User blog:Morganaforever/Merlin and Tragedy

Yesterday I decided to remember the stuff I used to study two years ago, due to a multicultural event that was held back in high school. I did not grow up in Greece, and, since I was in a foreign country, what could be a better choice for my presentation, if not Ancient Greek Tragedy? This genre has always been my favorite, and, even after around 3000 years, there are plays retelling those tragedies not only in Greece, but all over the world.

What I like the most about tragedies of that era is the concept-a human, who apparently has everything in life, makes a sudden discovery or action that leads to his/her downfall. Usually those characters are pawns of fate and bear no responsibilities in their actions, as they have never had a choice and, usually due to excessive pride, commit hybris/ὕβρις(action that challenges fate and the "gods"), which is followed by nemesis/νέμεσις (destruction) , tysis (punishment), and, finally, katharsis/κάθαρσις(the audience's heart is finally put to rest during this procedure, since the tragic heroes somehow "get what they deserve", and after what they have done, redeem themselves and everything returns back to normal). Such examples are Agamemnon and Oedipus, two characters that I am sure you have heard of.

Why I am bothering you with this stuff
Because i believe that the show we all love, "Merlin", has some qualities of tragedy in it and many characters of the show resemble tragic heroes in more ways than one!

Exact definition of a tragic hero
According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a character with outstanding quality and greatness about him. His own destruction is for a greater cause or principle.

What this means
In other words, a tragic hero is a character who has the following qualities:
 * Usually of noble birth
 * Sin(Hamartia)-the tragic flaw that leads to the character's downfall.
 * Adventure(Peripetia)-a reversal of fortune brought about by the hero's tragic flaw
 * The audience feels pity or fear for this character.
 * His/Her actions result in an increase of self- awareness and self-knowledge.
 * The character's downfall is caused by his/her excessive pride.
 * Those characters are doomed from the beginning, due to "destiny", and bear no responsibilities for their fatal flaw.
 * They discover their fate by their actions, not by the events around them.
 * Most important of all, although they try to alter their destiny, they in fact end up causing it.
 * Finally, this character often suffers from abnormal conditions, like dreams, hallucinations, psychopathy e.t.c. that inform him/her of his/her downfall, yet he/she tries to fight againist it.

Did you notice any character that has the above qualities? I have-and it is not one. They are many! However, I will start with analysing the one that I think is the most appropriate example of a tragic hero(ine): Morgana Pendragon. She is the one to gather all the above qualities.

Why is Morgana a tragic heroine?

 * She is of noble birth (daughter of Uther Pendragon)
 * Sin/Hamartia: In this case, her tragic flaw is...her magic. This leads her to seek comfort from other magical beings. When Merlin denies to help her, she is led to the druids, and witnesses them being slaughtered. She also meets Morgause, Alvarr and Mordred, who are nice to her despite having magic and make her feel accepted, which results in her allying with them and eventually causing her own downfall, which is her being poisoned by Merlin. After that, she stays a year with Morgause, her saviour, and changes completely.
 * Adventure/Peripetia: After knowing she has magic and how the magical beings are dealt with, she comes to despise Uther and the way he rules. Some other events, like her growing up believing he killed the one she thought to be her parent, her meeting with Mordred, Alvarr and Morgause, and, finally, learning that the man she despises the most is her father and also denies to accept her, eventually lead to the creation of a complete different character. Compare Morgana of series 1 to Morgana of series 4. Compassion turns to cruelty and love to hatred. This chain of events gradually lead her to this path, and every event has its significance and contributes to it.
 * Feelings for the Character: The audience in fact feels pity or fear for Morgana. Pity for what she became, compared to what she was, and fear about how far she will go.
 * Pride: Morgana's pride is one of the key factors of her personality. She refuses to bow down to her little brother and her servant, who is now queen, and believes that she is the only appropriate ruler of Camelot.
 * Self-awareness: Morgana is perfectly aware of what she is doing, and why she is doing it. She knows what she has become, and she does not like it. In "The Tears of Uther Pendragon", she knew that what she was doing was wrong, but she had been confinced that "there was no other way". In series 4, she is even more aware of what she has become, expressing her sadness in many instances throughout the series, for abandoning her loyalties and losing all her precious friends. Her confrontations with Melin and Arthur are proof enough of this, but it can be seen in other moments throughout the series.
 * Doomed from the beginning: Morgana has been doomedfromn the beginning, everyone knows that. The dragon has known what she will be probably before she was even born, because of the destiny she shares with Emrys. Even though Merlin and Kilgharrah want to prevent what she is supposed to become no matter what, they instead end up creating the Morgana they all feared.
 * Morgana slowly figures out that she has magic by herself. Although everyone around her denies it, she knows it, deep inside, and searches for answers. So, she discovers her fate herself, instead of running away from it.
 * Causing her own destiny: This is better understood if we take into account the vents regarding Emrys. He is Morgana's destiny and doom. However, all her actions so far have contributed to Emrys defeating her. Even since season 1, when she was not "evil", she defended Merlin, helped him rescue his village, convinced Arthur to save his servant from Nimueh's poison and, up to series 4, she "helps" him grow so that he can defeat her.
 * Finally, Morgana in the show is a seer, and has images of the future foretelling her downfall, like Guinevere becoming queen and Emrys defeating her. Although she tries to fight againist the odds, once again she ends up causing them.

So, that's my presentation about Morgana being a tragic character! I intended to write one about Uther and Lancelot as well, but unfortunately I do not have the time to do it right now. Feel free to comment below on this subject about your thoughts!