First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.
Synopsis:
In Marion Zimmer Bradley’s brilliant reworking of the powerful Arthurian epic, we see the tumult and adventures of Camelot’s court through the eyes of the women who bolstered the king’s rise and schemed for his fall. There is Morgaine, an intense woman gifted with the Sight, who has sworn to keep the old religion alive against the growing tide of Christianity that threatens her way of life – even if it means fighting a deadly battle against her beloved brother. And the devout Gwenhwyfar, married to Arthur out of a sense of duty, determined to bring Britain into the light of her God.
From their childhoods through the ultimate fulfillment of their destinies, we follow these women and the diverse cast of characters that surrounds them as the great Arthurian epic unfolds stunningly before us. As Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar struggle for control over the fate of Arthur’s kingdom, as the Knights of the Round Table take on their infamous quest, as Merlin and Viviane wield their magics for the future of Old Britain, the Isle of Avalon sips further into the impenetrable mists of memory, until the fissure between old and new worlds – and old and new religions – claims its most famous victim.
It’s the end of the workweek—yay! I hope the week has been kind to everyone and that you’re all ending it on a high note. Just like that, we are already on the last Friday of the ninth month of the year. This month has gone by much more quickly than I expected. Still, it has been quite a ride. Overall, this month has been a great one for me, and I hope it will remain that way for the rest of the year. I am still adapting to my new work and environment, but everything has been going well. But how time flies! Time takes its natural course, with little regard for us. I hope that as the year progresses, everyone will be showered with blessings and good news. May the hard work you have put in be repaid. With the weekend finally here, I hope everyone has a great one. It’s time to dress down and spend the long weekend resting from the rigors of a demanding career, pursuing your passions, completing household chores, spending time with loved ones, or simply relaxing.
After weeks of relentless rain in August and early September, the past two weeks have seen the sun shining brilliantly once again. There are still occasional rains, but this is certainly better than what August was like. The monsoon certainly lived up to its name, especially in the northern part of the country. Ironically, the southern part of the country has been experiencing extreme heat caused by the super El Niño. Wherever you are in the Philippines or elsewhere in the world, I hope you’re all doing well—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Anyway, with the end of the workweek comes a fresh First Impression Friday update. In September, I commenced a new literary journey. Crossing the Pacific from my previous venture into Asian literature, I am now in the midst of a literary adventure across the vast landscape of American literature.
American literature has been a staple of my annual literary journey. With American literature being among the most readily available, I guess one can never escape it. I also realized that I have several works of American literature in my ongoing reading challenges. Among these books is Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon, a book I first encountered through must-read lists. However, I was reluctant to read it because it is not my usual literary genre. Still, I secured a copy of the book in 2019, but it was left to gather dust on my bookshelf. This prompted me to include it on my 2026 Top 26 Reading List and 2026 Beat the Backlist Challenge. Nearly 900 pages long, it is about to become my longest read this year so far—or perhaps M. M. Kaye’s The Far Pavilions. Regardless, The Mists of Avalon is a book I am looking forward to.
Originally published in 1983, the novel is Zimmer Bradley’s adaptation of the renowned legends of King Arthur. Upon its publication, the novel immediately became popular, even earning Bradley the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. The novel also deviates from the usual tradition of retelling the Arthurian legend by focusing on the perspectives of the female characters surrounding King Arthur. The Mists of Avalon primarily follows the trajectory of Morgaine (Morgan le Fay). She was born to Igraine, the younger half-sister of Viviane. She is also the older sister of Morgause. Igraine was married at fifteen to the much older Duke Gorlois of Cornwall. However, the Duke perished in a battle against Uther Pendragon. With her husband dead, Igraine married King Uther. Viviane and Taliesin the Merlin, two powerful figures in the magical land of Avalon, told her that she was destined to bear Uther’s son, who would grow to be a legendary king who would unite Britain.
There was, however, deceit on Uther’s part. Before Igraine learned of Gorlois’s death, Uther consulted with Merlin. The wizard made Uther appear as Gorlois, allowing him to gain access to Igraine at Tintagel and conceive Gwydion. Meanwhile, Morgaine witnessed Uther’s ascension to the throne of Caerleon. His predecessor, Ambrosius, had died of old age. When Morgaine was eleven and her half-brother was six, there was an attempt to murder Gwydion. For his safety, Viviane advised Uther to have Gwydion fostered far away from the court. On the other hand, Morgaine was taken by her aunt to Avalon, where she was trained as a priestess of the Mother Goddess. Morgaine has a natural gift for magic, and Viviane plans to name her Lady of the Lake one day. During her training, Morgaine learned about the escalating tension between the old pagan religion (Druidism) and the new Christian faith. It was also foretold that she would play a pivotal role in uniting Britain under a new High King.
After seven years of training, Morgaine was initiated as a priestess of the Mother. When Viviane’s son, Lancelet, visited Avalon, Morgaine fell in love with him. Her happiness, however, was short-lived when Lancelet fell in love with Gwenhwyfar, a lost woman they found in the mist. Morgaine was then given in a fertility rite to the future High King of Britain. Their union was more symbolic than personal. Tradition has it that for Avalon to accept the new High King, he must participate in a fertility ritual called the Great Marriage. It involves having sex with a virgin priestess to form a covenant with the land that he is to defend. This will turn him into the King Stag, who gives his life for the land and its people. Morgaine completed this ritual with the future king. However, she was horrified to learn afterward that she had unwittingly slept with Gwydion. Gwydion now goes by the name Arthur. Morgaine is ashamed and upset that the Goddess humiliated her in this way.
Eventually, Arthur claimed the throne when Uther died fighting the Saxon invaders, despite questions about his paternity. To help her nephew defend Britain against the Saxons, Viviane gave him the sacred sword Excalibur. She also had Morgaine make him an enchanted scabbard that would prevent him from losing blood. With the combined forces of Avalon and Caerleon, Arthur repelled the invaders, brought peace to the land, and married Gwenhwyfar. To her dismay, Morgaine discovers that she is pregnant with Arthur’s child. Angry with Viviane, Morgaine renounces Avalon and has her son, Gwydion, at the court of her aunt Morgause. Morgause and her husband, Lot, openly desire the throne of Britain, and Gwydion allows them to pursue it. Eventually, Morgaine decides to return to Caerleon, where she serves as a lady-in-waiting to Gwenhwyfar, who is extremely anxious and deeply pious.
Because of her position as a priestess of Avalon, Morgaine often argues with Gwenhwyfar about matters of religion. They also fight for the affections of Lancelet, who has risen through the ranks to become Arthur’s most esteemed knight. Ironically, Gwenhwyfar believes that her adulterous love for Lancelet is preventing her from carrying a pregnancy to term. She then tortures herself over her feelings, even performing penance for them. Arthur, however, has noticed her feelings for Lancelet. He even tells her that if she has a child with him, he will adopt it as his own. This makes her consider participating in a pagan fertility ritual out of desperation. To pacify her, Morgaine tells Gwenhwyfar that Arthur has a bastard son living in the court of King Lot, swearing her to secrecy. Morgaine is also worried that Gwenhwyfar will bring shame to King Arthur’s court, prompting her to enchant Lancelet into sleeping with Elaine.
Adventures and misadventures abound throughout the novel, although women are at the forefront of the story. Love and ambition are its driving forces, while Paganism and Christianity are also pitted against each other. The question lingers as to whether Arthur will be a Christian king or preserve traditional beliefs. How will his wife influence him? The clash between Christianity and Druidism is a projection of the tension between tradition and change. Still, the novel’s central concern is female agency. Bradley’s retelling is largely told from the perspective of its women, bringing to light questions about what their lives, desires, frustrations, and ambitions might look like in a story traditionally dominated by men. Morgaine consequently emerges as a more complex character than the mere portrayal of Morgan le Fay as an antagonist.
Morgaine is a priestess, daughter, sister, and lover who repeatedly struggles to determine how much control she has over her own life. There is more to her than the image of villain she was traditionally portrayed. The book is rather hefty, but I am just a couple hundred pages away from completing it. Still, there are a lot of conflicts and tensions waiting for resolution. This also means that there are still plenty of adventures and misadventures to look forward to. I am particularly interested in the deeper insights Bradley provides into the major female characters of the Arthurian legends. As I enter the novel’s final section, I am eager to see how the story unfolds.
How about you, fellow readers? What are you reading this weekend? I hope you’re enjoying your current book.
