“The cradle swings above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is only a brief flash of light between two eternities of darkness. » Vladimir Nabakov often told stories of men and women destroyed by unconscious forces and desires that drove them to madness. The character often gives in to their deepest, darkest desires and allows those desires to control their actions. The characters' downfalls are love, hate, lust, distrust, and innocence. While writing these lines, Nabokov often discovered parts of himself that he never knew existed. Like Nabakov, TH White wrote The Once and Future King during World War II. He saw the world collapsing around him and couldn't understand why. His characters desperately searched for answers, starting with the purest of intentions and falling from grace. As he wrote, White discovered that he himself had given in to his basic desires. It's because his mind told him to give in to his greatest passions. Lancelot has difficulty refraining from his desires and ends up getting too caught up in them to realize that his world is in ruins. In The Once and Future King by TH White, because Lancelot struggles to understand his underlying motivations throughout his relationships with Arthur and Guenever, Lancelot's relationships and psyche are destroyed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Lancelot's love for Arthur and his need for his approval are the driving force behind the destruction of his mind. Lancelot idolizes Arthur from their first meeting. After Lancelot meets Arthur as a child, he becomes infatuated with the idea of ​​being just like Arthur and serving as one of his knights. White even describes Lancelot as a child looking up to Arthur and being “in love with him” (White 311). His admiration for Arthur drives him to become the renowned knight that he is. Arthur is also a divine figure to Lancelot. Layaman compares Arthur to Christ, arguing that when Arthur lives in the human world, he atones for the sins of others and brings together a community of saints. Lancelot still feels the need to atone for his bestial appearance by understanding: “he [is] as ugly as a [monster] in the king's menagerie” (White 313). The dynamic of their relationship changes when Lancelot shows up in court and views Arthur as a father. Being with Arthur in France and being in his rightful presence provides Lancelot with the embodiment of what he wishes to become. When Arthur sees Lancelot again for the first time in years, "he...knighted him the first day." » (White 326). When Arthur accepts Lancelot and solidifies their father-son relationship, their relationship turns into a psychological war in Lancelot's mind between what is right and what Lancelot knows he should not do. As Lancelot and Arthur become closer, an Oedipal complex destroys her. The first person to realize that “Lancelot and Guenever were falling in love with each other…[was] King Arthur himself” (White 331). As the Oedipal complex says, the child fears that his love for the mother will be met with the emasculation of his father (Sayer 5). After this happens, Lancelot and Arthur's friendship comes to a halt as Arthur's fear as a father enters their relationship. This causes a rift in what Lancelot feels is right to do for his friend and his real desires, or a war between his id and his superego. When this struggle becomes greater, it becomes unclear what one's ego should be doing. Layaman describes Arthur as a pure and uncorrupted individual and, as Lancelot sees him, hebecomes even more lost. He is unable to compare or connect to Arthur. Lancelot either acts based on his basic desires or what society tells him, not based on a healthy balance between them. Lancelot's love for Guenever, or his mother, was met by Arthur's anger and desire for Lancelot's castration. Without Arthur's presence, Lancelot succumbs to the pressure of his identity and his affection for Guenever and his love of bloodshed begin to define him (Sayers 6). Lancelot and Arthur's hostility towards each other reaches excessive extension when Arthur is forced by law to prosecute Lancelot for his transgressions; but as Lancelot fights Arthur, Lancelot fears for himself and for the spilled blood of his comrades in a battle he does not want to fight. Lancelot even goes so far as to murder his supporter and voice of reason at court, Gareth, in a fit of passion. Lancelot continues to decline morally and eventually becomes consumed by cruelty. Arthur is too absorbed in his fight against his best friend to realize what has happened in England. Arthur, possessing a withdrawn identity and a prominent ego, takes his troops and returns home. Subsequently, Arthur dies, murdered by Mordred in battle (412 Malory Modern Library Edition). Lancelot's fear of emasculation ceases and he realizes that his affection for Guenever has killed his best friend. Lancelot realizes “that [his] grief would be incalculable at Arthur’s death” (Layamon 126). Lancelot quickly tries to suppress his feelings and his identity. Just like Oedipus in mythology, he believes he has committed “…murder [and looks up.” [He sees] the destinies that turn. They [had] found it. [He was convinced] that soon their shadows [would] be cool on [his] shoulders” (McLaughlin 353). He removed his identity completely, absolving and interrupting the path of destruction he had begun. He devoted the rest of his life to religion and God, siding with the extreme side of the superego (443 Malory Modern Library Edition). Lancelot and Arthur's intertwined paths and their love for each other caused them both great pain and ultimately cost them their lives. Lancelot's relationship with Guenever causes an inner struggle in Lancelot's mind and drives him to madness. As he falls in love with her, he struggles to accept the idea of ​​not being able to perform miracles. Lancelot “[prays] to God to let him perform a miracle” (White 372). When Lancelot is tricked into sleeping with Elaine, he believes he can no longer perform miracles. His dream is shattered when Lancelot's superego represses his secret desires to be with Guenever. Once that is destroyed, his identity takes control and he gives in to his desire to pursue a relationship with her. With the revelation of having succumbed to his desires and his disappointment at no longer being pure, he seeks comfort from Guenever. At first, she “[confronts the] problem with which [he is] intimately and passionately concerned” (White 375). Lancelot and Guenever's love becomes so strong that they are unaware that Guenever is married to Arthur because they are consumed by their passion. Shortly after, Guenever becomes jealous of Lancelot's former lover, Elaine, because she has a son who ties her to Lancelot forever. She becomes bitter and vindictive towards Lancelot and his family. Guenever even tells Lancelot: “[she] will have her killed” (White 382). Lancelot's dreams about his relationship with Guenever and his life goal of working miracles are destroyed. With Lancelot's loss of his identity and the desires of his superego, his ego is lost. His mind completely ceases to exist. Instead of providing Lancelot with the comfort he seeks, she abuses his affection and forces him to retreat into the woods far from court out of madness. The first time.