The Mist of Avalon: Retelling the Legend of King Arthur from a "Female Perspective"

The Mist of Avalon 4: Prisoner of the Oak Tree (USA) by Marion Zimmer Bradley by Li Shujun translated by Translation Forest Press

With the popularity of "The Lord of the Rings", "The Hobbit", "A Song of Ice and Fire" and so on in China, fantasy novels have successfully broken into the public eye, but many readers' understanding of fantasy is limited to these works.

Fictional writing usually describes what may happen, while fantasy fiction describes what cannot happen. For a long time, domestic readers have not had the authenticity of the real world because fantasy has been regarded as a "low-level" art form. But abroad, because fantasy writers create a convincing fictional world in their writing practice, so that it maintains the inner consistency of reality, which is more difficult to achieve than the authenticity of the real world, fantasy novels are therefore considered to be able to express views of the real world like other fictional works, and can also become classics.

After the 32-year-old fantasy masterpiece "Avalon Mist" continues to launch the Chinese version last year, it has recently launched two latest Chinese translations of "Avalon Mist 3: Deer King" and "Avalon Mist 4: Prisoner of oak trees". It is written by marion Zimmer Bradley, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for World Fantasy and a famous American female writer. Unlike the male perspective of fantasy masters such as Tolkien and George R. R. Martin, Bradley was the first to retelle the "Legend of King Arthur" of Celtic culture with a "female perspective".

In the early editions of The Legend of King Arthur, The Legend of King Arthur has always been a male-centered story, with mostly nameless and nameless women, and the meaning of existence is only to "stimulate men's enthusiasm.". "The Mist of Avalon" uniquely shifts the focus of the narrative to the seemingly obscure female characters, portraying them as important figures influencing the rise and fall of arthurism, thus becoming a watershed in subverting and reconstructing male mythology. As one of the most delicate and original retellings of King Arthur's legend, The Mist of Avalon has been hailed by historical novelist Mary Reinott as a "monument to the imagination."

Marion Zimmer Bradley, author of The Mist of Avalon, said of the original intention: "Modern women have been indoctrinated with a large number of myths/legends/heroes that men have made meritorious contributions to the world, and women who have admired them but never dabbled in them. I think that the restoration of Morgan and Mrs. Lake as the true and complete leaders of the event is of great significance to the religious and psychological development of women today. ”

"The Mist of Avalon" narrates the legend of King Arthur from a purely female perspective, the main narrator is Arthur's half-sister Morgan, in addition to Guinevere, Igreen, The Lady of the Lake Vivian, Mogoss and others. These women struggle with political struggles and emotional strife, trying to find a balance between national mission and personal will. They were either confident and powerful priestesses, cowardly and weak Christians, or power-wielding careerists, and although they were in a patriarchal society, each of them subtly influenced the fate of Britain in the 5th century in a unique way.

While creating wonderful female group portraits, Bradley did not ignore male characters. The Knights of the Round Table in "The Mist of Avalon" get rid of the gender stereotype of blindly emphasizing masculinity in the past, revealing the inherent hesitation and fragility in human nature, and look more real and credible. Moreover, the exploits of the male heroes we know well do not have any direct description in The Mist of Avalon, and the stories of major battles and adventures are often presented to the reader through a few small talks between the clothes and shadows, a half-ballad on the feast, and a foresighted fragment. This kind of profile depiction is interspersed with female perspectives, making the Legend of King Arthur rich and three-dimensional.

Scholar Liu Jianmei commented that the fog of Avalon is the fog of religion, the fog of history, and the fog of gender. Christian civilization is based on male-centered morality, and women have no place in history and religion. As stated in the Da Vinci Code, history has always been the history of those in power, the history of the victors, and its authenticity is questionable. The Mist of Avalon may not be true history, but it writes a good-looking story about "her."

(Editor: Zheng Na)

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