When I picture Merlin, I picture and old man who had many magical powers
like telling the future, and moving objects around. So reading the two,
Geoffrey of Monmouth and Rosenberg, were definitely a different look into who
he was for me like his power being limited to seeing the past and future. He
wasn't as delightfully strange as I pictured either, but rather jus
He did seem cold and heartless on the surface of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s,
Life of Merlin, in regards to how he
left his wife, and his response to her reaction. It seemed to have no impact
that she was clawing at her face. However, I do think that he loved her, proven
by him saying “Let her therefore be given a proper opportunity to marry and let
him whom she shall choose have her. But let the man who marries her be careful
that he never gets in my way…” (Geoffrey of Monmouth, 4). His response is not
one that someone, who doesn’t, care would give. I think that this quote shows
that in a civilized world, he loves her, and this decision is painful for him.
He doesn’t just say that he doesn’t care, but instead offers support to her. He
offers her a chance to live a normal civilized life. He says he’ll give her
gifts at the wedding. He wants her to be happy.
He loves her in the parameters of a normal society, but he doesn’t
belong there, and needs to go to the woods. His story is sad. He can’t live in
society, and banishes himself from it, giving up his life, family, and love,
making his story tragic.
Artist picture of Merlin in the Woods. http://ashsilverlock.com/2011/12/30/merlin-the-man-behind-the-myth/
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I agree with you in that Geoffrey of Monmouth's version does not paint Merlin in a very positive light. He's very anti-social and a bit selfish, but perhaps this could have been partly the result of him being involved in a war that resulted in the death of many of his friends. I think that The Prose Merlin showed Merlin more as a human and not as cold and detached as he is in Monmouth's version.
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