Friday, January 18, 2008

Chivalry

“There is no art in turning a goddess into a witch, a virgin into a whore, but the opposite operation, to give dignity to what has been scorned, to make the degraded desireable, that calls for art or for character.”

--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

For the best mythic example of this I know, look at the story of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle.

1 comment:

bulletholes said...

"Despite the counsels of her betters, she will have Gawain, and the entire court, led by Arthur and perhaps including Gawain, fears she is a sexual predator (lines 722 ff.)
Reminds me of my first wife!