So reading Geoffrey of Monmouth completely shattered my
image of Merlin. Before reading this, I thought of Merlin as a combination of
Gandalf, Dumbledore, and Santa Claus. He was the ultimate magical being with a
heart of gold. In addition, he was a part of my favorite story as a kid, which
was the legend of King Arthur. *that earned him extra brownie points*
However, reading that after the war he completely broke down
to a puddle of woe definitely put a damper on his “cool” factor. Although it is
understandable that he would be affected by war and the death of his dear
friends, but it was war, I would think that casualties were to be expected.
Also the fact that his sister and her husband were able to chain him up in the
castle, as I was reading all I could think about was why doesn’t Merlin just
poof out of the castle. This was because I was still holding on to the belief
that Merlin was magical, even though in this story he really wasn’t.
He was just a kooky older brother of the Queen, who liked
the woods way too much and did not respect his wife. They referred to him as a
prophet and the example they used was the fact that he told King Rhydderch that
his wife was cheating on him. But, I think he just saw it, she was under a
tree, not really hiding, he could have just walked by, or maybe the Ents told
him. J
I guess the only thing that didn’t bother me or warp my
image of Merlin was his appreciation for the woods. I think most of the stories
I read about Merlin growing up involved finding him in the woods, or forest. I
mean legend has it he sleeps in a cave until the world needs him. You don’t find
many caves in the city.
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Something of a personal story, but I think it's relevant.
ReplyDeleteI once had a very good friend in California, and I flew out there one summer to spend some time with her. On the way from LAX to her home town, there were approximately twelve trees I saw in nearly three hours.
It was a haunting, traumatic experience. I've always felt this sense of wonder and mystery in forested areas; even if where I am is free of trees, seeing them off in the distance was always a comfort, because I knew that there was something out there still unknown. It was a big metaphorical thing for me. I felt like I'd reached an end of some sort, not being able to see any trees, and I didn't like it.
So having Merlin, a prophet, being big into being in a forest? There are answers out there, even in the unknown. It made me like him even more, even if I thought he might have been a little too traumatized by losing his friends. (His wife should have just like, hugged him! Cuddles are good, mkay?!)
This portrayal of Merlin bothered me too. I always pictured him as this funny crazy old man who could do some pretty cool magic, burin this one I didn't like him. In Geoffery of Mammouth, he's bitter and angry, and also arrogant and full of self pity. I believe he loves his wife, but describing her as cow shows him as a nasty person. Personally, if I was everyone else, I would be fine with him moving to the woods.
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