Tennyson's interpretation of Guinevere was in some ways very similar to what we have read previously concerning the Queen. In some ways, however, it was entirely different. One of these differences which I found to be very interesting was the way that Tennyson portrays Arthur and Guinevere's last conversation.
As we had discussed in class, Tennyson's version of Arthur seems to be much more in love with the Queen from the start. Arthur in this rendition falls in love with the Queen "at first sight," and thinks of marrying her before she is even fully aware of him. In this way, the relationship between Arthur and Guinevere seems much more important in Tennyson's rendition than it did in Malory's, because of Tennyson's focus on the romantic, and ideally supportive love between them--and, from what we have read so far, there seems to be much less of a focus on the brotherhood of the knights. In Malory, the brotherhood between King Arthur and all of his knights was of utmost importance. The readers can clearly see this when Arthur "brushes off" the Queen's relationship with Launcelot, instead focusing on the turmoil that it is bound to cause between his knights and the kingdom as a whole. Tennyson, meanwhile, devotes an entire scene to the King's reaction and confrontation of the Queen. This scene displays Arthur's love for the Queen, even after her betrayal, and that he does not remain loyal to Launcelot in the same way that he does in Malory's text. In fact, Tennyson makes Arthur's character in this scene very sympathetic, which contrasts strongly against Malory's "ignorance is bliss" version of Arthur. He even tells Guinevere that he still loves her, but must leave her in shame, explaining that if he does not leave her, the memory of her sins will haunt him. He says, "And I should evermore be vext with thee/In hanging robe or vacant ornament,/Or ghostly footfall echoing on the stair./For think not, tho' thou wouldst not love thy lord,/Thy lord has wholly lost his love for thee. I am not made of so slight elements./Yet must I leave thee, woman, to thy shame." (282). This makes the reader feel as though Arthur is truly a complex character who simultaneously cares for and despises his cheating wife--a conception which is much closer to modern-day examples of character emotions.
Similar to Malory, however, we do get the feeling that Arthur blames Guinevere for the dismantling of the knights of the Round Table. He even takes it a step farther, and blames her for all romantic turmoil at court, saying: "And all this throve before I wedded thee,/Believing, 'lo mine helpmate, one to feel/My purpose and rejoicing in my joy.'/Then came they shameful sin with Lancelot;/Then came the sin of Tistram and Isolt;/Then others, following these my mightiest knights,/And drawing foul examples from fair names,/Sinn'd also"(281-282).
Overall, King Arthur's speech to Guinevere and her delayed (and solitary) response to him are both extremely interesting passages which reveal a great deal about Tennyson's interpretation of the characters. But do we as readers feel more or less sympathy for the Queen after this in-depth look?
I definitely agree, the way Tennyson sets up the Guinevere and Arthur romance is much different from Mallory's version. Its almost as if the set up creates more depth with the characters and therefore makes the latter part of the story, Guinevere's betrayal, much more heart wrenching because we see Arthur's overwhelming love for Guinevere ruined by her harlotry. Its interesting in the end that you mentioned arthur blames her for all the romantic turmoil. I hadn't seen that before so it was thought provoking to say the least. I feel like because we already have the preconceived notion that Guinevere is unfaithful and we have seen her rude and childish behavior in Mallory we will feel ill will towards her coming into reading this novel. You posed the question at the end asking if we feel less sympathy, i personally say no because i know that its just typical guinevere behavior i do however feel more sympathy of king arthur because he actually seems to have feelings for his terrible wife.
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