arthur looked away, and scoffed, then looked back with a serious face.
"i love him."
"then, why don't you tell him? are you worried he does not reciprocate?" she asked him.
"that does not hold me back from confessing. what holds me back is that, as of this moment, i cannot give him what he deserves. if he does reciprocate, i do not want him to be my secret, i do not want him to be my person on the side, a person i see whenever i please, i do not want him to hurt, i do not want him to be miserable and desperate. i want him to have a good life and be happy, even if it's not with me. i want to give him the world because he is deserving of it and as long as my father is in charge, i cannot give him that. so, for now, i will stay as i am, watching from afar, watching him find joy, happiness and love. i will stay as i am until i find a way to give him all that, even if he does not reciprocate. because i love him. i do."
it’s all very disappointing how modern adaptations and discussions drop the ball on Guenevere in general, but in particular I do not think she gets enough credit for the part where Mordred demands to marry her, all the most powerful barons tell her that she has to, and she asks for a week to think about it and in that time she fills the tower with soldiers and food for a siege (”and if anyone asks me, why I’m having the tower stocked, I’ll tell them that I’m making preparations for my marriage feast”), and then
On the day when the queen had agreed to give her answer, and the principal nobles of the kingdom who had been invited had arrived and were gathered in the hall, the queen, remembering what needed to be done, had already sent those who were to keep her company into the tower; and they were as fully armed as they could be. And when they were all in the tower, the queen joined them and immediately had the drawbridge raised. Then she appeared on the battlements of the tower and said to Mordred, who was below and had seen that the queen had eluded him, “Mordred, Mordred, you shamefully betrayed your relationship with my lord, by trying to marry me against my will. You should never have had such a thought, for I want you to know that this will lead to your death.”
— The Death of Arthur, Chapter 17, Norris J. Lacy translation
An examination of medieval dowry practice heightens these public political concerns. Feminist scholars – among them Felicity Riddy, Dorsey Armstrong, and Elizabeth Edwards – have called attention to the obvious but important fact that the Round Table is literally Guenevere’s dowry. This gift actually restores an interrupted male line of transmission, from Uther to Arthur through Lodegreaunce’s daughter, Guenevere. When she comes to court as Arthur’s bride, the new queen brings a powerful marriage portion: the Round Table and its hundred knights. The queen’s dowry thus brings to court men who will serve their new liege lord Arthur, but whose very presence owes everything to the transfer of the queen’s body from her father to her husband.
– Karen Cheretawuk, Marriage, Adultery and Inheritance in Malory's Morte Darthur
Guys! Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!! Give your halves flowers, chocolates and valentines! Especially for this, I made valentines with Merlin characters. I love you all!❤️
the beef between Guenevere and Kay is so fucking funny like ??? he opens his mouth and she's like omg shut the FUCK up rude ass and honestly he deserves it