A Slice of Life and Love

Throughout time, major motifs appear again and again. The threads of these reoccurring

images weave together define the human psyche; of these strands, one of the most dominant is

pattern of forbidden love. From ancient tales to modern novels, people are attracted to the

depiction of two figures, drawn by a pure instinct into a tragic ending. However, according to

Jung, as people enter the modern times, they “have somehow lost the gift to fully experience

[archetypes].” In other words, humans are no longer as connected to the power and meaning of

these innate conceptions as their primitive ancestors. In The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer

Bradley uses the darker sides of the lover archetype found in Arthur, Lancelet, and Morgaine to

arouse pity and awareness in the readers towards the lover found in every person.

Arthur embodies the drifting away of humans from embracing their intrinsic sides to aloof

analysis of archetypes that Jung describes. In the beginning of The Mists of Avalon, he accepts

his intuitive love for Morgaine, even vowing his love for her. However, as the story progresses,

he turns away from congenital nature to adore and instead brushes off his act of passion with

Morgaine by admitting “Oh, I suppose it was a sin”(552). As Arthur drifts from being the

archetypical lover, it is harder to identify with him, and affection for his character decreases.

Bradley demonstrates through this that as humans disregard their primitive instincts, they are

losing the collective unconscious that all people share, and become less affable as a whole.

Eventually though, strains of emotion underlying in Arthur’s character erupt as he realizes his

rapture with Morgaine will never truly leave him, and he yells at Gwenhwyfar, “I have repented

[my love] every time I looked on Morgaine, these twelve years past!”(553). His outburst

awakens sympathy within the audience and his passion permeates theirs. Bradley, using Arthur,
allows those who read her book to remember the lovers within themselves, since archetypes

force people who view them “to be brought under their spell.”

The heroine, Morgaine, diverges from the path Arthur takes; she eventually embraces the

natural proclivity to love in accepting Accolon as paramour. Soon after she marries Uriens, she

does not understand how she should feel towards Accolon and is deeply pained by this. Upon his

first return home, she “[bites] her lip, wondering if she should weep”(573). Initially Morgaine is

made to suffer because, like Arthur, she wants to reject her inherent emotions. However,

Accolon refuses to let her go, and Morgaine ultimately succumbs. Because she eventually

follows her heart, she is rewarded with what she longs for: the restoration of her power. As she

lies under the stars with Accolon, she notices “his hands, the touch of his body, [are]

reconsecrating [her] priestess,” and is once again revived. Bradley, through Morgaine’s

reawakening, also kindles the collective unconscious of the audience, willing them to “uncover

the significance [Morgaine’s] archetype conveys.” Her strong control, yet submission to the

lover ingrained in the structure of every human being allow her to become a strong and unique

character. The significance of Morgaine as the lover that Bradley wishes for us to understand

incorporates not only the need to recognize archetypical instincts, but also the importance of

understanding and controlling one’s primitive nature.

Finally, Lancelet is a lover that is somehow caught between the acceptance and rejection of

his instincts. He loves Gwenhwyfar and makes advances towards her, but his cowardice and

loyalty towards Arthur restrain him from going too far. He confesses to Morgaine, “I [have]

loved [Gwenhwyfar] long… but I thought I would live and die with that passion unspent—

Arthur [is] my friend and I would not betray him”(482). Lancelet represents the choice that every

human will eventually make: either to receive and follow one’s emotions or to do as society
expects. Once again, Jung feels that modern society is deterred from the understanding of the

power of archetypes in their own beliefs of what is “right” or “wrong.” Bradley agrees with him,

and through Lancelet’s version of the lover, she forces her audience to make that choice through

him. His vehemence sweeps through the pages of the book into the heart of the reader. When

Gwenhwyfar confronts him about his marriage to Elaine, Lancelet is too weak to do anything.

Instead, he claims that he is a “victim of the cruel trick Morgaine had played… [and] he

[weeps]”(604). Though he calls Gwenhwyfar his love, when he is separated from her, his

attempts to meet the standards of society cause him to be able to do nothing more but cry. His

dynamic character allows readers to feel his frustration and pain, and it is he who instigates the

most pity in the audience. Bradley, using Lancelet, shows the consequences of a wretched soul

that can not find honor in even his own feelings.

As Jung describes, though they may “vary in detail tremendously from person to person… the

‘basic pattern’ of the archetype remains the same.” By manipulating the same fundamental

archetype of the lover in Morgaine, Lancelet, and Arthur, Bradley stimulates empathy and

acknowledgement in the reader towards the traces of the lover found collectively in every

human. Arthur and Lancelet are both archetypes that can not embrace their true calling and are

made to suffer for this. Morgaine, on the other hand, controls and sees the preciousness of her

instincts. This eventually leads her to gain the completion of her character through Accolon.

Bradley can see the repercussions lying in wait for a society that is advancing far too fast, and in

Mists of Avalon, she invites her readers to embrace archetypes, which are “pieces of life itself.”