Brian Thatcher Quotes In A Knight's Tale

A Knight’s Tale - Rough Draft
In Brian Helgeland’s A Knight’s Tale, Sir William Thatcher and Count Adhemar display similar superficial characteristic but are ultimately different in how they portray their traits. To begin, Adhemar is awfully protective of his ego. This is evident when Adhemar forfeits a jousting match against Prince Edward. Adhemar will do anything in his power to protect his dignity because losing a match to the Prince, a royal upper class man far superior to him, is too unbearable and risky for Adhemar to encounter. Thus, withdrawing is the only way to secure Adhemar’s honour as there is no possibility of losing. Furthermore, Thatcher is full of pride. “It’s not in me to withdraw,” states Thatcher when his friends advise him to surrender a match. It is unusual of Thatcher to give up, so everything that he thinks of himself, is lost if he

makes no attempt to try winning.

Likewise, Thatcher knows he can conquer this joust so he cannot live with himself at the thought of resigning when given an opportunity to feed his ego. It is clear that both Adhemar and Thatcher obsess over their self-pride, but these characters perceive their self-worths differently. Thatcher values how he views himself more than how the public sees him because he is born to a lower class community in a generation that undermines the poor. On the contrary, Adhemar bases his self-esteem off of how others perceive him due to growing up in a high-class society where rumours determine the quality of your life. Adhemar’s superficial thinking and Thatcher's moral compass contradict how they shelter their confidence. Next, Adhemar’s fear determines his life choices. Before the final joust, he sharpens his lance to inflict more harm on his opponent. His fear of failure is too great to keep within the rules of fair play; in fact, it is a terror that motivates him to cheat in order to secure a win. To continue,

Thatcher’s fears control his life. He hastily decides to keep jousting after he wins his first fight. This is his chance for fame, glory and a new start to a new life. Living an ordinary life is more horrifying than jousting even though he consciously apprehends the circumstances that may follow his forbidden actions. His demand for adventure overrides the despair of normality so he chooses to continue this journey to prevent his fear from ever surfacing. Both of these jousters undoubtedly allow fear to govern their lives yet their phobias stem from the different circumstances of their upbringing. Adhemar thinks the public commends him for his wealth and status, so he must not disappoint them through failures. Furthermore, Thatcher’s fear roots from the routinely and average lifestyle he abides by. When he experiences a taste of spontaneity, the thought of going back to the regular world is absolutely petrifying whilst his life as a hero is exhilarating. To end, Adhemar and Thatcher are enemies living in pride and fear who showcase their challenges and emotions in ways that differently satisfy their consciences.