Book of the Week: "Mists of Avalon"

I originally read "Mists of Avalon" in High School, and I know I didn't quite get the deep layers of the story.

Yes, it's another Arthurian story, but it's told in a way that I'm not sure any other author has tried to tackle, and certainly no other has accomplished what Marion Zimmer Bradley has.

The Arthurian story is told through the eyes of the women of the legend: Igraine, Morgaine, Morgause, Gwenhyfar, Vivianne, Nimue, Elaine. It turns the conventions of the legend on their ear. Traditionally Morgaine and Morgause are one and the same. In this story they are two different characters; niece and aunt. Morgause is self-seeking, ruthless and, some might say, over sexed. But Morgaine is really the heroine of the story, the woman upon whom all things hinge and change and turn.

Gwenhyfar is a bit two dimensional and annoying, a true Christian zealot who only at the last moment realizes, even a little, where she's been wrong and because of that is able to be selfless.

Igraine is one of the more fascinating characters although at the end of her "life" in the book she becomes a cardboard cut out. Her love affair with Uther has a different spin on it, and there's a really beautiful and interesting scene where Igraine is remembering a past life with Uther and who they were to each other and the world around them. After Igraine and Uther are married, however, it feels as if Igraine regresses and all the dimension she had is suddenly gone.

The book is very long and in some ways the construction of the book is odd in that the author repeats information almost verbatim in two different scenes. There is sex in the book, but not overly descriptive or pornographic. The interesting twist is that where other tellings of the legend hint shyly at a homosexual attraction between Arthur and Lancelet, this book lets it be there. It doesn't beat us over the head with it, nor does it have them being lovers in the conventional sense, but it doesn't hide it either.

Though I have issues with her construction of the novel, it is written very well, and beautifully. Knowing the legend as well as I do, I would cringe when Morgaine, for example, would hope for the future or plan for a better tomorrow. And even though I know how the story ends for the most part, I found myself unable to stop reading at points. It's poignant and beautiful, the painfully exquisite faith and world of the Druids infusing the story with the mystery, charm and beauty of the Mists.

It certainly paints Christians with a one color brush, though. All Christians are portrayed only as intolerant and repressive of women. Though this is, unfortunately, a very true aspect of modern day and historical Christianity, not all Christians are like this and I would have liked at least a few Christian characters that had more tolerance and love and respect for women than what she had.

The book has very feminist undertones, but I didn't find it preachy at all. I actually found myself yearning to discover the rich history I have as a woman. The book does not portray women as better than men. Instead it celebrates our differences and tries to point out how our differences, when put together, form a mighty unit.

At the end of the book the Druid faith has faded into the mists, and seems to be no more. But the author gives us a little hope. As Morgaine visits a convent, she sees the shrine and chapel devoted to the Virgin Mary and Saint Bridget and realizes that though the old ways of worshiping the Goddess are gone for good, She still exists and will always exist.

This is beautiful to me in that the old sparks of faith that set our ancestors on their paths to discover the Creator, the ultimate Being are still alive today, they just look different. Our faith will evolve, and sometimes it will be ugly and destructive, but always the spark of beauty, peace and truth that was before will remain somehow, we just have to be open to it.

Am I saying I now believe in a Goddess as opposed to God? No, but I have often wondered, and still wonder, if relegating God to being a Man isn't limiting a being that is inherently infinite. Couldn't God be both male and female? In the act of creation, isn't there the need for both the feminine and the masculine? Perhaps I will never know for sure until I see God face to face, and I'm kind of at peace with that.

The book was great, in spite of the parts I didn't like. I recommend this book to anyone, especially authors of fantasy. Just make sure you're ready for a potentially long stretch of reading this.