The Individualistic Quest
Despite the many differences between the different incarnations of the Grail quest, all of the Holy Grail quest narratives are essentially individualistic quest narratives, as defined by the historian of mythology Joseph Campbell. Both "Percival" and "Parzival" are defined by their uniqueness as individuals, from the rest of their knights, because of their upbringing in isolated circumstances, from the rest of the chivalric Round Table. And in the "Quest for the Holy Grail," Galahad is likewise isolated from the other knights because of his purity and removal from the earthly fray of sexual desire and worldly attainments. The hero is defined as a hero, not because he is part of his society, but because he is alien to his society. The hero embodies the values of his society, but they are values of either the past or future, such as the 'holy fool' of Percival/Parzival or the chaste monastic ideal of Galahad-the individualistic hero does not embody the ideals of the current society's spiritually desolate present day.In the last narrative of the "Quest for the Holy Grail," the Holy Grail becomes a clear metaphor for the ind
ividual's soul search for salvation alone, something that no one can win for another human being, regardless of the collective knightly prowess of the Arthurian Round table. Joseph Campbell, in his lecture on the individualistic quest narrative of the Holy Grail stresses the following line: "They [Arthur's knights] agreed that all would go on this quest, but they thought it would be a disgrace to go forth in a group so each entered the forest at a point that he, himself, had chosen, where it was darkest and there was no path." The darkness of the world becomes a metaphorical parallel for the spiritual darkness all human beings dwell in, on earth, even while they struggle and search for the light of salvation, embodied in the form of the Holy Grail. The need for a hero's aloneness to make a proper quest in search of the Holy Grail is later underlined by the hero's chastity in the quest story of Galahad's quest for the grail. This newly introduced facet also underlines the increasing influence of Christianity in the Holy Grail saga. Now the quest was spiritual rather than a heroic, chivalric and military striving for one'
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Approximate Word count = 762
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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