So when I was looking around recently for a book with MIST in its title, for the Monthly Keyword Reading Challenge, this one immediately came to mind. Well, I'm not sure I can really call them initial thoughts, since I've been thinking about reading this one for several decades now. Above all it is a story of the profound conflict between Christianity and the old religion of Avalon." For the first time, the Arthurian world of Avalon and Camelot with all its passions and adventures - the world that, through the centuries, each generation has re-created in countless works of fictions, poetry, drama - is revealed as is might have been experienced by its heroines: by Queen Guinevere, Arthur's wife (here called Gwenhwyfar) by Igraine, his mother by Viviane, the majestic Lady of the Lake, High Priestess of Avalon and, most important, by Arthur's sister, Morgan, who has come down to us as Morgan of the Faeries, as Morgan le Fay - as sorceress, as witch - and who in this epic retelling of the story plays a crucial role both in Arthur's crowning and destruction. In Bradley's masterpiece the legend of King Arthur "is for the first time told through the lives, the visions, the perceptions of the women central to it. In my time I have been called many things: sister, lover, priestess, wise-woman, queen. These are the first lines of the book's Prologue: So instead of their actions being understandable, they are "evil" or "jerks".The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley (first published 1982). Instead, they rework scenes so that people become one dimensional, and important REASONS for why they do things are lost. Some might be considered 'minor plot sidetracks' but the *gist* of the emotional changes could have been included in the story. Mordred is very upset when his brother is killed, when Lance runs off.Mordred goes back to Morgause, gives the "I drink to death" speech in a sad and bitter way - NOT in a jolly way.Morgaine marries the dad barely knowing the son, becomes a Priestess and then sleeps with Accolon.Gwen accuses Arthur of loving Lancelot, learns of the sin and then wants Arthur to confess despite the above.
Lancelot saved her and she slept with him proudly. Gwen is captured and raped by her "brother".In the threesome scene he explicitly touches Arthur and is loving *him* too. Lancelot admits he won't leave Arthur because of his love for Arthur.Morgaine actually told Gwydion about the son.I found many of the plot devices in the miniseries completely skewed the meaning of the book, making it about the same 'subject' but warping the characters completely.
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