Religious Conflicts and Their Impact on King Arthur’s Reign in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon

• Authors: Łaszkiewicz Weronika
• Languages of publication: PL EN RU

Abstracts

EN

The aim of the following paper is to examine the conflict between the cult of the Mother Goddess and Christianity, which affects King Arthur’s reign in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s original retelling of Arthurian legends – The Mists of Avalon (1983). The religious conflict presented in the novel is inextricably linked with representations of femininity and the figures of Morgaine (Morgan le Fay) and Queen Gwenhwyfar, who are dedicated, respectively, to Avalon and the Church. By investigating both women’s beliefs, actions, and relationship with Arthur, this paper will demonstrate how in Bradley’s retelling the transition from the worship of the Goddess to Christianity conditions King Arthur’s reign and ultimately contributes to his downfall.

Keywords

EN

Marion Zimmer Bradley; King Arthur; Morgaine; Gwenhwyfar; Christianity; fantasy fiction

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie
• Journal: Acta Neophilologica
• Year: 2017
• Volume: XIX/2
• Pages: 133-143

Dates

published

2017-12-01

Contributors

author

Łaszkiewicz Weronika

• Uniwersytet w Białymstoku

References

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Identifiers

ISSN

1509-1619