Did Guinevere Love Arthur?

[ArthurPendragon]

I'm not very well read in Arthurian literature, but it does interest me, and I've recently started reading Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. What got me interested was reading T. H. White's masterpiece, "The Once and Future King". So I have a general idea of the stories. My question is, for anyone interested in Arthurian lit, did Guinevere have any affection for Arthur at all? Of course, I'm specifically asking about versions that follow Malory's basic story pattern, with the love affair between Lancelot and Guinevere. The reason I ask is that in White's book, Guinevere (or, I should say, Guenever) mentioned a few times that the reason she stayed with Arthur was that she was rather fond of him. Does this hold true with any other versions of the story?
Btw, I'm new here, and this is my first post! :)

[Charles Darnay]

I don't think T.H White's work can be considered a masterpiece - but that's a different subject altogether.

Looking at earlier iterations of the Arthurian lore (up to and including Malory) - you can really only speculate on such a question. There is nothing in the text that can give you a concrete answer. Medieval (and earlier) texts were not concerned, as later works are, with the human psyche or the emotions that come with it. You don't get any insight in Guinevere's character and can only judge her based on the actions that you are given (mainly, her infidelity).

When the legends made their resurgence in the mid/late 19th century, authors began to explore the psyche of the characters. If you are interested in this question, I recommend Morris' Defence of Guinevere. But again, these are Romantic creations, not analyses of Malory et. al's works.

[PeterL]

Another matter is what one would consider "love" to be. The idea of romantic love between a king and a queen was not an issue. If the two filled their roles, running the country and prodicing suitable heirs, there was no reason for them to feel romantic love, and they might not have even seen each other frequently; although in a place the size of Camelot they probably would have bumped into each other at least once a day when they were both in residence.

[JBI]

The idea of romantic love, at the time, seems something extramarital. Poets were writing love poetry for women married to nobles, and women they wouldn't see, let alone ever have an intimate conversation with. If you ask about Lancelot, well guenivere loved Arthur enough to sleep around, which I would think not too unheard of in the time. Though how any man could convince a woman in those times to sleep with them, given the highly unclean society and the massive rate of death during childbirth, is beyond me.

In a philosophical sense though, love was more platonic than physical. Sure people had sex, but the knight-errant lady in the tower dichotomy was far more platonic. Dante is perhaps the culmination of this idea, and he only spoke to beatrice once where she supposedly rejected him. Such is the nature of Romantic love.

As for the cycles though, they are not meant to be analyzed as deep psychology. They are almost deliberately flat and allegorical. I interpreted the story to mean even the best of friends can betray ones friend and mentor over a woman. It's a misogynist tale of femme fatales. Notice how the women in the cycle doom the male characters? It's not mere hap.

[Bustrofedon]

Guinevere seems like a prop(cf. JBI/CD). No different from the grail or even Beowulf's monsters. Something to instigate the action of heroes. Is there a lit of G's psyche? Be an interesting read...like Gardner's Grendel.

[qimissung]

All of the above posters are correct. Speaking for myself, though, in reference to "A Once and Future King," which, while it may not be a masterpiece, is a wonderful novel about the Arthurian legend, I think she did love Arthur, although obviously not enough. They were mainly married for political reasons, although I do think she broke Arthur's heart when she fell in love with Lancelot. I still remember the line from the book when Lancelot knew he loved her:

"She was pretty Jenny, who could think and feel."

[Eiseabhal]

It might be White's masterpiece but I prefer The Goshawk.

[Ecurb]

In a philosophical sense though, love was more platonic than physical. Sure people had sex, but the knight-errant lady in the tower dichotomy was far more platonic. Dante is perhaps the culmination of this idea, and he only spoke to beatrice once where she supposedly rejected him. Such is the nature of Romantic love.

As for the cycles though, they are not meant to be analyzed as deep psychology. They are almost deliberately flat and allegorical. I interpreted the story to mean even the best of friends can betray ones friend and mentor over a woman. It's a misogynist tale of femme fatales. Notice how the women in the cycle doom the male characters? It's not mere hap.

We should remember several things:

1) Lancelot was doomed by the near perfection of his knightly love. His Queen was the perfect object of his knightly ardor, because she (surely) could never become a real-life lover. Therefore, his love could remain pure and perfect (ideal, as JBI points out). Like Icarus, however, Lancelot flew too near to the sun. Approaching perfection is dangerous, for imperfect mortals. (Lancelot's Grail experience mirrors this faux perfection.)

2) Lancelot was ugly (unlike Richard Gere in the movie). Mallory calls him the "ill made knight". That's one reason the ideal of a unattainable lady faire appealed to him. It also explains why Guinevere disdained him, until he proved himself by saving her life over and over again.

3) Guinivere is a prop rahter than a significant character in her own right - as women were in some other legends. In the key national epics of the Middle ages, however, both France and Germany (Scandanavia) offered heroic women warriors (Brunhilde, Bradamante) who played significant roles. England did not. I'm not sure why.

[Calidore]

2) Lancelot was ugly (unlike Richard Gere in the movie). Mallory calls him the "ill made knight". That's one reason the ideal of a unattainable lady faire appealed to him. It also explains why Guinevere disdained him, until he proved himself by saving her life over and over again.


Just a note: I'm pretty sure Lancelot's ugliness was invented by T.H. White in The Once and Future King. The older works had him as beautiful to look at. The Ill-Made Knight was one of the titles White used in his tetralogy, but I don't remember if Malory used the phrase also. If he did, I think it would have been referring to his moral weakness (at least where Guinevere was concerned) rather than his appearance.

[Charles Darnay]

While I haven't memorized every line of Morte D'Arthur I think "ill-made knight" belongs to White alone. Also, it is a title which White's Lancelot gives himself.

[Ecurb]

For some reason (I'm not sure what it is) I thought the "ill-made kinight" was a quote from Malory. I tried to look it up, but (in a quick google) didn't find any searchable Morte D'Arthurs. If anyone knows for certain, please let me know.

[OrphanPip]

You don't get many physical descriptions in Mallory, but I was able to find this: "And when Sir Launcelot was so arrayed like a knight, he was the seemliest man in all the court, and none so well made." This is from Book XII.

[Ecurb]

Answers.com agrees with the rest of you, and it appears I was wrong about Malory's description: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Was_Sir_Lancelot_ugly