Morgan Le Fay

Also known as Morgana, Morgaine, Moragana Le Fay etc. She's a really important figure in Arthurian Legend, and there are so many different aspects of her to talk about. I'll start by explaining why I like her so much.

She's misunderstood. If you look at it from her point of view, her Father was murdered, her Mother was raped and then forced to marry the rapist, her Mother's baby was stolen from her and then Morgan was married off to Uriens of Gore and promptly forgotten about. It's enough to break any woman, but Morgan didn't let it break her. She took matters into her own hands, she said to herself, "I will not allow myself to be bullied and pushed around simply because I'm a woman." And she stayed true to her word. How? Well, there are many different ideas as to the person she became.

Evil Morgana
This is the story you are probably most familiar with. Morgan does all in her power to hurt and even kill Arthur. She throws Excalibur's sheath away so that Arthur may not use it's magical powers, she has sex with him so that she may use the child to destroy him, she constantly tries to unveil Guinevere's adultery with Lancelot (which some people don't see as a bad thing.) etc.

Good Morgana
In the earliest tales, Morgan was a benevolent healer who aided Arthur and his knights, and was one of the maidens who helped to convey the King to his final resting place in Avalon. I personally prefer to believe this version, that although Morgan had so many bad things happen to her, she didn't allow it to darken her soul, but instead used this to help her mother's other son, and to become a powerful faery.

I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on Morgan Le Fay, and who they think she really was. I may do another post on her some time.