Magic and Homosexuality in Merlin
As with pretty much any essay I post on here, this was mostly a minimally edited stream of consciousness. Because the show title is the same name as the main character, I tried to italicize when referring to the show and leave the text normal when referring to Merlin the character.
Merlin aired on the BBC from September 2008 through December 2012. Merlin is a retelling of the story of King Arthur, naturally focusing on Merlin, though it is certainly not in line with the typical legends of King Arthur and Merlin. In the traditional tellings, Merlin is a powerful sorcerer with almost complete knowledge of the past, present, and future (sometimes said to experience time backward), he is often the son of a demon or the devil himself, and is an ally or even court magician during the reign of Uther, Arthur’s father. In this depiction, Merlin is a young man, the same age as Arthur, born with a natural affinity for magic in a kingdom that has outlawed its use. He is sent to live with his uncle, the court physician, and becomes Prince Arthur’s servant. The concept of being forced to live with those who believe that a natural and unchangeable aspect of oneself is reprehensible or in a community that has effectively or literally outlawed this aspect is likely familiar to many members of the LGBT community. Both of the main magical characters, Merlin and Morgana, are forced to live among those who hate them for a fundamental aspect of themselves and often watch those they love insult, abuse, and even kill others like them. For LGBT people in our world and those with magic in Merlin the negative consequences of ‘coming out’ can range from social exclusion, loss of support from friends and family, homelessness, arrest, and even death.
Merlin is thrilled to meet his uncle Gaius and learn that while he chose to stop practicing magic to remain working in the palace, Gaius had much magical experience and knowledge. Merlin is lucky enough to find his own small community in Gaius and Kilgharrah, the Great Dragon, who help guide him. His mother, Hunith, is rarely seen but she has known about Merlin’s magic for his entire life and has always supported him. Though he has chances to leave the palace and live amongst other magic users, Merlin chooses to stay due to the relationships he forged. His experiences are very reminiscent of my own growing up. I often compartmentalized my relationships with friends and family from what I knew their opinions on same-sex attraction were. One of my closest friends in high school had a ‘Take Back the Rainbow’ keychain, a movement for removing the rainbow’s association with the LGBT community, and although seeing it was an upsetting reminder that no matter how close we were I would never be able to share moments like my wedding with him we remained friends until we moved for university. Similarly, it is impossible for Merlin to share a key part of himself with any of his friends and family but he chooses to stay and deepen these relationships.
The other main magical character in Merlin is Morgana. In this depiction, Morgana is the orphaned child of one of King Uther’s friends and allies and has been raised as Uther’s ward for most of her life. We later learn that Morgana is Uther’s biological child from an affair with her mother. Morgana was also born with magic but it presented itself much later than Merlin’s and initially, it is extremely distressing and confusing to her. If Merlin represents those who realize they are same-sex attracted at an early age and are given the support needed to become comfortable with themselves, Morgana represents those who only begin to realize their attraction in adolescence and have no support or resources to help them fully understand what is happening within them. Morgana begins to have prophetic dreams and nightmares and Gaius, being the court physician and having extensive magical knowledge, is aware that she is displaying magical abilities but neglects to use this knowledge to comfort or guide her. Though he has good intentions, Uther executes any magic users found in Camelot and would likely have little sympathy for his daughter. Gaius believes that ensuring that even Morgana does not understand her abilities will protect her from his wrath. While it likely does protect Morgana for a time, it also leads to her feeling that she has no support within the palace and feeling intense anger at those she used to consider family. An African proverb says “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth” and Morgana is a textbook example of this. Though Gaius and Merlin attempt to support Morgana, they do so without directly letting her know how much they understand about what she is going through; Morgana can not feel their support and instead seeks out warmth from Camelot’s enemies. Her closest ally is her half-sister Morgose, a high priestess of the Old Religion, who has a (understandably) strong vendetta against Camelot and King Uther. This leads to Morgana being manipulated in some ways, though the love between the sisters is still obvious. In my opinion, this echoes how LGBT children who are not accepted by their communities are often led toward unhealthy and self-destructive coping mechanisms. LGBT youth, particularly those who are homeless or in foster care, have high rates of substance abuse and are more likely to engage in sex work or prostitution. They, like Morgana, are not given resources to help them cope with the lack of support they received in their childhood and the resulting trauma in healthy ways. This leads Morgana on a quest to destroy Camelot and those she feels have wronged her, destroying herself in the process.
While Merlin never acknowledges the similarities between the plight of magic users and those in the LGBT community or the homoerotic tension built up between Merlin and Arthur and Morgana and Guinevere, among other characters, for many fans it is a powerful allegory.
