The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 and debates about divorce also brought more aspects of private domestic life into the public eye, increasing, access to the scandals and secrets of other people’s domestic lives. Idylls of the King, in many ways, caters to Victorian interest in gossip and scandal, displaying openly the infidelity and turmoil within the marriage of two fictional royal characters and the various members of their kingdom. Perhaps it was these qualities reflected in the Idylls which caused some Victorian critics, such as Algeron Swinburne, James Spedding, and Gerhard Joseph, to react unfavorably to the poems upon publication. One fairly common reaction was aversion to the “predominance of harlotry” (qtd. in Adams 421) within the
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However, Arthur himself is notably absent from most of the idylls, both in terms of physical presence and political influence, which allows various activities and plots to occur, thus failing to provide stability in his kingdom. One instance of Arthur’s lack of presence is his ignorance of Guinevere’s infidelity. At even the rumor that his wife might be associated with a woman who is potentially cheating on her husband, Geraint overreacts by isolating his wife from Camelot. Arthur, conversely, continues to act as usual despite the pervasive knowledge, which permeates even Elaine’s secluded village, that Guinevere is having an affair. Vivien uses Arthur’s ignorance as an attack against his character, but she is not acting as “a solitary evil genius…[as] almost everyone is baffled by Arthur’s conduct” (Adams 428). When contemplating Arthur’s suspicions of her overt affections towards Lancelot, Guinevere claims that Arthur “never spake word of reproach to me/ he never had a glimpse of mine untruth/ he cares not for me” (VII. 124-126). Even when he is physically present during a fairly intimate exchange between Lancelot and Guinevere, his being there does little to stop their actions, given that Guinevere feels that he simply doesn’t care for
However, Arthur himself is notably absent from most of the idylls, both in terms of physical presence and political influence, which allows various activities and plots to occur, thus failing to provide stability in his kingdom. One instance of Arthur’s lack of presence is his ignorance of Guinevere’s infidelity. At even the rumor that his wife might be associated with a woman who is potentially cheating on her husband, Geraint overreacts by isolating his wife from Camelot. Arthur, conversely, continues to act as usual despite the pervasive knowledge, which permeates even Elaine’s secluded village, that Guinevere is having an affair. Vivien uses Arthur’s ignorance as an attack against his character, but she is not acting as “a solitary evil genius…[as] almost everyone is baffled by Arthur’s conduct” (Adams 428). When contemplating Arthur’s suspicions of her overt affections towards Lancelot, Guinevere claims that Arthur “never spake word of reproach to me/ he never had a glimpse of mine untruth/ he cares not for me” (VII. 124-126). Even when he is physically present during a fairly intimate exchange between Lancelot and Guinevere, his being there does little to stop their actions, given that Guinevere feels that he simply doesn’t care for