An Unloved Woman Page 3
The works of magic through Merlin, the druid, brought about satisfaction for the lustful Uther Pendragon. Arthur was conceived in adultery. Further involvement with magic is demonstrated in Arthur’s use of the sword, Excalibur, with its supernatural powers. He later commits incest with his half-sister Morgana. Their son, Mordred, challenges his father for the throne. Arthur kills his son, and is so dreadfully wounded by him that he is unable to bring about the restoration of Camelot. And, there the story ends.
What is exposed is an early medieval example of syncretism revealed in the all-pervading influence of Druidism and a shallow grasp of the new faith, Christianity. The return of the sword, Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake hints at a future where there will be a restoration of the bounty of Camelot. There are questions which can be posed. Does Arthur die of his wounds? Will Arthur be returned from his sojourn in Avalon to rule over the new Camelot? The answers will depend on one’s allegiances. In early times, the story will be viewed as a defeat of the old religion. Excalibur never makes a reappearance nor does the concept of its mantle of kingly power. Arthur never returns. Avalon, or the Lady of the Lake, no longer influences the destinies of the kings of Britain or their subjects. For those who cling to the old ways, the wait has been long. As the centuries have passed, a series of revisions have taken pace each reflecting changing cultural mores.
Whilst there have been many variations of these basic themes, we may consider that the tale is retold to safeguard communal morals. As Christianity was gaining the ascendancy, it is not impossible to view the story as promoting the Christian virtues of chastity and a repudiation of witchcraft. On view, there seems to be a direct connection between evil, immorality, false religion and communal collapse. The name of Pendragon or Dragon’s Head is one which early Christians would be familiar with. The serpent in the book of Genesis is also referred to in scripture as the Dragon. We could conclude that the hero, Arthur, is in some way an unwitting pawn of Satan, as are Merlin, Lancelot and Guinevere. Whilst Arthur’s ascendancy is painted in glowing terms, it is by means of witchcraft and his continual reliance upon Merlin for Druidic wisdom that results in the ultimate failure of his efforts. His defeat and the collapse of Camelot symbolise a defeat of the old religion, and the ascendancy of Christianity. Another important lesson that would be drawn is that no human institution can succeed if it does not have the blessing of God. No matter what glorious ideals a nation is founded upon, corruption will eat away at it until it ultimately collapses.
It is curious that the legend continues to be so popular today. The Christian virtue of chastity has been repudiated. Witchcraft is now so popular that there are magazines devoted to it.
What is it that continues to attract us to this story? The rendering of the three main protagonists, Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot in recent times has been sympathetic. They are presented as having superlative characters and in particular, the filial love and devotion they have for each other is deep. The continuation of these relations is put to the test when Lancelot and Guinevere fall in love. Rather than focus on the need for the adulterous couple to face the consequences and receive justice, the more sympathetic rendering allows for the existence of mitigating circumstances. The couple are in love. They are helpless to resist love’s profound power to transform everything within its reach.
We, the observer, desperately want to encounter that which Guinevere and Lancelot had. That sense of bliss which transports to a different plain of existence. That answer to a profound and deep need for men and women to be at one with each other. And we will do anything to get it, even if we destroy everything and everyone else that threatens to prevent a frenzied consummation. How do we justify this destruction? It is made possible because we eschew belief that our behaviour deserves judgement. That somehow we are made not responsible, in the face of love’s power, to resist.
The story appears to end with the death of Arthur, his transport to Avalon, the waning influence of the Lady of the Lake, a perplexing end for Merlin and the disappearance of the sword, Excalibur. From a religious viewpoint, the destinies of these individuals is juxtaposed with those of Guinevere and Lancelot. Guinevere realises that her adultery has been the spark for the fires of the destruction of Camelot. In repentance, she enters a convent and remains there until her death. Lancelot follows suit devoting himself to works of penance, and in some renderings enters the priesthood. They have one final meeting before separating permanently. Thus, we are informed of the ideal Christian outcome for the pair.
Chapter 6
The Enemy Within
Why do we behave the way we do? Life can go on its merry way and suddenly things go awry. The more insightful of us will take time to examine ourselves and determine that we behaved in a way which was destructive. Whilst we were busy getting on with life, it becomes clear that some decision or other was wrong and we are left floundering as the outcome threatens to swamp us.
For King Arthur, the expulsion of the Saxons could only be made possible if the kings of Britain and Gaul united to defend the foe. Under his leadership, Britain was secured and an era of peace and prosperity resulted. Camelot became the focus of government and culture.
The knights, having defeated the enemy, found themselves with nothing to do. There seemed to be the realisation that for peace to be guarded combat skills needed to be maintained. Thus, the continued training and regular tournaments
In Chapter 4, The Hero is described as being primarily focused on the maintenance of his combat skills. The reason given is that it enables him to protect women and children. The story of King Arthur reflects that same goal.
The defence of the realm requires us to be aware of the enemy’s movements. In the case of Camelot, this focus on the ‘enemy without’ resulted in the blindness towards what was happening within. Whilst the knights busied themselves honing their sword skills and romancing their ladies, there was a creeping moral decline. The Christian requirement for chastity and the expunging of the old religion was ignored. The real enemy was within the walls of Camelot. In Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot and in the people themselves. This is the real story. Not a romantic fulfilment of Guinevere and Lancelot’s love. Not a story of chivalrous feats or the democratic principles of the Round Table. These are mere distractions, attempts by frail humans to make the world a better place by human effort alone. The real story tells of an act of adultery which reverberated throughout the land. Internal conflict rose to boiling point. Two people, appealing as they were, destroyed a marriage and a nation. All that Camelot stood for, peace, prosperity, democracy and chivalry came tumbling down.
This same theme seems to be passed down from one generation to the next. We appear to be incapable of learning from past errors. Secular western governments strive to serve the needs of a community by developing a constitution which will allow for integrity to be maintained. Possible threats are identified and isolated for examination. Procedures are then established which will allow for these to be countered.
The current western model of government restricts itself to certain domains. They focus on the fiscal, national physical and psychological health, military alliances, community welfare and infrastructure. They do not interest themselves in the character, integrity or honour of the individuals who populate the nation. This is because of the rise of humanism. Each individual has been granted rights which enable them freedom of behaviour within certain bounds. Over time, these boundaries have been tested. Lobby groups have worked to have some boundaries not merely relaxed but removed entirely. Thus, slowly but surely the west is being white-anted. The once strong Christian foundation, which served to protect the integrity of each nation, is being undermined. The future is at stake. It is imperative that we begin to turn our gaze towards ourselves. We need to see ourselves as we really are, without self-deception. This is because the enemy is within.
Chapter 7
Adam and Eve – The First
Love Story
So when did things begin to go
wrong? Most of us believe that there is, within each of us, something that we all have in common. We call it ‘human nature’. This is found to be consistent with all the races on earth. Each culture attempts to come to terms with human nature and in doing so, they have stories which are relied upon to provide a context to existence. An understanding of good and evil, life and death and some sort of destiny. Most cultures have their creation stories. The story I have adopted and which is my basis for understanding humanity’s current and historic ills, is of the story of the first refugees, Adam and Eve.
Their story begins after God creates the heavens and the earth. A garden is created for them to enjoy all that God has provided. Like a royal couple, they are mandated to rule creation as God’s representatives. They are commanded to engage in sexual activity so the earth will be filled with their descendants.
Their commitment to God is challenged when a fallen angel, Satan, comes to Eve in a serpentine form. He tempts her with forbidden fruit. A fruit which is produced by the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Eden is traditionally thought to be located near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern day Iraq. There were two particular trees that God planted in the Eden. The first was the Tree of Life. The second was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. From the first, the couple were encouraged to partake. To eat of the second was forbidden.
Eve takes the forbidden fruit, eats it, and then passes it to Adam to share. Because of this act of disobedience, the couple are expelled from Eden. The lush region around Basra, Iraq, is left, and the couple head east into a desert like, hostile environment, into an existence which no longer provides them with the idyllic life they once knew.
Nothing explicit is provided about Adam and Eve’s relationship. But from their experiences and responses, we are able to draw some insights.
Meeting each other for the first time must have been a momentous experience. Their bodies, the same but different, dictated how their relationship would play out. The early days must have been breath taking as they explored each other physically, intellectually and emotionally. A sense of oneness dawned on Adam as he described Eve as ‘bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh’. All that we – as romantics – crave, would have been enjoyed. An uninterrupted loving communion, no desire unfulfilled. Yet, from the text, no words of love, as we understand them, are recorded as being spoken.
Over the years, their commitment to each other was tested. Domestic conflict was not in evidence from the beginning. Whilst they lived in Eden, they appeared to have communed with each other and with God in a perfectly harmonious way. It is only after the rebellion against God, that their relationship began to unravel. When Adam is called to account and confronted with disobedience, he blames Eve. He then blames God for giving Eve to him, inferring that God is somehow responsible for Eve’s easily corruptible nature. “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree, and I ate,” he whines.
God then turns to Eve. She responds by blaming the serpent. “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
This tendency to refuse to face up to our idiotic, destructive behaviour, to blame others, to blame forces beyond our control, is what we can confidently ascribe to what we call ‘human nature’.
Despite this catastrophic failure in their relationship, Adam and Eve stick together. Their relationship with God was put to the test. The sentence of death still stood. Yet God blesses them with extra time. Time to bring about the original plan to begin to fill the earth with their offspring.
We imagine the pair as they travel east. Heat and dust. Adam struggles to produce enough food for his young family. He frequently fails. Eve weighed down with the anxieties of pregnancy, childbirth and toddlers, nags Adam over his many failings. In their arguments, they continually return to that scene in Eden when things went wrong. They blame each other for their plight. They don’t dare verbalise it but they also resent God, and blame him for their predicament.
God created Adam and Eve to be in his ‘image, after our likeness’. Their behaviour reflects a failure to live up to God’s standards. Despite this, God still regards them as being worthy of the honour due to creatures which reflect his ‘image’. They are still to exercise dominion as God’s regents, but their rule is marred by faulty decision-making and a creation which refuses to bend to their wills. As such, their dominion is always under threat. God perseveres with them. Although they are now outside Eden, he still communes with them and their offspring.
Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden must have been traumatic. Despite their unspoken resentment of God, they clung together. Their relationship with God was now on a different footing. They knew him to be merciful and faithful. Their feelings toward him must have vacillated between anger and gratitude.
A familial disaster loomed over the jealousy of Cain for his brother Abel. I cannot imagine how their parents came to terms with having conceived and given birth to a murderer. Once more, Adam and Eve’s relationship must have come under pressure. Most of us realise, and it seems to be common knowledge, that marriages can be strengthened or shattered when exposed to the turmoil that can be encountered. Despite this, the couple elect to continue their relationship. They are committed to each other. Evidence of this is given in that, after the murder of Abel, Eve gives birth to a third son, Seth.
This love story will not strike us as particularly romantic. Whilst Adam and Eve’s first encounter has the potential to prompt our imaginings, their first sexual encounter was the result of obedience to the command of God to, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…” When we consider their lives outside of Eden, we can see that their love and commitment to each other is continually tested. This is where real love is revealed. We don’t know exactly how Adam got Eve to go to bed with him each night. Was it something along the lines of, “Come on Eve, you know God commanded us to have babies!” How depressing.
God designed our bodies so we could reproduce. He also allowed us to experience exquisite pleasure. Combine this physical pleasure with emotional intensity and we have a winning formula. Obedience should be easy. When Adam met Eve for the first time, he is recorded as saying, “This, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Superficially, we could say that Adam’s words reflected a basic understanding of Eve’s origin and role. Yet there is surely, underlying these reflections, a sense of wonder. Adam, at that time, had never seen another human being. His only experience was that of the animal and plant world.
Eve’s appearance was not a random experience. Adam didn’t meet her whilst he wandered the garden checking out the fruit trees. God actually brought her to Adam. She was presented to him. This presentation by God, who is Lord of all creation, reflects the culmination of God’s plans for how men and women should relate to each other. Whilst we are commanded to ‘multiply and fill the earth’, they were not to respond in a robotic animalistic way. We have on view the first wedding. The couple standing before God receiving his blessing and commands.
How then are we to approach sex? Is romance in evidence in these early passages from Genesis? Did Adam woo Eve, and if so, how? What was his winning formula?
For many, the answer lies in a couple’s recalling their early days together. This is why wedding anniversaries are so important. Memory of early youth and beauty, and the story of how the couple first came together are reviewed. Obstacles that they encounter and overcome, serve to cement the bond further. I would venture to say that the failure to remember these events is significant. Our popular culture is littered with forgetful men and fuming women. Movies and TV shows depict this scenario with humour. The ultimate outcome is that women withhold sex, shutting down emotionally. It’s presented with humour, but the reality is that the relationship is in danger. It’s not funny, it’s a tragedy.
The alternative, subjection and blind obedience to the command to procreate is not the winning formula. God has provided complex, yet
ultimately delightful means by which obedience to his command is achievable. The words of Adam first spoken to Eve may seem rather prosaic. We can draw further insights when we consider his emotional state. His sense of wonder was communicated to both God and Eve. Adam’s profound insight into an altered state of reality must surely have affected Eve. He saw that he was no longer alone. His life would never be the same, and it was all because of Eve. It wasn’t that she was beautiful, that she was a good mother, that she was good at her job, that she would be a prize for him to exhibit before other men. It was because she existed. It was because God gave her to him. It was because she was created from one of his ribs. She came from his very own body.
What of love? Nowhere in the creation account in Genesis, is it recorded that Adam and Eve ‘loved’ each other. I believe that they did love one another. Yes, and I mean that giddy, overwhelming love that if we allow will transform our entire lives.
Why do I believe this? Is it my stubbornly romantic sensibilities once more coming to the fore? No, my belief is based on the evidence we can draw from Scripture. This evidence is in the way God is revealed to us. Despite the rebellion of Adam and Eve, God demonstrates commitment to them and to his declaration to bring blessing to them. He curses them for their rebellion. They are expelled from Eden. Yet God still shows his concern for them by involving himself in their affairs.
This commitment is reiterated as the story of salvation unfolds. Over the millennia, God’s true motivations come to the fore. We are told that ‘God is Love’. All of his actions are sourced in the fact that he loves his people.
To grasp that ‘God is Love’, is significant. If we understand this, we can conclude that Adam and Eve did love each other. The reason for this is that, at the very beginning of the creation account, it is revealed that Adam was created with the capacity for love. He has this capacity because he was God’s likeness, made in God’s image. To be a likeness meant that much of God’s nature was replicated and expressed in Adam’s nature. The capacity to love was passed from God to Adam, as were other divine attributes. Like father to son. In the genealogy of Christ in Luke’s Gospel, Adam is declared to be the son of God. The way this divine attribute is lived out is in the context of where we all find ourselves. For Adam, the love that was passed on to him by God could only be bestowed upon one person, Eve.