Idylls of the King · Chapter
Pelleas and Ettarre explained
Pelleas, a young knight newly made by Arthur, falls in love with the beautiful but scornful Ettarre after a chance meeting in the forest.
What happens
Pelleas, a young knight newly made by Arthur, falls in love with the beautiful but scornful Ettarre after a chance meeting in the forest. He wins a tournament for her, but she rejects him. Gawain offers to help win her love but instead betrays Pelleas by seducing Ettarre. Pelleas discovers their treachery, confronts Lancelot and Guinevere, and is left shattered by the corruption he sees in Camelot.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Betrayal
Pelleas's pure love for Ettarre is met with scorn and ultimately betrayed by Gawain's seduction.
Illusion and Reality
Pelleas projects his own ideals onto Ettarre, only to discover the harsh truth of her cruelty and Gawain's treachery.
Chivalry and Honor
Pelleas's adherence to knightly vows prevents him from killing the sleeping Gawain, highlighting the conflict between honor and vengeance.
Characters to notice
- Pelleas
Newly knighted by Arthur, falls in love with Ettarre, is betrayed by Gawain, and becomes disillusioned with the Round Table.
- Ettarre
A great lady who scorns Pelleas despite his devotion, and later sleeps with Gawain.
- Sir Gawain
Offers to help Pelleas win Ettarre but betrays him by seducing her.
- King Arthur
Makes Pelleas a knight and presides over the tournament.
- Sir Lancelot
Fights Pelleas in the dark and later is implicated in the Queen's infidelity.
- Guinevere
Queen of Camelot, whose beauty Pelleas compares to Ettarre's; she questions Pelleas after his fight with Lancelot.
- Sir Percivale
Pelleas questions him about the Queen's fidelity.
- Modred
Observes the tension between Lancelot and Guinevere, thinking 'The time is hard at hand.'
Key passages
“Make me thy knight, because I know, Sir King, All that belongs to knighthood, and I love.”
Pelleas asks Arthur to knight him, claiming he understands knighthood and is motivated by love.
Pelleas's earnest plea to become a knight.
“For fair thou art and pure as Guinevere, And I will make thee with my spear and sword As famous—O my Queen, my Guinevere, For I will be thine Arthur when we meet.”
Pelleas imagines his ideal lady as pure like Guinevere and vows to make her famous, casting himself as her Arthur.
Pelleas's romantic idealization of his unknown beloved.
“What! slay a sleeping knight? the King hath bound And sworn me to this brotherhood;”
Pelleas hesitates to kill Gawain in his sleep because of his oath to the Round Table.
Pelleas's internal conflict between vengeance and chivalric honor.