Introducción: la Tafonomía

The image of the Femme Castratrice is closely related to the witch, as she is the figure of the woman outside of matrimony who can control, subvert, and threaten masculinity, or symbols of masculinity. Breuer (2009: 15) suggests that ‘a widespread interest within the Arthurian romance genre [is] the exploration of gender conventions through the forces of love and magic’. As a result of the

8 _{As Guinevere arguably does through her embodiment of passive femininity. This will be further} 

discussed in the concluding section of this chapter. 

pervasive stereotyped representation of women as either love object or dangerous subversive, ‘certain representations become more normal; certain representations become “other”’ (ibid: 6). This sense of the ‘other’ is emphasised throughout Merlin through the notion of destiny, and a fate which cannot be escaped. The viewer is afforded glimpses of the future through the prophetic power of the Druids and Kilgharrah. These indications of the future are significant, as the dragon, Kilgharrah reiterates many times that Arthur and Merlin have a shared destiny; the viewer is informed that Gwen is destined to marry Arthur, but that Morgana has ‘chosen to turn her back on her own’ and ‘chose not to use her gift for good’ (2:12). Theoretically this could lend itself to a pro-feminist reading of the plot structure as Trites (1997) argues ‘a feminist book is one that offers choices to characters of both genders’. This stance could be supported by Morgana’s clear loyalty and bond with Morgause, as Lehr (2001: 15), as discussed previously, indicates ‘[f]eminist children’s novels reject the notion that heterosexual relationships are more important and supersede friendships and bonds between women’. However, in aligning herself with Morgause, as Morgana does in series three and four, she turns her back on her friendship with Gwen, and therefore her female bond is one which is fuelled by a reaction to patriarchy, not a positive choice based on equality and friendship. Consequently the choice Morgana has made, when considered in the context in which this choice is framed, cannot be viewed as a positive representation of female agency. In presenting her actions as a choice, Morgana is constructed as even more monstrous and this representation is an example of the dangerous use of female agency. In destiny there can be no blame assigned; in choice she becomes an aberration, a true Femme Castratrice, who has refused to adopt societal expectations. As Creed (1993: 1) argues ‘[a]ll human societies have a conception of the monstrous-feminine, of what it is about woman that is shocking, terrifying, horrific, abject’, and in this construction of Morgana it is possible to read society’s definition of the monstrous-feminine being one of the woman who chooses to discard the conventional feminine role.

This reading of Morgana’s apparent choice is reinforced through the examination of transitivity analysis. Wareing (1994: 120) explores this element of discourse analysis, defining it as having three distinct areas of interest: action processes, in

which human activity is involved; intention processes whereby deliberate human agency is directly related to the action or outcome; and supervention processes which describe actions which happen to people which they did not intend, such as falling over. Supervention processes are of less significance with regard to this reading of Morgana’s choice, but the action and intention processes are significant, particularly as this discussion moves on to explore agency and abjection. Despite her apparent strength and control, it can be argued that Morgana is primarily acted upon by those in power, and as such those who represent the patriarchy of Camelot, with the exception of her depiction as sexually deviant Femme Castratrice. Wareing (ibid: 122) explains that this method of analysis can be used ‘to question the construction of a female character who is apparently assertive and in control of her life’.

The sense of the monstrous, which is inherent in the embodiment of the Femme

Castratrice, is heightened by the overt way in which Morgana uses her sexuality to

get what she wants. Her tightly laced corset and plunging neckline visually emphasise her sexuality, which is depicted in stark contrast to the courtly attire of the princess and maid servants. This is highlighted by the Medusa-esque nature of her hair, which has been styled to resemble serpents, and thus represents the danger which Morgana poses to the patriarchy.10 Creed (1993: 7) argues that ‘[i]n the horror film, the representation of the witch continues to foreground her essentially sexual nature’ and as such in both fantasy and horror representations the witch’s function of seer and healer has been lost, and she has become an ‘implacable enemy of the social order […] irrational, scheming, evil – these are the words used to define the witch’. This is the result of the fear of female sexuality, and it is this which creates the sense of the ‘other’ and the monstrous.

This sexual element is illustrated in Merlin by the conversation Morgana has with her accomplice, Helios:

Helios - You are welcome to stay.

Morgana - Take care not to get too distracted Helios . There is still much to do. Once I am crowned queen of Camelot you may indulge all you wish. (4:11).

The sexualisation and manipulation of desire leads to parallels between the character of Morgana and the figure of the Femme Castratrice. The link between the Femme Castratrice and the Vagina Dentata, a myth which, according to Creed (1993) can be found in some form in every society, is apparent in this scene. Morgana, despite this flaunting of her sexuality for the manipulation of Helios, has no real love interest. All the other key characters have romantic relationships, but Morgana and Morgause, while using their sexuality, are alone. The fact that Helios and Cenred both end up dead heightens this sense of the danger the sisters pose to any man foolish enough to become entangled with them, reiterating the threat the ungoverned, or single and sexually uncontained, woman poses to the stability of the patriarchal social order. This enactment of the castration complex can be perceived as a continuation of the theme as it was introduced in Geoffrey’s Historia. However, the underpinning ideological impetus is significantly different, and the contemporary representation places a greater emphasis on the dangerous feminine.

The castration complex implicit in Geoffrey’s text centres on the exorcising of Henry’s own sense of emasculation in the face of his brother’s more strident patriarchal power and as such is depicted through the slaying of the giant.11 In the interceding years the witch, the giant’s female counterpart (Breuer, 2009), has replaced the symbol of threat to the ruling authorities, and in the process the threat to national stability has shifted to reflect the contemporaneous fear of the rise of feminine power. This is significant, as this alters depending on the primary perceived threat at any given time. While Arthuriana has retained the image of Morgana as threat, her influence over Mordred has varied. On occasion Mordred acts with little to no influence from the dangerous feminine, on others, such as in Morpurgo’s text, Morgana is the primary motivator for Mordred’s actions. This can also be seen in other fantasy writings, such as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, written in the aftermath of the Second World War, and consequently embodying nationalist fears over invading, masculine forces, in which the feminine is marginalised.12 _{It is therefore interesting that in Merlin, while Mordred casts the}       

11 _{As discussed on pp.33‐34.} 

12 _{Tolkien’s text is still pervasively sexist, but this is portrayed through the removal of the} 

final blow to Arthur, he is not his son, and therefore the patriarchal threat of competing claims to the throne is removed, placing Morgana as the only rival claimant and thus the sole cause of threat. Her role in Mordred’s slaying of Arthur is reiterated throughout, through the prophecies of Kilgharrah, and in many ways this replicates the didactic function in Morpurgo’s text, with his forewarning of the dangerous feminine. Situated as such, and jealous of Arthur’s place as heir to Uther, she is the embodiment of the female constructed as lacking. Minsky (1996: 53) argues:

[i]n some women, penis-envy, as an enduring narcissistic sense of lack, may be experienced [...] [and repressed] into the unconscious, symptoms may take the form of the denigration of all men. The female psychical equivalent of the male misogynist or the ultra-patriarchal male is the ‘castrating woman’. Both these stances toward the opposite sex appear to spring from [...] narcissistic dissatisfaction with a self experienced as imperfect or lacking.

Consequently the sexually voracious woman who seeks the accoutrements of masculinity through castration is acting upon the internalisation of the male perception of the female as lacking a penis, rather than possessing a vagina. This leads to resentment of the male, and results in the need for validation through processes which extend beyond the bearing of the male child, as depicted in Hoffman.13 _{In Merlin this extends to attacking Arthur’s throne, his castle, his} knights and his queen, and the corruption of knights such as Agravaine, whom she can psychologically castrate. The castration complex and the fear of the castrating woman extends beyond the psychological effect on the male psyche and has an implication for the depiction of nationalist ideologies. Although Merlin is less focussed on the Englishness present in some of the former texts examined, it perpetuates the pervasiveness of the Victorian ideology which situates the unmarried and ambitious woman, the rejecter of patriarchal constraints, as the primary threat to national stability. This position is made overt in series five, with the connection between Morgana and the Saxons, combining both the feminine and patriarchal threats to national stability.

13 _{Morgana enacts her penis‐envy through the attempted seizure of Arthur’s symbols of} 

masculinity. Obsessed in Malory and Morpurgo with the theft of Excalibur, she misunderstands  the significance of the sheath, the female symbol, as protector, rather focussing on the phallic  symbol of patriarchal power embodied in the sword. 

The preceding four series make no mention of the Saxon invaders and the threats which Camelot faces are situated in the magical ability of women such as Morgana and Nimueh, with the occasional skirmish with rulers of one of the other four kingdoms that comprise England in this version of the Arthuriad.14 In series five the threat to the nation that emanates from the ‘other’ is intensified, as evidenced in ‘The Disir’ (5:5). In this episode the three witches who form the ancient Disir foretell Arthur’s fate and, in attempting to combat this, Mordred is injured. Merlin, who is aware of the role Mordred will play in Arthur’s demise fears this representation of the feminine, acting through Mordred, and misreads the situation. Arthur has a greater fear of the overt power of the matriarchy and refuses to accept the offer of the Disir to revoke the prophecy of doom for him by accepting the old religion, and embracing ‘the great goddess’. In rejecting the feminine power offered by the Disir, Arthur effectively seals his fate, and this problematizes the image of gender and nation which has previously been presented. While this is continued with the image of Guinevere,15 _{it is largely an isolated depiction throughout this} series. The image of Morgana in her embodiment of the Femme Castratrice is notable for the alliance she makes with the Saxons towards the end, as the series builds to the fall of Arthur, which begins in ‘The Dawning of the Dark’ (5:11).

In this episode the viewer is explicitly told that Morgana is in league with the Saxon attack on a cargo of weapons headed for Camelot. The threat of Morgana, and her role in undermining the stability of Camelot is highlighted when Arthur states to Cara ‘[i]n your words, I hear Morgana. It is she, and others like her, who have abused the powers of magic […] it is they who have brought a rift between our people’. With this utterance the viewer is encouraged to recall the images of dark and light in which Morgana and Arthur have been cast, thus absolving Arthur of any culpability in his own demise (see Appendix N). This is unusual in terms of intertextual references to the medieval sources, where Arthur’s own culpability in this fall is evident in his inability to maintain the loyalty of his knights and the strength of the Round Table and to prevent the adultery which strikes the final blow

14 _{It is notable that even during these battles, the ‘other’ ruler is motivated by a dangerous} 

woman in the majority of cases. 

to Camelot. The image of Arthur as the ideal soul of man, and therefore absolved form all guilt is a result of ideology layered into the Arthuriad during the Victorian period, and is consequently a regressive ideological stance, much in keeping with the historicist texts examined. This is a complicated portrayal, as Cara argues, ‘it is not a crime to fight for your freedom. It is not a crime to fight for the right to be who you are’ (5:11). This is a defence of the position embodied by Morgana and the other magical entities which have thus far threatened the stability of the Camelot, and it has significance at this point of the narrative as the plot revelations suggest that Arthur is not against the practice of magic (5:13), but rather fearful of it in the hands of Morgana, and this again suggests that it is the abuse of magic which has forced Arthur into this position. This is reinforced as the final two episodes relate the climactic battle at Camlan, where Arthur fights not Mordred’s forces, but those of Morgana as leader of the Saxon hordes.

The significance of Morgana as war-leader of a foreign invader makes her a doubly ‘othered’ character. Much like Ygraine in previous discussions, this double otherness coincides with depictions of Morgana as dangerous because of her role as Queen of Orkney, where her position reflects fears of invasion from Northern Europe through the Scottish islands. It is interesting to view this depiction of her as warrior and leader as a representation of postfeminism,16 and not of anti-feminism. The view of Guinevere supports this potential interpretation at this point in the narrative development, and this progressive view contrasts with the assumption of anti-feminism which can be read into such a depiction. However, it is arguable that a postfeminist reading cannot be sustained, and is quickly undermined with regard to Morgana. This is nowhere more obvious than in the manner of Morgana’s death, (5:13) when Merlin runs her through with Excalibur. Merlin’s final words to Morgana are ‘I blame myself for what you have become’, which undermines any notion of female agency in Morgana’s actions, making her a product not of a postfeminist society whereby she is capable of forming her own identity and destiny within the existing social structure, but rather the product of an overtly patriarchal culture in which even her demise and her power become the result of a failure of

patriarchy to control her. This is reinforced by Arthur’s declaration that Merlin has ‘brought peace at last’. This not only suggests that Morgana has been outside of patriarchal control until the point of her death, but that the discord which has existed in the kingdom is solely the responsibility of Morgana, as it is with her death that peace returns. In the act of killing Morgana the series also denies her the power attributed to her by previous writers as the ruler of Avalon, as she can no longer accompany Arthur to the isle. Instead this final act of the liminal power of the feminine space of Avalon, and the feminine power associated with this, is claimed by patriarchy when Merlin uses his magic to propel Arthur towards his final destination. With Morgana’s final act being her own death, and the reiteration of her role as the castrating woman, the culmination of the narrative is the depiction of female agency as an act which is inevitably followed abjection.