Morgaine, King Arthur’s sister and narrator of much of this seductively told story, shows here why her character can be so easily loved...or perhaps not. I’ll let you decide for yourself:

If I were Lady of Avalon, on the nights when the moon was new and springing, I would send the maidens into the cloister of priests, to show them that the Goddess cannot be mocked or denied, that they are men and that women are not evil intentions of their pretended Devil, but that the Goddess will have her way with them…aye, at Beltane or Midsummer...

Or would these mad priests bid the maidens be gone and think them demons, come to tempt the faithful? And for a moment it seemed she could hear the voice of the Merlin: Let all men be free to serve what God they best like...

Even, she wondered, one which denied the very life of the earth? But she knew Taliesin would have said, Even so. Pp402-3

If she angers you or you feel that the author Marion Zimmer Bradley has an agenda in knocking down Christianity, you won’t want to read more of the over eight hundred pages. However, if you found that passage intriguing as I did and enjoy the fantasy genre, you will enjoy the magic it spins. I had never read before such a book and was unsure of whether I’d like it, but only a few pages nailed me. Besides, I was curious about the history of paganism. Well,The Mists of Avalon certainly brought it to life; Bradley really did her homework on Goddess worship, herbalism and what it was like being a pagan.

Isn’t a book told by women disgustingly feminist, though? I’ve read reviews by women denouncing it for male bashing, but I wouldn’t quite go that far. To me it was a great story that shows the earthy spirituality of women more so than men. I think the main male characters, King Arthur and Lancelot, are also endearing characters with their own spirituality, as men are today. Men and women simply perceive each other’s…and their own…spirituality differently. I think Arthur is just as captivated by the hope of salvation as Lancelot and the other knights who search in vain for the Holy Grail. It has become a heroic as well as holy quest for them.

So what’s this all about?

The lives of the characters are intimately followed as they interact with each other and grow apart because of Christianity. Arthur marries a Christian woman, Guenevere, which upsets the Lady of Avalon’s plans to keep pagan worship accepted in the land. Merlin, King Arthur’s pagan-friendly priest, is even replaced by a disfigured man who opposes Merlin and does things his own way. This makes for a lot of the tension and suspense, but so does the attraction between Lancelot and Arthur's wife. These two cannot help mooning over each other throughout the book and their loyalty to Arthur keeps them from seducing each other for a long time, and then they feel guilty as Christians should when they do have their affair.

Will Avalon survive Christianity or will it be forever lost in the mists? Will Morgaine be the last Lady of Avalon after her oldest sister Viviane dies when she is ready to take over?

I love this book because it not only is fascinating with larger than life characters, but it really made me realize that Paganism isn't so horrible, after all, and Christianity should acknowledge that Pagans have just as much right to their spirituality as Christians do theirs. I found it disturbing that Paganism was run off like a Demonic cult and its symbols/rituals like the Grail were Christianized. Of course, this tale took place when many people didn't know how to be tolerant of other ways. They were always going off to war in this book over matters of pride and a sense of justice.

Bradley has written many other books or series of books, which I have not read and cannot recommend, but I can indeed recommend this one which won Best Fantasy Novel of 1984. Characterization, dialogue, plot structure, description, you name it. It's done with flair, mystery and the agony of romance (sex is very much a part of this tale!).

This is the only novel I've read with witches (what pagan members are called) encountering Christianity, but hopefully I'll find more. This book, and especially the ending where Morgaine fails to vilify the Church nuns, has convinced me that pagans aren’t evil at all. I don’t even have to be a Christian to be spiritual, but that doesn’t make me a heathen, as some people consider pagans to be.

A Methodist pastor recently told me he holds that belief, although he wants to study up on Paganism. Let’s hope he does. With a little effort Paganism can be seen as the spiritual faith it is and if more people would read this fantasy book that is more than just a fantasy, then it might one day happen.


"...The Grail came once to Camelot. Let the memory of that passing never be sullied by seeing it captive on some worldly altar. Leave one Mystery and one source of vision for man to follow..." Morgaine, pp814


Recommended: Yes