여성과 왕국: 『아서왕의 죽음』의 귀네비어와 모르간 르 페이를 중심으로
Woman and Kingdom: Guenevere and Morgan le Fay in the Morte d’Arthur
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This study aims to analyze political implications of the portrayal of Guenevere and Morgan le Fay in Malory’s Morte d’Arthur. Both women are represented as a queen and thus have a role to play in the establishment of a kingdom and a king’s sovereignty. However, most critics, as well as the characters in the work, seem not to be conscious of their role and power. This essay argues that Guenevere and Lancelot’s love is acceptable only as part of court politics, which expects the queen to contain otherwise menacing knights in the court. And the dissolution of the Arthurian kingdom is attributed to their adulterous relationship since the queen’s political and symbolic power have to be neutralized. In concealing the political dimension of queenship, the work reveals hidden patriarchal desire of Arthurian society, which places Guenevere in the familiar binary opposition of Mary and Eve. The same patriarchal desire is also found in the representation of Morgan le Fay. She embodies seemingly incompatible natures of the feminine. In the earlier part of the work she is a dangerous traitress although she is the nearest kin to Arthur and the wife of a faithful ally: she is diabolical, sexually voracious, and politically aggressive. When Arthur meets his death, however, she plays a role of caring, loving mother. This essay argues that such paradox originates from the assumption that a woman may become a queen, but not a king.
Abstract
This study aims to analyze political implications of the portrayal of Guenevere and Morgan le Fay in Malory’s Morte d’Arthur. Both women are represented as a queen and thus have a role to play in the establishment of a kingdom and a king’s sovereignty. However, most critics, as well as the characters in the work, seem not to be conscious of their role and power. This essay argues that Guenevere and Lancelot’s love is acceptable only as part of court politics, which expects the queen to contain otherwise menacing knights in the court. And the dissolution of the Arthurian kingdom is attributed to their adulterous relationship since the queen’s political and symbolic power have to be neutralized. In concealing the political dimension of queenship, the work reveals hidden patriarchal desire of Arthurian society, which places Guenevere in the familiar binary opposition of Mary and Eve. The same patriarchal desire is also found in the representation of Morgan le Fay. She embodies seemingly incompatible natures of the feminine. In the earlier part of the work she is a dangerous traitress although she is the nearest kin to Arthur and the wife of a faithful ally: she is diabolical, sexually voracious, and politically aggressive. When Arthur meets his death, however, she plays a role of caring, loving mother. This essay argues that such paradox originates from the assumption that a woman may become a queen, but not a king.
참고문헌 (22)
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