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Book 3, Chapter 33
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Once and Future King, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Chivalry, Satire & Medieval Life
Fate (Time)
Quest and The Holy Grail
Might vs. Right
War
Summary
Analysis
The Queen is sitting in her bathing chamber surrounded by a profusion of jewelry boxes, garments and perfumes. Guenever is no longer painted; she is happy and contented again although Lancelot has not yet come back to her—but she knows he will eventually. The real tragedy of Guenever's life is that she is childless: Arthur has two illegitimate children and Lancelot has Galahad. But she will never have a child; later in her life, this will break her.
In this chapter, White exposes the complex character of Guenever—it acts as a reminder that Guenever is a complex character who is not bad because she betrays Arthur, but is simply flawed. We also come to empathize with her because of her childlessness.
Themes
