The Mists of Avalon

Chapter 4 invites the reader to consider whether fate presents itself similarly to men and women. The Roman-influenced Christianity the novel depicts heavily confined women by their gender. Gorlois gives Igraine very little freedom or choice. Presented with her fate, Igraine is therefore initially angry, telling the Merlin, “I feel trapped” (53). Following fate is a given in Avalon, but Igraine worries that she could be trading one form of confinement for another. She eventually comes to view her fate as the opportunity to pursue a new path that could lead to freedom and power, though the limitations of her life under Gorlois suggests that she may simply be taking her best chance at escape.

Chapter 5 continues to elaborate on these themes. When Igraine returns to Cornwall, her role as Duchess prevents her from pursuing her fate. While fate may be the most powerful force acknowledged in Avalon, gender almost entirely dictates the choices afforded to Christian British citizens. The chapter also further highlights differences between Gorlois and Uther. Uther goes beyond defending Igraine’s honor against Gorlois’s accusations. He prevents him from physically harming her, demanding that Gorlois “loose her arm, or [he] will make [him] […] no one shall handle any woman roughly in [his] house” (64). Gorlois’s willingness to grab Igraine in front of a man of Uther’s status suggests that violence against women is normalized: He does not expect to be rebuked.

Though Gorlois begs for her forgiveness after his initial accusations, he soon expresses anger again. Igraine knows her happiness will be short-lived, thinking that “he had humbled himself before her, and she knew that he would never forgive her for that either” (65). Igraine mentions this directly after a thought about perceived infidelity, suggesting that humility and adultery are equally bad in Gorlois’s eyes; both threaten his authority as a man. After another altercation over Uther, Gorlois tries to rape Igraine but experiences erectile dysfunction, which she mocks him for. In this situation, Gorlois was trying to exploit a gender-based power imbalance, but Igraine takes power back by taunting Gorlois over his very inability to embody the male gender role.

This incident clearly hurts Gorlois’s pride, as he leaves Igraine isolated in Tintagel. The separation gives Igraine space to separate herself from female gender norms: “It seemed to Igraine as if she had begun to dwell on some world apart from the ordinary one in which Gorlois perhaps had a right to expect that she be his faithful chattel, servant, slave—his wife” (81). She instills this instinct in Morgaine as well, proclaiming that she “would not have her daughter brought up to feel shame at her own womanhood” (79). She moves to raise Morgaine without Gorlois’s input, teaching her the ways of the Holy Isle when Gorlois wanted her to be a nun. She likely could have done this to some extent in Gorlois’s presence, as men did not typically play an active part in raising children.

Chapter 6 also shows religious life at Cornwall in detail, demonstrating the Merlin’s initial claim about the dispute between Christianity and the Holy Isle. Through this conflict, Morgaine starts to become a realized character. Her first words in the novel chastise Father Columba for calling Igraine a liar over her description of the Old Religion. The fact that one of Morgaine’s earliest recorded actions is to defend Druidism establishes her as a prominent figure in this battle.