The Mists of Avalon

Vincent E. Martin

A Masterwork of Storytelling

"Bottom-Line: "The Mists of Avalon" is splendid reading, and I highly recommend it. A more in-depth and authoritative recantation of the Arthurian legend is not available. Like many children, I was raised on the tale of Merlin, Camelot, King Arthur, Excalibur, and the famed Knights of the Round Table. My first introduction to the post-Roman Empire era story was a cartoon in my early youth called The Sword in The Stone, which told the tale of how a teenaged King Arthur was able to pull the magically endowed sword Excalibur from the stone in which it was embedded, and thus win the throne of a newly liberated England. In later years there would be many a movie made about the boy king and his mystical kingdom that in the end fell into ruin because of human weakness, but none has been as detailed as Marion Zimmer Bradley's, 1982 novel "The Mists of Avalon." Bradley's tome is an ambitious and sweeping interweaving of the oft-told legend of King Arthur and his celebrated Knights of the Round Table; of Merlin and Excalibur; of Camelot; of Gwenhwyfar and Sir Lancelot, all regaled through the eyes and experiences of a heretofore unknown character, Morgaine, priestess of Avalon and half-sister to the king. "The Mists of Avalon" is a masterful exemplar of accomplished historical novel writing. One might well finish this lengthy tome incensed at the oft-time unabashed anti-male, and anti-Christian passages, but one cannot honestly deny the addictive allure of grand tale. The power of Bradley's prose is in its ability to draw the reader into the story with sharp, intelligent, and engaging narrative, such as this from the prologue: "Morgaine Speaks...In my time I have been called many things: sister, lover, priestess, wise-woman, queen. Now in truth I have come to be wise-woman, and a time may come when these things may need to be known. But in sober truth, I think it is the Christians who will tell the last tale. For ever the world of Fairy drifts further from the world in which Christ holds sway. I have no quarrel with Christ, only with his priests, who call the Great Goddess a demon and deny that she ever held power in this world. At best, they say that her power was of Satan. Or else they clothe her in the blue robe of the Lady of Nazareth--who indeed had power in her own way, too--and say that she was ever virgin. But what can a virgin know of the sorrows and travail of mankind?" From that opening paragraph to the closing, I was hooked, drawn in by the conflict between the old world and the new, between Pagan practice and the over-indulgent, self-righteousness binding of Christianity, and the lose of true personal freedoms it represented. Written wholly from the perspective of the very strong female characters, throughout, within the pages--all 876 of them--of "The Mists of Avalon" we find a retelling of the epic Arthurian rein stripped of Christian moralizing, and replete with the heretofore untold mysteries of a Earth-bound goddess religion, a faith that is as ornate and beautiful--and indeed more fitting to the way in which the Britons lived their lives--as the Roman Catholic faith. It primarily through the eyes of Morgaine, Arthur's half-sister, trained in the magical rites of the Goddess that this story unfolds like an awakening. Under the tutelage of her Aunt, and High Priestess of Avalon, Vivian, Morgaine is instructed in the arts of foretelling, herbalism self-discipline, and self-denial. Vivian seeing the disquieting influence of Christianity spread among her people uses Morgaine as the vessel to secure an heir inherently worthy of preserving the old religion by claiming birthright to the throne of England. This was the role Arthur, had been designated to fill but, by his conversion to Christianity, fails to adequately discharge. Vivian who at first one might anoint as a villain is instead a heroine; her actions are exonerated by the desire to serve the purposes of a Goddess, one who will not be denied, the mistress of Avalon, the font from which all magic and foretelling find their birthright. Be forewarned, "The Mists of Avalon" is an adult tome, not meant to the eyes of pre-teens; there are frank sexual situations throughout the book, including rape, incest, as well as same-sex coupling. Violence too plays a vigorous part in the story-telling though we as a society seem to tolerate it much more than the frank discussion, or depictions of sex. In setting down "The Mists of Avalon", Bradley used her extensive knowledge of history and legends to weave a most detailed and believable setting; at times it hard to separate fact from fiction. The characters she develops are at once likeable--or unlikable--and complex as any human relationship we might develop in their own lives. Morgaine is a heroin, but a deeply flawed one; Lancelot is not as chivalrous and honorable; Gwenhwyfar is not as pure and innocent; nor Arthur as noble of purpose. With the folds of "The Mists of Avalon" Arthur, though he is essential to the telling, is not the central focus of this body of work. It is the woman in his life that take center stage; Merlin and Excalibur are but minor actors in this world of Camelot. Indeed the Avalon agenda is all-encompassing, with even the Druids of the Merlin's fraternity expected to acquiesce to the whims and wills of the priestesses of Avalon. In this story of Arthur and Camelot, men are a means to an end; women are supreme as dictated by the Goddess; women do not need men except in furtherance of Her will. In this telling of the Knights of the Round Table, men are insensitive and cruel; sex is wasted; men are basically animals to be controlled. And though men rule, they do so with the blessing and consent of the Goddess, and her maiden priestesses on earth cloistered at Avalon. As a man I see essential truths in the lesson, but I abhor the lesson none-the-less. But more then a struggle for power between men and women, "The Mists of Avalon" is a struggle between the religion that was, and the religion that will be. Paganism (at least as I understand it) was widely practiced throughout Europe during the time when Rome held sway over all the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea and beyond. But as Christianity swept out of the Middle East into Europe, Pagan practices were pushed aside, often times violently, replacing the freedom of Pagan worship with the restrictive laws of Christianity. Monotheism replaced polytheistic practices throughout the continent. Bradley captures that struggle brilliantly; some may say she is very uncharitable to Christianity throughout "The Mists of Avalon", but I believe she is being as true to actual history as any telling thus far. After all Christianity does enjoy a long history of self-righteous evangelism, a practice that often-times destroyed the society it missionaries claimed to want to save. Conclusion "The Mists of Avalon" is splendid reading and I highly recommend it. A more in-depth and authoritative recantation of the Arthurian legend is not available as far as I know (the movie version of this book was abysmal). Bradley's narrative descriptions are verdant without being overly tiresome, whether she is describing wardrobe, setting, battle scenes, religious services, sexual dalliances, or even mundane household items, her prose flows like water over a newly born leaf. The dialogue is imperative and the scenes fluid and not the least bit ill-conceived. The ending left me chilled and disappointed, but I understood the necessity of the closing. One might walk away after reading "The Mists of Avalon" feeling as though Bradley despised Christianity, but I believe she was just being true to the history of the movement and its long lasting effect on human societies. And though men are oft-times depicted as weak throughout the book, truth be told guys, if we really love a woman to the depth of our souls, and with deepness of heart, we are but putty in their hands to be molded into that which she sees fit to accompany. ["

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December 3, 2010 Verified Purchase

Aaron Smyth

How can you not like this book?

"I think this book is more pro-pagan than anti-Christian, if that makes any sense. It is one of the best reads I have read in quite a while. It would take quite a while to get into the book in depth, but I hope this serves as at least a basic review of what I thought of was I great book, even though I am male and possibly not the traditional audience of the Mists of Avalon and its other books. The female characters take up all the POVs in this book, with Morgaine being the main narrator and occasional bits from her third person perspective. I actually preferred the third person perspective more in this book. It does have the annoying habit of switching from person to person in the middle of a chapter, which I never really liked that much. That the male character's thoughts were complete mysteries helped the book a great deal, as you had to imagine what Arthur or Lancelot of Mordred or whomever was thinking. This is a book unapologetically from the female point of view. For a man in particular, this was fascinating. The book begins with the story of Igraine and Uther and then moves quickly from there to Morgaine's story, with Guiveinere (absolutely dislikable as the pious Christian) and Viviane's and others points of views flashing about. Like I said, this can be a bit confusing when it switches to semi-omnicient mode and tells the thoughts of all female characters in the room. Still, this is a minor complaint. The writing is thick and rich. I think anyone that loves the Arthurian legends, or just fantasy or even literature in general needs to read this book. It is a true treat that stays with you long after it is finished. I won't go that much into the plot. That is for you to read. I will say that this book does require some patience and has some slow spots that the reader might not like. I personally think the slow spots are made as such on purpose. It helps get the reader ready for the next sudden twist in the narration. One big thing about this book is it is not a happy book. Anyone who knows the Arthurian legends knows that they do not end with a happy ending in any way, shape or form. The Saxons ultimately wins, almost everybody is dead at the end of the book except for Morgaine, and the Christian religion seems to have utterly laid waste to the old Pagan ways. The unexpected character of St. Patrick - in this book a hateful misogynist - was a welcome surprise as were all the other original or semi-original characters. There is plenty of swords but not much action as it is told from the female point of view, and there is plenty of magic from the women. A fantasy lover will like that. The characters are so rich and deep that anyone should like that. Read this book, and enjoy the story of King Arthur and such told from the point of view of Morgaine, who is Morgan Le Fay. ["

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March 12, 2014 Verified Purchase

Jiminy

Loved it.

"Wow. This is the first of Bradley's works I've read. I came upon it mentioned by Prof Dorsey Armstrong in her Great Courses "King Arthur" course, which I also recommend. It is a massive book (I read the Kindle issue), likely comparable to the full Lord of the Rings trilogy. Imagine if Saruman the White had been the major character in LoTR, complete with loves, beliefs, mistakes and triumphs. Morgan le Fay is that character in The Mists of Avalon, though a redeemed and lovable heroine at the book's end. MANY, many liberties are taken with the more or less traditional "The Once and Future King" story, but because so much of what we understand about King Arthur is embellished over 15 centuries of poetic license, I suppose the author must be forgiven; and it's a dang fine tale she tells. You better learn to put it down or else skip work or school for a week and keep the espresso coming. There are two things I liked phenomenally about this book. First is the interplay of the incoming Christian faith (I'm a reborn Catholic) and the Celtic or Druidic faith that it was slowly replacing. I'm uneducated about the realities of Celtic or Druidic beliefs, so I can't address the likelihood of the author's presentation. Ms. le Fay is of the old beliefs and a priestess of Avalon. A nicely believable story weaves the impregnation of Mordred to le Fay by her half-brother, Arthur. It was part of an old-believers ritual for king-making, and neither Morgan nor Arthur knew what was up until it was over. The views of le Fay about the incoming Christianity develop beautifully during the book. At first the warts, superstitions, and darkness of Christianity are all she sees. It makes me want to find a history of religion for the 1st thru 6th century in Britain. Repeated about 30 times in the book is "all Gods are one". (Check out my article, "The Lord is One" at dandelionsarefree.wordpress.com, which I wrote years before reading this book.) The contrast I took away from Bradley's portrayal of the 2 belief systems was that while Avalon adhered to a "natural law" (such that natural sexual attraction and its follow-thru was not a sin, nor a lot of other things), vows to the Goddess and faithfulness to that world view were things that MUST not be broken, and there was no forgiveness. The late 5th century Christianity painted a whole bunch of things as sinful, but forgiveness was always available. Reminds me of a dating a girl taught by nuns at Catholic high school ... real life. Avalon had hardly any concept of grace and personal improvement was only earned, likely thru successive improved lives one might live. Justification by faith seemed to them non-sensical because it appeared to easy. The other thing I liked most about the book is its ability to place me in the geography of the time. I've never been to the UK, and certainly have little idea of things like Glastonbury or Tintagel. Digging a little into other sources of the history of the area shows that the author could not have been very far off at all. I see she's written a bunch of other Avalon books. I'll give at least one more a shot, but not right away. As in the case Orson Scott Card, you can only ride the same horse so long before it's become skin and bones. ["

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April 27, 2016 Verified Purchase

mom of 3 young men

Mysteries of arthurian legend revealed.

"Elegantly written. Captivating storytelling. This book brings the people, places and times of Arthurian Legend to life with a new kind of feeling and energy. The best part of the telling is the new meaning and themes that this book brings forth on behalf of the Feminine Divine, that is feminine powers of women and the feminine energies of Creation, something that has been omitted from the tales of Arthur and his loves, and Merlin and the roundtable legends in the past. The omissions are the priestesses of Avalon. Of course, if you like fantasy epics this will certainly satisfy your craving. But Mists of Avalon is more than that. By being told mainly from the perspective of the women in Arthur's life, especially the priestesses of Avalon, it brightly brings forth the meaning of the feminine divine. It also illustrates better how pagan and Christian spirituality co-existed during those times... And it illustrates the transitioning of the domination of Christianity over pagan spirituality---the colonization of the Christian Roman patriarchal spirituality over earth-based spirituality. This has been something that has taken place throughout history, and throughout the world in many places... The religious colonization and shift in powers from female to male, from goddesses to gods is something that has taken place not only in the British Isles, but also all over Europe, the Americas, and Asia, including the Philippine islands... Through this book, we become vaguely acquainted with what it means to have been spiritually connected to the rythms of Mother Earth, the stars, sun and moon... And that it was not such an evil thing to be connected in such a way to all Life, as the priests and churches have made it out to be. In older tales of Arthur, his sister Morgaine is the villainess, a witch. In this book she is the heroine---not a witch but rather, someone who is honored and honorable, a priestess of Avalon. And the circumstances of her relationship with her brother are more complicated and entangled in the egos of other people than the original legends are able to tell. Also in the older tales of Arthur, at his death, 5 queens come to take his body back to Avalon. The old versions fail to say who these queens are exactly... But in Mists of Avalon, we find out who the queens are... they are priestesses of Avalon who had married kings... These priestesses where high-born women, and as this book tells, wed Kings so that the Kings in turn would be worthy to rule the land with these special women at their sides. In the Christian tellings about Avalon, it is a magical and mysterious place. In Mists of Avalon it remains that, but also, it is a place of priestesses and wizards... In the way that Christians tell of the women in Arthur's life, they are all sinful... the priestesses are either witches or they are mysterious Queens. Mists of Avalon gives you a fuller, more complete story of these priestesses, as humans, as women who loved Arthur and the Kingdom. Definitely worth your time if you want a fuller understanding of the mysteries of the Arthurian legends. ["

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August 16, 2001 Verified Purchase