May Topic: Fairy Tale
Which fairy tale does your life resemble most?
It would say something less than flattering if I did not know the difference between a fairy tale and a myth; and yet sometimes, they intermingle. Take the whole enormous complex of Arthurian lore. There is one particular story, interwoven with the main tapesty, which I confess myself to be fascinated by, and perhaps it can answer the question. No, not the triangle of the king, his best friend and the woman fatal, and fatally attractive to them both. And certainly not anything involving dragons, or stones that yield their answers only to the chosen ones. No, the story that carries the greatest resonance with me is that of Merlin and Nimue.
Before the forces of Hollywood got their hands on him, Merlin had a less than savoury reputation. He was a teacher and a mentor, yes, but his lessons were full of deceptions, as was Merlin himself, and they definitely included treachery; just ask the Duke of Cornwall, who lost his wife and life so that Merlin's aims could be achieved.
In all version of the tale, however, Merlin certainly did not lack competence. And so it is less than surprising that his advice was sought, again and again, despite his deeds, or maybe because of them. As every good story must include irony, it seems extremely fitting he should finally be defeated by a student of his, the young and lovely Nimue.
Nimue, being a woman, did not challenge Merlin, as men had done and lost their lives because of it. No, she first learned what she could of him. Now one might ask whether Merlin did not not notice, at some point at least, that she learned to conquer. I prefer to think that he did; in fact, she would not have been of interest if he had not sensed in her the power to destroy him. One might argue with this interpretation and claim that Merlin was blinded by a mixture of sentimentality and eros, but that would take all the power of this particular story and change it into a dull tale of approaching senility, wouldn't it?
As for Nimue, she took her time, which rather supports my interpretation. She did not hurry, and she passed over many an obvious opportunity to defeat her mentor and foe. I rather think that at some level, she must have enjoyed the game. But all games have to end at some point, and besides, Nimue had her entire life ahead of her. And so she put all her skills to the test, all that power that had become refined and focused through the time she had spent with Merlin, and she asked him to teach her the one spell that would render him powerless.
Merlin might have felt something as banal as age at this point. Or he might have wished to test her as she tested him. Or he might have seen his successor, who could not succeed him if he remained with her. In any case, eventually, he taught her his last enchantment.
The story ends with Merlin sleeping in a cave under the earth. Sleeping forever, for Merlin, you see, is immortal. What became of Nimue is, like everything else, open to interpretation, but I think we can remain confident that she lived out her life in her own, matchless way.
I do not think they will meet again. And there you have the difference between a fairy tale and a myth.
Sometimes, though, one's life resembles both.
It would say something less than flattering if I did not know the difference between a fairy tale and a myth; and yet sometimes, they intermingle. Take the whole enormous complex of Arthurian lore. There is one particular story, interwoven with the main tapesty, which I confess myself to be fascinated by, and perhaps it can answer the question. No, not the triangle of the king, his best friend and the woman fatal, and fatally attractive to them both. And certainly not anything involving dragons, or stones that yield their answers only to the chosen ones. No, the story that carries the greatest resonance with me is that of Merlin and Nimue.
Before the forces of Hollywood got their hands on him, Merlin had a less than savoury reputation. He was a teacher and a mentor, yes, but his lessons were full of deceptions, as was Merlin himself, and they definitely included treachery; just ask the Duke of Cornwall, who lost his wife and life so that Merlin's aims could be achieved.
In all version of the tale, however, Merlin certainly did not lack competence. And so it is less than surprising that his advice was sought, again and again, despite his deeds, or maybe because of them. As every good story must include irony, it seems extremely fitting he should finally be defeated by a student of his, the young and lovely Nimue.
Nimue, being a woman, did not challenge Merlin, as men had done and lost their lives because of it. No, she first learned what she could of him. Now one might ask whether Merlin did not not notice, at some point at least, that she learned to conquer. I prefer to think that he did; in fact, she would not have been of interest if he had not sensed in her the power to destroy him. One might argue with this interpretation and claim that Merlin was blinded by a mixture of sentimentality and eros, but that would take all the power of this particular story and change it into a dull tale of approaching senility, wouldn't it?
As for Nimue, she took her time, which rather supports my interpretation. She did not hurry, and she passed over many an obvious opportunity to defeat her mentor and foe. I rather think that at some level, she must have enjoyed the game. But all games have to end at some point, and besides, Nimue had her entire life ahead of her. And so she put all her skills to the test, all that power that had become refined and focused through the time she had spent with Merlin, and she asked him to teach her the one spell that would render him powerless.
Merlin might have felt something as banal as age at this point. Or he might have wished to test her as she tested him. Or he might have seen his successor, who could not succeed him if he remained with her. In any case, eventually, he taught her his last enchantment.
The story ends with Merlin sleeping in a cave under the earth. Sleeping forever, for Merlin, you see, is immortal. What became of Nimue is, like everything else, open to interpretation, but I think we can remain confident that she lived out her life in her own, matchless way.
I do not think they will meet again. And there you have the difference between a fairy tale and a myth.
Sometimes, though, one's life resembles both.