The Crystal Cave
The Crystal CaveThe Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart, is a story in the first person, whereas an elderly Merlin tells of his coming of age. The novel began in medieval Wales in the kingdom of Maridunum. The story then moves to Brittany, or Lesser Britain. He then comes back to Wales, then, the rest of Greater Britain, ending up in Cornwall. The themes of this story are about coming of age, good versus evil and things aren’t always, as they appear to be.
Myrddin Emyrs, also known as Merlin Ambrosius was the bastard child to the King’s daughter. Myrddin is the name of a god; Emyrs, or Ambrosius, means “child of light,” and Merlin is the name of Roman bird of prey. As a child, he had the Sight and a talent for remaining unnoticed while he gained information. Merlin also knew when his uncle offered him a poisoned apricot. This ability led him to study with Galapas in a cave up on the hill of Myrddin, a god for which Merlin was named. In this cave, was located the crystal cave, where Merlin first learned to control his Sight and where he predicted the mining cave under Vortigern’s stronghold and the death of the king. The night that his grandfather died, Merlin was able to escape his uncle Camlach by burning his servant and friend, Cerdic’s, dead body in respect. During the fire, he escaped to Brittany, where he found that Ambrosius, a powerful man who planned to depose of Vortigern to become King of Britain, was his true father. Soon, he becomes an advisor to Ambrosius, though seen as a rival by Uther Pendragon, Ambrosius’ brother and war leader. On a trip back to Wales, Vortigern, under the council of his advisors, called on him to die and shed his blood to fortify the walls of his fortress. He proved him wrong by predicting a battle between a white dragon (Vortigern) and a red dragon (Ambrosius), in which the red one came out victorious. Ambrosius rises to power. Merlin helps to move the Giants’ Dance from Ireland to England. Ambrosius dies, leaving Uther to inherit the thrown. He fell madly in love with Ygraine, the lover to Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall. Gorlois locked her up in one castle while he himself defended another. Merlin transformed Uther into the guise of Gorlois, himself into Gorlois’s captain of the guard, and Uther’s friend into Gorlois’s...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.