Nicholas Sine

English Honors

Period 4

March 9, 1998

Guenever

There are situations when people have to make choices that are very

difficult. There is a woman who has been offered two different jobs, both she

likes for different reasons, and both seem to be decent jobs. The woman knows

she must choose the one that will do the best for her life. In T.H. White's The

Once and Future King, Guenever is faced with a situation similar to that of the

woman. Guenever has to choose between two men. The decision Guenever

makes needs to benefit her life.

It is known that Guenever was torn in a battle between two men in which

both shared her love, but in different ways. Guenever was split between two

men. She was smart enough to know that either way, she would probably loose

one of the two, and this made her decision even harder. Guenever needed the

man she chose to be the better one. Guenever loved Arthur more like a father.

This is because she was very young when she married him, and at the time, did

not know what love was. Although she loved Arthur very much, it was not that of

a husbandly love, it was a fatherly love. Guenever felt she had to be loyal to

Arthur. If she chose Arthur, she would have riches and power. Though Arthur

might not be able to fight off an army, he may be able to pay off a leader.

Guenever loved Lancelot in a whole different way. Lancelot and Guenever had

a love like of that you would find in a marriage. Again, Guenever was young

when she married Arthur, so when she met Lancelot, she realized that she loved

him even more. Lancelot, if married to Guenever, would be banished. He would

give her protection because of his fighting skills. He would not be able to

provide her with money or power. She had to choose what was more important.

Wanting power would have made Guenever stay with Arthur and wanting love

would make her stay with Lancelot. Over and over in Guenever's mind, was the

question of who was better for her. Guenever had no other choices.

Guenever found that in life you have to make choices that will not always

be easy. Like the woman who had to choose between two different jobs,

Guenever had to choose between two men. If she chose one it would be

because the need for power, and the other, for the need of love. Either way, she

had to choose one that would support her the greatest.