Sunday, June 26, 2011

Phantastes - Chapter 21

First, the reference to Sir Gawain is a paraphrase from Le Mort D'Arthur, when Sir Gawain is unhorsed in a joust and proceeds to fight on foot.

In the combat, we discover that both of the brothers' fears proved true. They both died in combat, yet victorious. There isn't any way that I can read this and but wish that the brothers had lived. After reading their stories, you feel a passion for the things of their love: the younger, for his father; the older, for his paramour (umm... not in an adulterous sense).

Reading this chapter makes me feel like the protagonist's depression is returning, and I feel it with him. His brothers dead, his shadow returns (after a long absence), the tower now vacant, and his task to return as the sole survivor to share the glorious deeds of his dead brothers.

The joy and sorrow of the people, the joy and sorrow of the king. They lived the lives of true royalty, and at last the protagonist is dubbed a knight in truth, after he had played the part in battle.

After spending time with many people, widely loved and sought after by "everyone who is anyone", I almost feel like the protagonist is getting a bit overstimulated and is seeking solitude when he goes to travel alone to visit the elder brother's paramour. The story continues in chapter 22.

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