The Mists of Avalon

Arthur Pendragon is the High King of Britain, the King of Camelot, and the leader of the Knights of the Round Table. Since before he was born, prophecies spoke to Arthur’s destiny to be a legendary ruler. Arthur has roots in Christian Britain—his father, King Uther Pendragon, distrusted sorcerers and ruled with the bishops. However, his mother Igraine was the younger sister of Viviane, Lady of the Lake and the unofficial ruler of Avalon. His dual heritage initially seems to carry over into his personality; as a ruler, he is known for being kind, open-minded, and fair.

Nevertheless, Arthur struggles to balance his oath to Avalon and his loyalty to Christianity. Though Arthur was raised Christian, he agreed to support Avalon. Unlike other rulers, Arthur trusts Avalon and has seen firsthand how its magic can be helpful and good. He has Taliesin the Merlin as an official advisor in his court and also regularly consults with Viviane and Kevin Harper, signaling that he has a unique trust in Avalon.

However, Arthur is extremely subject to influence from his wife Gwenhwyfar, an incredibly pious Christian who believes sorcery should be banned. Arthur initially tries to stand his ground, but as he caves to more of her demands, his relationship with his Druidic supporters becomes challenged. Both Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar also become angry when he seems to prioritize one over the other, and the spiritual war waging around him makes it hard for him to realize where he actually stands. Melancholy tinges his later years; the fraught love triangle that exists between Arthur, Gwenhwyfar, and Lancelet is a source of personal grief, and as he admits to Morgaine on his deathbed, he feels he failed to unite Britain. The Epilogue, however, suggests that this is not so, and his legacy is that of a well-loved and popular king.

Gwenhwyfar is Arthur’s wife. Although Arthur’s desire to make her father an ally motivates their marriage, the couple do grow to love each other. Gwenhwyfar was raised in a convent and is incredibly pious. She is also extremely anxious and overthinks her every move. A harsh vision of Christianity shapes her view of the world, and she feels that women must constantly repent for Eve’s Original Sin.

Gwenhwyfar initially wanted to marry to Lancelet and eventually has an affair with him. Nevertheless, her feelings torment her, and she thinks her infertility is God’s way of punishing her for her infidelity. Gwenhwyfar also struggles with Lancelet and Arthur’s attraction to each other, fearing that Arthur loves him more than her. Her anxiety about her private sins and the desire to atone for them likely contributes to the darker turn her faith takes as time goes on: She constantly preaches about tolerance but will stop at nothing to see Druidism and other “sinful” practices eradicated from Camelot. Consequently, her beliefs, while strong, often come across as contradictory and hypocritical.

Gwenhwyfar is often jealous of Morgaine for her closeness with Arthur, but they enjoy a kind of friendship until Morgaine orchestrates Lancelet’s marriage to Elaine. While they are ideological foils to one another, they are similar in their dedication to their faith and the people they care about. Like Morgaine, she also grows over the course of the novel; when she finally has the chance to be with Lancelet, she makes the selfless decision to let him go rather than keep him near her but wracked by guilt.

Lancelet is one of Arthur’s knights and his best friend. Though he grew up with his father in Less Britain, he is the son of Viviane and has strong ties to Avalon. He is handsome, bold, and has a reputation for being a womanizer, though he only has eyes for Gwenhwyfar once he meets her.

Lancelet grapples with his complex relationship with Viviane and Avalon. He was raised in Less Britain so that he could train as a warrior, but he lived in Avalon during his early childhood. However, his relationship with Viviane is strained because he feels like her position did not allow her to be motherly to him. Despite this, he is loyal to his homeland, and his heritage is a big part of his identity. When Arthur tries to retire the symbol of the Pendragon, he offers to carry it himself, saying, “I honor the Lady of Avalon. In her name […] let me carry the Pendragon banner” (396).

Lancelet also struggles with his sexuality. He has romantic feelings for both Arthur and Gwenhwyfar, and his relationships with both are illicit; Gwenhwyfar because she is married (and the wife of Lancelet’s lord), and Arthur because he is a man. Though Lancelet loves Gwenhwyfar deeply, he realizes that part of his attraction to her stems from her closeness to Arthur, telling Morgaine, “I love the wife of my king, and yet…yet it is Arthur I cannot leave…I know not but what I love her only because I come close, thus, to him” (482). He is a tragic figure in that he knows his affair with Gwenhwyfar hurts the two people he loves the most but pursues it anyway.

Viviane is the Lady of the Lake and in charge of Avalon for much of the novel. She is incredibly powerful, even into her old age, and fiercely driven to uphold fate at all cost. Many characters accuse her of using her belief in fate as an excuse to advance her own will and control the people around her. However, Viviane also has a maternal instinct, as her love for Morgaine demonstrates. She truly cares about the young priestesses in her care and wants them to succeed in their mission of protecting the island, but she ultimately subordinates her personal feelings to what she perceives as Avalon’s greater good.

Viviane’s ruthlessness leads to the breakdown of her relationship with her younger sister Igraine, who married a much older man at her bidding. Igraine had an unhappy marriage and blamed Viviane for manipulating her. Even on her deathbed, Igraine cannot forgive Viviane, telling Gwenhwyfar, “Viviane would have had me at Avalon, but I could not forget it was she who had married me to Gorlois” (358). Viviane occasionally regrets that she has sacrificed love for power. After she betrays Morgaine by sending her to Beltane, she laments their lost bond, thinking about how “She longed to send for Morgaine, hungering for this old closeness. If indeed the girl came to hate her, it would be the heaviest price she would ever pay for anything she had done” (191-92) Viviane repeatedly tries and fails to balance her competing drives for love and power.

The Mists of Avalon diverges from most Arthurian retellings by making Merlin a title, not a single character. The men that hold the title of the Merlin are meant to be divine messengers from Avalon. Taliesin, the first Merlin introduced, is a kindly old man whose wisdom makes him revered across all of Britain. Even King Uther, who hated sorcery and all who practiced it, says that he trusts the Merlin “with [his] very life” (129). Taliesin is later a councilor in Arthur’s court and tries to help him become the unifying force he is fated to be, telling him that his “dearest wish” is for “Druid and priest to worship as one” (206). Despite his loyalties to Avalon, Taliesin’s hope is for widespread religious tolerance; he does not wish to see one religion prioritized over another.

Kevin Harper is Taliesin’s successor. After surviving a fire that leaves him with life-altering physical injuries, Kevin becomes a talented bard and eventually serves Avalon. Kevin is also renowned across Britain, but more so for his musicianship than his wisdom. Like Taliesin, Kevin protects Avalon but also holds respect for Christianity. When he realizes that Christianity will likely overtake the land, he tries to find ways to integrate Druidic wisdom into the Christian tradition. Kevin’s desire to reconcile with Christianity makes him an enemy of Morgaine, his former lover. Kevin is also deeply insecure about his masculinity, thinking that his disabilities make him less of a man. He confesses this to Morgaine, who uses it to lead him to his death.

Igraine is the mother of Morgaine and Arthur. She is Viviane’s younger sister and trained in Avalon as a priestess before she was sent away to marry Gorlois at the age of 15. Viviane and Taliesin tell her that she is fated to marry Uther, but Igraine initially mistrusts their motives as Viviane is responsible for her unhappy marriage to Gorlois. Igraine eventually falls in love with Uther and ends up ruling as a Christian queen despite her former commitment to Avalon. After Uther dies, she lives the rest of her life in a convent.

Igraine is outspoken and fiercely protective of those she loves. When Father Columba, Gorlois’s priest, threatens to discipline Morgaine, she tells him, “If you lay a hand on my daughter, priest […] I will kill you where you stand” (79). She knows Morgaine is better suited for life as a priestess and encourages her to train in Avalon. She also has incredible resolve, and once she accepts her fate, she stops at nothing to ensure that she will be with Uther.

Morgause is Igraine’s younger sister and the wife of King Lot. She remembers very little of Avalon but occasionally uses sorcery when it serves her. Morgause breaks the archetypal mold of womanhood by being cunning, ambitious, and openly power hungry. When asked if she loves Lot, she says, “Love is a diversion for the bower and the winter fireside. Lot takes counsel of me in all things, and leaves the ruling of the household to me in times of war […] So I am grateful to him” (217). Morgaine stays with her to give birth to her son Gwydion, whom Morgause fosters in hopes of being able to blackmail Arthur. However, Morgause genuinely cares for Morgaine and defends Gwydion when Lot suggests having him killed.