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@tjbushra
I agree with your points. The fate of each of the women were destined. Even if the endings were the same, different problems arise all leading back to the same problem before. Their feelings can never change about how they feel for each other making it that much more obvious that their fate was inevitable.I think we can all agree that if it were not for Guenever, the story would not be even close to half of what it is. The real question is, would the kingdoms fate still remain? Would another female intervene or would something totally different happen? Personally, I think that, due to human nature, the kingdom still would have collapsed even at around the same time since there always seemed to be some problem or other in the Round Table and whatnot. What do you guys think about the fate? Was Gwen the only reason or would something or someone else take her place?
@gabihaw I honestly do think the \”wow\” factor would be there but not in a romantic sense. With the affair, the story focuses on the intensity of that rather than the physical stuff. I think that if the affair wasn\’t there, the chivalry side if the story would appear more interesting and intense, thus keeping the \”wow\” factor
The women of The Once and Future King apply a significant amount of drama to the novel to say the least. Each one of them, specifically Morgause, Guenever and Elaine, has done something to \”change the game\” of the book so to speak. They add elements of love, deceit, suspense and the like, creating vivid details and key conflicts that broaden the novel.
The relationships of the women and their lovers consisted of some real love and much chicanery. Guenevere wished to love both Arthur and Lancelot simultaneously. Her love for Arthur was almost purely platonic, while lust seemed to have the upper hand with her love for Lancelot. And then we have Elaine, who loves Lancelot just as much as Guenever does. She knows that Lancelot has no feelings for her in return, so she uses her trickery to obtain what her heart desires. Elaine constantly manipulates Lancelot, always trying to take him from Quenever. And finally there is Morgause. She uses her looks, potions and whatever else she can obtain to sleep with anyone within her reach.
The presence and absence of children does not affect the women, except for Elaine. Elaine uses Galahad almost like a \”tie\” to Lancelot. She thinks that if she could make Lancelot guilty by not knowing his son, that she could have him to herself for a while. Morgause on the other hand clearly has little compassion or affection for her children. She gives them about a tenth of her love and they lash out from lacking a proper mother. There is not much that can be said about Guenever, but one can always come up with some sort of theory. What if she had children that had no resemblance to Arthur because Lancelot was the father? I am sure people would suspect something from a situation like that.
The women of The Once and Future King were definitely masters of their own fates. Take Morgause for example, she abandoned her children and slept with just about every man in Camelot. She did not have to die by the hands that were her own flesh and blood. Morgause could have simply loved her children and taken responsibility for them. Elaine used her cunning character and good looks to deceive Lancelot. But the one thing she could not have was his love. So she was left with his child to raise and a broken heart to mend.
@emilylarsen
To answer your question, I believe that Morgause definitely could have lived if she had put more time and effort into taking care of her children.@gabihaw
I don\’t think we can blame Lancelot for Elaine\’s suicide. It was her executive decision to end her life, which was a bit dramatic if I may add.The women never truly have a say in what happens or how they are treated. i mainly remember the women having affairs with other men. i think the women matter to the story but i do not think they made a difference. The only power that they had over men was getting the men to have more affairs. They were known for being selfish and somewhat careless. Do you think that they were so selfish that they never truly loved a man? If they did truly love one then how would that change the story?
@gabihaw i doubt it would be as important, because that effected Arthur. White chose to have his best friend and wife in an affair to make it even more dramatic.
@angelarofael i do not think she was a corner piece to the puzzle that shaped the story, but the story would not be the same without her.
The women in the The Once and Future King all play a major part in the story. The three main women would be Morgause, Guenevere, and Elaine. Morgause was married to Sir Lot, however she was completely un-loyal to him. She wanted anything she could her hands on, but we see the similar case with Guanevere. Guenevere is a caring wife for Arthur, though she hides one small secret from him. She started going behind Arthur’s back in order to be with Lancelot and eventually committing adultery with him. Then there was Elaine; she did not have a relationship with any man. She also fell in love with Lancelot, eventually tricking him into having coitus with her. All of these women are deceitful in different ways from one another.
The 5 children Morgause had were not even treated as her children; she did not care for them on a personal level. All of this had caused her children to become problematic children and they still wished to earn the respect of their own mother. These children become murderers and this is one of the few things that they believe their mother appreciates about them. On the other hand, Guenevere has no children, which may have troubled her. She could have wanted another person to love in her life, but instead of a child, she loved another grown man. She may have had a saddened heart every time Arthur was away from the castle, making her feel lonely. Elaine got a child through making a man have sex with her. She may have thought that a child may have been able to bring Lancelot into her life; instead he wanted nothing to do with the child. She made a deceitful wild plan to connect her and Lancelot permanently.
Morgause completely controls her own fate and what she wishes to do wither life and there doesn’t seem to be anything that can stop her. Her ultimate accomplishment was to have the child with her half-brother Arthur. This son, growing up to hate Arthur with all of his heart, turns the entire Kingdom of Camelot upside down. Guenevere does not take control of her fate completely. Both Arthur and Lancelot sway her decisions and cause her to do things they please. Elaine had almost complete control over her fate, similar to Morgause, and got her relationship with Lancelot, however he eventually broke away from her; she then committed suicide due to sorrow. She had simply hid Lancelot for awhile and was then tossed out of the story. Could Elaine possibly kept Lancelot with her forever?@anthonyo3
These women cause all of the drama in the story to occur. Without the women we would have never seen Arthur have his son with Morgause, and then, without Guenevere and Elaine, Lancelot would have never lost his virginity. This would have let Lancelot remain the greatest knight in Camelot. It would turn the story into a more happy ending.@matt21miller
i had an excellent read with your post. To answer your question, If Elaine never had a child with Lancelot, then he would remain as the mightiest knight in all of the land. He could have led the Round Table to glorious victories and may have been able to obtain the Grail. Instead, his powers are taken by his foolish mistakes and he was driven to madness.
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