Lancelot Essay Research Paper T H White

Lancelot Essay, Research Paper

T H White in his Midevil novel, The Once and Future King, written in 1965

portrays in Book III the development of the character of Lancelot, a man who reaches

many goals through the many trials and tribulations of a growing man in the midevil times.

In Book III Lancelot goes through the troubles and predicaments to become a real man

and to live up to the code of chivalry. Set in the land of Camelot, the novel expresses the

way that purity can be taken away without one knowing because of the actons he/she

takes. Lancelot learns that he should of kept his purity by the means of Elaine, Guenevere,

and the code of chilvary. In Once and Future King, T H White explains how loss of purity

can result in unwanted hatred.

Lancelot learns about keeping his purity through the means of Elaine. For example,

a messenger comes and tells Lancelot that Guenevere is waiting for him at her castle. They

get him drunk and take him to a dark room where really it’s not Guenevere it’s really

Elaine playing a trick. She knew that Lancelot did not love her, but yet she still played a

trick on him. While Lancelot was under the influence of alcohol, he loses his virginity to

Elaine when he thought it was really Guenevere. According to the code of chivalry, one

was supposed to save their virginity until they were married and knew that they were with

the one woman that they loved. Even though Elaine knew that Lancelot had expectations

to live up to, all she really cared about was herself. In result Elaine became pregnant and

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Lancelot became very irate. Knowing that he should have not even of gotten drunk in the

first place, he knew that he had been tricked into having sex with Elaine instead of

Guenevere. Lancelot should have known not to even go to the castle in the first place. He

knew he had a reputation to uphold. As you can tell Elaine played a major role in the way

that Lancelot grew up into a man. She was the main reason he lost his purity. All because

of the little games she liked to play.

Guenevere also played a major role in the loss of Lancelot’s purity. Guenevere

was the woman that Lancelot had loved all his life. He would have done anything for her.