wouldn't put two and two together- after all, who'd be expecting the King of Rock 'n Roll to be hanging out with the King of Camelot?"
"Certainly not me." Merlin muttered, "And yet, here we are..."
"I mean," The King continued, "It's not like I'm askin' Artie here to come out and be all, 'I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago'..."
"Your offer is appreciated, Elvis." Arthur interrupted, "But Merlin is right. While I do want publicity, I probably don't want the publicity that a dead... 'rock star', right? ...would bring. Besides, showmanship is unnecessary- I'd rather the people get to know the real me, instead of getting distracted by our fame."
"Well, it's not like it's now or never." Elvis shrugged, "You just lemme know if you change your mind, man. I'm happy to go get my mojo working for you anytime."

Arthur Penn: NY's Savior or Fraud?

Many of you know this new hip mayoral candidate Arthur Penn.  For all of your sakes, I am thankful that I was in attendance at his first formal press conference.  While many of my colleagues started out skeptical, many of them quickly turned their views into one of admiration.  I am sure that he swayed many a reporter, and in turn those reporters will sway many-a-voter.  But I am here to warn of the smooth talking, charismatic candidate.  Arthur's past is as cloudy as his current living arrangements.  He speaks of respecting and admiring us for our ability to record and shape history, but neglects to give us any real information on himself.  He shakily dodged a question of his past employment and leadership positions, and followed up with a relatively generic public statement of always being on the right side of the law.  Nobody seemed to notice that before he came out with this to clarify, his assistant whispered something in his ear.  While Arthur does seem like a very well-versed, and capable leader, I would strongly urge against giving him your support, at least, until more information on his shady past come to light.

King HeArt(hur)

The reading for today's class was very strange for me to read through as it was quite the change from where we have been this semester. But one paragraph stood out to me in particular and in someways reinforced who Arthur is to me. In the last full paragraph on page 177, Arthur answers a reporter's question about decisions based on facts. He says in response, "Facts get in the way of decisions. Give me a basic summary of the situation and I will generally decide based on what I feel here." Arthur is talking about making decisions based on his feelings about them and not solely the facts. This reinforces my ideas about Arthur and his ability to lead. I see Arthur as a strong leader who is not afraid to make the difficult choices, whether that be sending his armies into battle when they are vastly outnumbered, or simply knowing when it is his time to step aside. Another leader may way too much of the decisions on the facts, we do not have the troops to win the battle or there are still so many things that I have to do before I go. Decisions like those based more on facts than feelings lead to kings ruining their legacy. Arthur's legacy lives on because he was unafraid to follow his heart and do what he believed was the right thing or choice to make even when others would not.

The Round Table that Never Sleeps

"'Just kicking into high gear? Ronnie, look at this schedule' He slapped the piece of paper. 'Appearing in front of groups I've never heard of to discuss subjects I know nothing about' His collar was unbuttoned, his tie draped over the chair nearby. They'd been working practically the entire night and the strain was beginning to show." pg. 206

This part of the story, being in New York in the 1980's, reminds me heavily of Wall  Street finance culture. One of the staffers was disgruntled after a meeting and has been working all night.

"Merlin walked in, dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt 'Morning all' he said 'Percival's right behind me--he's stopping to get a bagel' He shook his head 'Facinating thing, a bagel. Not quite a donut, but not yet quite a muffin. Not quite anything, and yet it's everything. All things to all people. It's the brunch of baked goods."

Merlin, in this story, reminds me of an eccentric personality in the dusk to dawn corporate culture that existed in New York. His comments about the bagel were very tacit in nature, and reminded me of a manager working in finance, to focus on every detail and confuse his workers.

New York, New York

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUrUfJW1JGk

I imagine this song playing in the background when Arthur is answering questions at the beginning of the reading for today. Any time New York is mentioned in a TV show or movie this song plays in my head.

Poor, Cranky Merlin

“‘Miss Queen,’ he said with obvious annoyance, ‘if infinite monkeys typing for an eternity could produce the works of Shakespeare, I think even you should be capable of putting together a simple press conference. But if this desperately minor exercise of talent requires a pat on the back, then as you wish’” (170).

Vote 4 Penn Campaign Ad

Camelot goes to NYC

It stated that King Arthur has returned to modern day for a reason, "I'm here to bring a fresh perspective, and a fresh understanding, and the knowledge to help you pick and chose the right way to go." (page 263) So why would Morgan Le Fey want to sabotage Arthur? Why would Gwen acknowledge her plan and help Morgan take Excalibur?

Arthur cries at a press conference

The doors of the hotel just opened, and news reporters rushed in for an opportunity to talk to candidate Arthur Penn. On the way to the press conference, one of the reporters noticed a teenager in the waiting lobby, and asked him "it's 12pm. Shouldn't you be in school?"

"How about you go do your job and interview the actual candidate?" Merlin rudely replied, as he heard a loud "HUUUUUUUU" nearby. He then walked up to Gwen, who pulled off another "HUUUUUUU."

"What do you want?"

"HUUU - oh, hey Merlin. Man, pulling off a press conference sure makes one exhausted! But you know me, I'm like the backbone of this entire campaign. I'm just doing my part; no need to thank me!"

"K bye," Merlin said, walking to the podium as Arthur made his way there.

"You don't have to be such a jacka -AAGHH!" Gwen screamed as she got shoved to the floor by the running reporters who wanted to catch a glimpse of Arthur.

Arthur got the microphone and began to speak. "Hey y'all, I'm Arthur Penn, and I'm running for mayor. I'll now take your questions."

One reporter spoke, "that was a short intro, but anyways, your Democratic and Republican opponents all have political experience, while you have absolutely zero. Do you think this is a bad thing?"

"If a man with no political experience could become president, then surely I can become mayor?"

"I, um -"

"Next question!"

"How do you feel about gun control, specifically a ban on assault weapons and bump stocks?"

"Ah, gun control. Who cares about that? Everyone should just get their own sword; it'll solve this entire issue. Why, I once happened to have my own sword, but I lost it when my deep-sea fishing trip went horribly wrong. Memories... where was I? Next question!"

"How do you feel about abortion?"

"I support it 100%! If abortion was a thing back in the day, I wouldn't be in this mess! Mordred would never have been born, and Camelot... would... never have fallen..." Arthur began to look visibly distraught, and then said "no more questions!" before running offstage crying.

Feminism Say What?

So far while reading these excerpts the big question in class has been, is this pro-feminism and female equality?  After reading the first two passages I still cannot give a definite answer because this is so absolutely confusing, but in my mind it does lean towards the not-so feminist side.  The way this is written definitely has some feminist views and over-arching themes but they only shadow what is really going on.  There are a few instances in which this occurs through the story, but what really stuck out to me was on page 178,

"The little blue-painted girl who had borne the fertilizing blood was drawn down into the arms of a sinewy old hunter, and Morgaine saw her briefly struggle and cry out, go down under his body, her legs opening to the irresistible force of nature in them. She saw without sight, her eyes closed against the glare of the torch, hearing the cries."

I could be wrong, but in my mind pro-feminist works that show a female dominated society with an all-powerful female leader/goddess are not also in the same instance alright with old hunters forcing themselves on little flower girls... So, what is really going on here? 

Priestesses and Penis Statues

"Life surges in the spring, the deer run in the forest, and our life runs with them. The King Stag of the world shall bring them down, the King Stag, the Horned One blessed by the Mother shall triumph."

I chose this specific quote because it goes the must in depth of the scattered prayer excepts and gives a look into the religions foundations of the Druids in "Mists." It's seems like a transcendentalist religion, which makes me wonder if Marion Bradley was influenced by Emerson or Thoreau. The idea of a Forest Goddess is really interesting, not only for the feminist ideals Bradley was trying to reflect, but for it's argument against Christianity. This prayer gives an embodiment of religion that is tangibly felt by Morgaine and connects her to all of the living things around her. How could this religion not be the correct one for the kingdom, when it physically connects humanity to the world around it?

Sibling Bonding

A particular seen in today's reading that was very jarring and captivating was the infamous scene of Arthur and Morgaine recognizing who each other were after making love. This scene is very powerful because it causes distress to both Arthur and Morgaine for obvious reasons.

Even though the deed was so dastardly, Morgaine is trying to make as much sense out of it as she can, ""Don't cry," she said, helplessly, "don't cry. We are in the hands of her who brought us here. It doesn't matter. We are not brother and sister here, we are man and woman before the Goddess, no more"" (181).

Morgaine is trying to comfort Arthur by saying that their affiliations outside of the ritual do not matter because this is supposedly the Goddess's will. However, this still doesn't make the situation not distressing to the both of them. No matter what a higher power's will may be, one will still have deep regret for having relations with their own sibling which is a normal human trait.

Another key conflict that was brought to attention though was, why did Viviane allow this to happen? Viviane knew the Horned One was Arthur so why would she set this whole ritual up for the both of them to be together? Morgaine even questions this herself at the very end of the chapter when she's comforting her brother, "But even as she soothed him, despair beat at her. Why did you do this to us? Great Mother, Lady, why? And she did not know whether she was calling to Viviane, or to the Goddess" (181).

Morgaine is outraged that Viviane has done this knowing exactly what would happen. There's a lot of emotions and thoughts swarming through Morgaine's head, so much so that she doesn't even know what to believe anymore. The most she can do now is to stay strong for the both of them.

The Alignment Chart

Is Viviane chaotic neutral? Or lawful neutral? Where does she or any of the other characters fit into the alignment chart?

Anti-Feminist Themes in the Mists of Avalon

In my opinion, in our readings thus far, this is the most bizarre text. The Mists of Avalon dives head first into the magical aspects of the Legend of King Arthur. Today’s passages included a profound sex ritual and the creation of the King’s magical sword, Excalibur. But, the text also reinforces the theme of subjugated women throughout the collective King Arthur literature. There are some arguably feminist aspects sprinkled into The Legend, but what Morgaine had to go through is far cry from anything resembling humane treatment. First off, when she was being prepared for the ritual, the performers of the ritual needed to check if they were actually using a virgin or not. On page 173, “With her own hands, the woman began to prepare Morgaine for the ritual. Briefly, almost perfunctorily, she parted the girl’s legs and probed a little; Morgaine, beyond embarrassment”(p.173). The author chose the word ‘perfunctorily’ for the adjective of search suggesting that Morgaine is nothing but a prop for the ritual. What if she had not been a virgin? Next, during the feast leading to the ritual, after essentially starving her, they give her what sounds like some of the tastiest sounding meats one could eat. Then they get her drunk, “The old priestess who had painted and decked her this morning held a silver cup to her lips: she felt the strong liquor sting her throat and burn all the way down”(p.177). If Morgaine was willing why would the priestess need to hold the cup? Or, if Morgaine had sufficient strength to drink for herself why wouldn’t she? In either case it doesn’t seem like she would drink or even be able to drink. Moments leading up to the ritual, Morgaine was terrified “Morgaine clung for a moment to the old woman, hugging her in sudden terror, as if the woman’s sheltering arms were her mother’s own”(p. 178). Does any of this make it seem like Morgaine truly wanted any of it? In conclusion, Morgaine is raped. This, although a vulgar example, reinforces the theme of the subjugation of women throughout the King Arthur literature.  

Can u bleed while u are pergert?

Dear diary,

I was gonna write waaay sooner, but all the rituals during the past few days have gotten me totally WIPED. My body is so tired that it can't even muster the strength to menstruate! I'm only taking a little bit of time before Arthur's coronation to write this much.

So yeah, my monthly courses are late, but nbd. It's just cuz I was in all those trances, channeling the power of the Goddess. It happens. This is totally and completely normal. It should be coming any day now. It's not like I got pregnant or anything. I mean, yeah, okay, I had sex during the ritual, but it was ritual. It basically wasn't even me; it was the Goddess. And the Goddess had to have known that the man who would represent the God would be my brother. And the Goddess surely doesn't endorse the mutant inbred babies of a sister and brother who have fond childhood memories of each other. Not that our babies would look repulsive if we did have them, for Arthur is too handsome. Aesthetically. I'm so proud of him, my handsome brother. I'd say that's how you can tell we are related (cuz we're SUPER related), but let's be real I don't look much like him. But we're still super related, so there's no way the Goddess would allow us to conceive a child, even for a ritual, so there's no way I'm pregnant.

Ha! I seriously need to stop stressing about this. Stress makes anyone's monthly courses even later! They also cause nausea, and I've been nauseous ever since I had ritual sex with my brother.* The nausea is, of course, do to fatigue and possession and stress. Not due to pregnancy. Because I'm not pregnant.

When will my monthly courses continue like normal? I HAVE NEVER CRAVED THEM SO MUCH.

Dear diary,

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

* (I can't believe I wrote that!!! I had to cover it with ink.)

(This isn't super relevant to today's reading, but I had to.)