There are many elements of romance in Gaiman’s short story ‘Chivalry’. The author uses most of the basic techniques of creating a romantic situation, for example there is Sir Galaad’s quest to find the Holy Grail, and then there is the presence of Sir Galaad himself which means that being a knight his character is one that is generally associated with romance and also there is the presence of magic in the gifts which the young knight bears Mrs. Whitaker and the magic lamp of Aladdin which the old lady spots in the thrift shop in the ending scene. Romance thus in the context of this story is not the traditional sort involving the love of a man and a woman but it is created through elements like characterization, setting, imagery and other literary elements. The story is set in an English town and based on an old woman who happens to come across the Holy Grail in old thrift shop and buys it for thirty pence. The next day she is visited by Sir Galaad a knight of King Arthur’s round table, Galaad is seeking the Grail and asks Mrs. Whitaker for it and offers her a bag of gold. The old lady refuses the knight but he keeps on returning with gifts for her in return for the Grail. On his third visit Mrs. Whitaker finally gives him the Grail in return for a Phoenix egg and the Philosopher’s Stone. She later visits the shop again and finds out that the shop assistant has eloped with Galaad; she also comes across Aladdin’s lamp but chooses to not buy it because she does not have space on her mantle anymore because of the knight’s magical gifts.
Characterization is probably the most important tool through which the author creates an aura of romance in the short story. The knight who is traditionally a romantic character in literature is one of the main characters in the short story. Galaad’s demeanor, the way he speaks, the way he dresses and even the horse he rides all amalgamates into him being a very romantic character. One of the tools Gaiman uses to make Galaad into this conventional character is the language and the way he speaks. Even though Mrs. Whitaker speaks in modern English, Galaad speaks in the traditional old version English for example he says “Gracious lady, keeper of the Holy of Holies, let me now depart this place with the Blessed Chalice, that my journeys be ended and my geas fulfilled” (Chivalry 37). He also does this through the narrative, when the narrator describes Galaad as a “young man with shoulder length fair hair that was almost white.” This paints a very romantic picture in the minds of the reader and one envisions Galaad as a tall, blonde, beautiful young man and this vision of masculine beauty is a very traditionally romantic one. Even though Mrs. Whitaker keeps on denying him the Grail which would essentially end his quest and his journey and make his King happy with him he asks the old lady to give it to him rather than simply snatching it. He repeatedly tries to pacify her with presents etc. Galaad is also the perfect gentleman. The old lady continuously harasses him with her household chores and chagrins him, yet he always manages to help her. Even though he is a knight of the King on a quest and he could probably just slay Mrs. Whitaker and take the grail by force, but he does not do this. Instead he chivalrously does everything for her and helps her out. The second main character is Mrs. Whitaker. Even though she is not the kind of heroine that one comes across in traditionally fairy tale romances, even her traits are not far from those of a conventional heroine. She is feisty in an unconventional sort of way and like in most romances she makes the man wait to make himself worthy of the prize which in this case is the Holy Grail rather than a woman. It is through such characterization that the writer creates the perfect ambience of a romantic story.
Secondly the setting of the story is also romantic. The action takes place in a sleepy town in England in the countryside. Like most romances’ the setting is rural rather than urban. Everything is calm and peaceful. Mrs. Whitaker like most romance heroines is very in touch with nature as we can see in the fact that she has an herb garden of which she is very proud of and also the way she treats Grizzel, Sir Galaad’s horse by giving him treats like apples and water whenever the knight comes over. This setting when intertwined with the supernatural makes it the perfect romantic setting. Since there is already nothing really big going on in the town or the old lady’s life the advent of Galaad with his magical gifts is sort of the highlight of her day. Her whole routine is very mechanical, one gets the sense of its lack of glamour and suspense by the narrative because the writer constantly tells us things that she does on a set time on a set day for example “Every Thursday afternoon Mrs. Whitaker walked down to the post office to collect the pension” (Chivalry 33)Then there are also the customary issues of propriety which add to the romantic element. Though Mrs. Whitaker is quite old still when she is around Galaad she feels that’s they need to be proper and that certain boundaries cannot be crossed as she tells him “You shouldn’t offer things like that to old ladies. It isn’t proper” (Chivalry 45). The setting of a small town coupled with the mundane routine of the ‘heroine’ sets the perfect stage for a romance. Like most romantic stories the story becomes more effectively a romance because of it taking place in a place which is small, the whole area transforms and becomes of consequence and importance a very fairy tale romance like change.
The narrative point of view is another source through which the romantic element of the story is being explored. The narrator in this particular story is not a part of the action but rather he is omniscient and removed from everything. This objectivity and narrative style is reminiscent of the way old fairytale romances are told. When the narrator tells the story from a third person view it adds to the romance element because the emotions etc of multiple characters can be explored. The narrator’s description of Sir Galaad and his horse are what actually shape the readers perception of him. It is the way that the narrator describes Galaad’s demeanor and how he tells us Marie’s description of him in which she says “He was dreamy. Really, really dreamy” (Chivalry 41) that one actually finds Galaad as pleasing and ‘comely’. The narrator’s description is what supports the romantic element of there being qualities of chivalry and honor through the story “He moved all the suitcases for her so she could get to the cupboard at the back” (Chivalry 42), the narrative highlights through such descriptions that rather than being pompous Galaad does actually possess all the qualities of a decent young man. Since the story is collusion between the modern and the traditional, Galaad being the traditional mythical knight of Arthur’s round table it would be easy to mistake his chivalry for pomposity, however, the way narrator describes him makes him chivalrous and honorable rather than pompous to the reader because Galaad otherwise would probably not be a character who agrees with the sensibilities of the modern reader.
Another literary element which adds to romance is the imagery that has been used by the author. The imagery literally turns Galaad into the knight in shining armor. The first time that we see him in the story the image portrayed by the author is very flattering. It is one of extreme beauty and as something that is almost unrealistic. The words gleaming and white automatically align him with the forces of good since white is traditionally been associated with the forces of good and pure in romance stories. Other places where the imagery portrays elements of romance is near the end when Galaad gives the old lady the magic apple of Hesperides. The imagery is soft and sensual, when the old lady takes the fruit into her hand it gets bruised easily “it was soft to the touch- deceptively so: her fingers bruised it and ruby colored juice ran down Mrs. Whitaker’s hand” (Chivalry 44). The whole image that is created through this scene is sensual with undercurrents of erotic. For a moment the reader thinks that the lady will take the bites of the apple and be young again and leave with Galaad on his horse into the sunset, however this does not happen she return the happens and chagrins him. In a way this act of not going off with the handsome knight too is romantic and chivalrous because she chooses to stay true to the memory of her husband. This highlights another core theme of romantic stories which is sacrifice, because during one of the last scenes we see the old lady crying as she sits and drinks her tea. She denies herself the pleasure of Galaad’s companionship and being young for the memory of her husband, even though the author does not cite this reason directly but the following lines of the narrative show this adequately “ she walked in the parlour and looked at the mantelpiece; at the little china basset hound, and the Holy Grail, and the picture of her late husband Henry shirtless, smiling” (Chivalry 44). Such narration makes the whole story more engaging and more appealing to a person’s romantic sensibilities. Without such portrayal and narrative the story would be easily disregarded as humorous because the tale of a young knight and old woman would scarcely make an interesting read for most people.
Even though more traditional readers may think of this story as more of humorous because of the strong juxtaposition and intermingling it has of the past and the present, to me this story is undoubtedly a tale of romance. Like in traditional romantic stories the story has a feisty heroine and a noble hero, the qualities of courage and chivalry are present in both parties and all the literary devices used by the author somehow or the other add to the elements of romance. The narrative, sleepy small town setting, characterization and imagery all contribute effectively making this story into a romance. If the story had been set in a city like London rather than a small unnamed town and the characters had not been written in the way they are the essence of the story would have been lost. Similarly the imagery and the narrative explain to the reader in detail the emotions of Mrs. Whitaker and give us an in depth look into her sincerity and loyalty to her husband. Without even one of these elements Chivalry would not have the impact that it does.
Works Cited
Eaton, Loren. “Middle Shelf Story: Neil Gaiman’s Chivalry” isawlightningfall.blogspot.com.
26 Feb 2008. 07 May 2012. Web
Klapcsik, Sandor. "The double-edged nature of Neil Gaiman's ironical perspectives and luminal
fantasies" The Free Library 22 March 2010. 07 May 2012. Web.
Williams, Bob. “Neil Gaiman: Part two: Short stories and the poems’ Compulsivereaders.com.
n.d. 07 May 2012. Web
