Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur presents an intentional focus on the harmful effects of anything that is not consistent with Christian morality and teaching. Malory portrays these elements of his story negatively, showing how they alter the mind and rob the characters of the ability to function properly in a chivalrous and penitent society. The most common of these narcotic aspects of Malory's tale is love. Confused with lust, love is the source of conflict in the Arthurian narrative and damages both psychologically and physically those who fall prey to it. Mary Wack's Lovesickness in the Middle Ages: The Viaticum and Its Commentaries explains how lovesickness acts as a disease that wounds the soul, thus hindering spirituality. Although intensely pleasurable, love consumes the minds of those affected, rendering them unable to focus on God or reality. The adulterous relationship between Guinevere and Lancelot reveals the intense psychological and spiritual effects of lovesickness and how love removes the ability to exist in a penitent society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Lovesickness in Le Morte d'Arthur is widespread and afflicts many characters. Characters in Malory's story who claim to love someone tend to emphasize their sexual desires and exhibit more symptoms of lust than the traditional notion of love. Those who experience love become completely enchanted and have intense sexual desires and excessive thoughts – hindering their mental and physical abilities – thus falling into lovesickness. This behavior supports Mary Wack's assertion that love acts like a disease of the brain "for it is a great desire accompanied by intense sexual desire and affliction of thoughts" (Wack 2) and derives from “intense natural need to expel a large excess of energy”. moods” (Wack 3). Wack's definition presents heartbreak as Malory does in his text: as a physical need of the body. Wack explains how this need then affects the mind, "this disease has more serious consequences for the soul, that is, excessive thoughts...because of the thoughts of the soul [and] the worries of finding and to possess what she desires” (Wack 3). The psychological and physiological effects of heartbreak allow it to become an illness which in turn has spiritual ramifications. The most notable depiction of heartbreak in Malory's text is the affair between Guinevere and Lancelot. Not only do they harbor intense sexual desires for each other, "the queen summoned Sir Lancelot and ordered him to come to her chamber that night" (Malory 430), but their heartache inflicts psychological damage on both characters. Guinevere experiences intense mood swings, quickly moving from extreme hostility to affection for Lancelot. Throughout chapter 62, Guenevere switches between these two moods several times. Early in the chapter, Malory describes how easily Guinevere's mood changes: “Queen Guinevere was angry. She constantly berated Sir Lancelot and called him a false knight. Then Sir Lancelot told the Queen all that had happened…The Queen therefore forgave Sir Lancelot” (429). Although the Queen forgives Lancelot and begins to love him again, soon after she becomes extremely angry with him again and wishes to never see him again, "she was angry beyond measure...and she said: “You treacherous fake knight! Be sure to leave my yard and room immediately! Don't benot so stupid and false treacherous knight, to return one day to my presence! (431), only to change his mind almost immediately and begs his knights to “spare no expense until he is found” (432). Due to her intense feelings for Lancelot, Guinevere is unable to control her volatile emotions and quickly switches between love and hatred for Lancelot as she does not truly understand what is happening to his mind and body. Guenevere's severe mood swings, directed solely at her lover, reveal the extent to which her heartache has affected her psychologically. While Guinevere's lovesickness manifests itself in intense mood swings, Lancelot experiences total madness. Lancelot's madness comes from his lovesickness; he wishes to have erotic release with the one he loves and if it is refuted or manipulated in any way, that release will be tainted and rejected by the body. After his night with Elaine, Lancelot realizes that he is not with the woman he loves, and his body rejects the release he had the night before causing him to sink into a state of madness, "he knew well that he was not with the queen He then jumped out of bed, wearing only his nightgown, like a madman” (431). enduring the rejection and loss of his lover and losing control of his body, "he felt such anguish and sorrow at her words that he fell to the ground in a faint" (431). fainting, Lancelot “jumped through a bay window into the garden below… [running], he knew not where, and was as mad as a man had been He ran thus for two years no one; never recognized” (431) The effects of the false sexual liberation and the rejection of the queen cause Lancelot to suffer a physical and mental depression in which he loses all of his identity. In conjunction with these physical and psychological effects of Lancelot and Guinevere's lovesickness, the couple also displays the most predominant symptom of the illness: excessive thoughts. More than just the desire to “find and possess” (Wack 3) what is desired, this aspect of the illness results in insomnia and total consumption of the mind and soul. Both Guinevere and Lancelot experience such symptoms, further revealing their heartbreak and its aftermath. Through Lancelot's sleeping conversations, Malory reveals how, even while unconscious, thoughts about his lover permeate Lancelot's mind: "In his sleep he spoke and chattered like a jay of the love that was between Queen Guinevere and him” (431). Guinevere also shows signs of excessive thinking when she cannot sleep because of her worry for Lancelot: "the queen has gone almost mad, tossing and turning like a madwoman, and unable to sleep for four or five hours" (430). This consumption of thought is then transcribed to the soul. According to Wack: “If the patient sinks into his thoughts, the action of the soul and the body is damaged since the body follows the soul in its action, and the soul accompanies the body in its passion” (3 ), which means that lovesickness has an effect. harmful effect on the soul - contaminating it and leading to spiritual deterioration. If a mind is entirely consumed by thoughts of their lover due to their heartbreak, then there is little room left to focus on anything else – a dangerous state in medieval society. Malory emphasizes the importance of Christian ideals and God being the main focus throughout the tale, and as Lancelot is unable to think of anything other than Guinevere, he cannot fully devote himself to his faith, which bothers him spiritually, "if Sir Lancelot had not.