The faces of the Goddess

The faces of the Goddess

Throughout history women have empowered themselves by taking on many

different titles and roles. This can be seen in the two allegorical

fantasy novels The Mists of Avalon and Forest house, both written by

Marion Zimmer Bradley. In both novels we see the female protagonists

take on many different roles as they move throughout the different

stages of their lives. In the novels it is believed that the Goddess

shows herself in every woman. The stages and roles held by the two

priestesses, Morgaine and Eilan, represent the different forms the

Goddess takes. Morgaine shows the Goddess within her when she acts as

the Maiden or Virgin huntress, the Mother of all men and as the Old

Death-crone. These forms of the Goddess show themselves in Eilan as

the Maiden, the loving Mother and the Lady of Ravens or Death-crone.

Both Morgaine's and Eilan's actions throughout the novels show that

they represent the three faces of the Goddess: the Virgin Maiden, the

lover of men and gods; the Mother, life-giver and caretaker of men;

and the Old Death-crone, killer of men.

To begin, Morgaine represents the Virgin Maiden, the lover of the God

and Summer-king. This is shown when Morgaine is thinking to herself

about her past while weaving a spell to kill Avalloch. She is planning

to set her lover Accolon on the throne in the place of Avalloch after

the king Uriens dies. Morgaine speaks in her mind:

Years ago she had been the Virgin Huntress, blessing the Horned One

and sending him forth to run with the deer and to conquer or die as the

Goddess might decree. He had come back to her... now she was no longer

that Virgin, holding all the power of the Huntress. (The Mists of

Avalon 671)

These lines show that Morgaine had once taken the form of the Virgin

Goddess who gives herself to the King Stag. She did the duty of the

Maiden Goddess while she was young and a physical maiden by setting

Arthur the Stag-God on his throne. This is important because she feels

now that she must set the God on his throne again but this time in the

form of Accolon. Morgaine worries though because she feels she no

longer has the power of the Maiden Huntress to do so. This shows that

Morgaine doubts that the Goddess and all her selves are within her.

This occurs despite the fact that she had assumed the position of

Maiden before. Morgaine is still unlearned in the ways of the Goddess

and like the Maiden, she must set out on a spiritual journey toward