Jurgen · Character

Dame Guenevere

The princess Jurgen loved hopelessly at Gogyrvan's court, now a queen who does not remember him and offers herself as his wife.

supporting

Also known as Guenevere, Queen Guenevere, Madame Guenevere, young Guenevere

First appearance: IX: The Orthodox Rescue of Guenevere

As a supporting figure in Jurgen, Dame Guenevere is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Daughter of King Gogyrvan, found enchanted in Thragnar's cave, awakened by Jurgen's kiss.

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Guenevere first appears as the fairest and most perfect of mortal women, whose thick gold hair and small proud head reduce Jurgen to making sirventes in praise of his Phyllida. Later, with Lancelot turned monk and Arthur gone to Avalon, she greets Jurgen as a stranger and offers marriage, and he finds he cannot accept — desire and knowledge press him too sorely. Her failure to remember him measures how far the pawnbroker has traveled from the scapegrace of twenty-one, and her chivalric reproaches give the book its sharpest argument about what men have made of women.

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Character Web

27 connections

A slice of how Dame Guenevere sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Kings and Queens
Cosmic and Mysterious Entities
Mortal and Mythic Women
Mythological and Historical Figures
Protagonist

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the dramatic climax because Jurgen’s calm, rational dismissal of his father Coth’s lifelong guilt—redu…

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In the story

Dame Guenevere appears across 13 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

IX: The Orthodox Rescue of Guenevere
Daughter of King Gogyrvan, found enchanted in Thragnar's cave, awakened by Jurgen's kiss.
X: Pitiful Disguises of Thragnar
Accompanies Jurgen, encourages him to slay the disguised Thragnar, and later rides the horse of their defeated assailant.
XI: Appearance of the Duke of Logreus
Returned to Cameliard by Jurgen, she is betrothed to King Arthur.
XII: Excursus of Yolande's Undoing
Princess whom Jurgen loves; his thoughts and actions are driven by his desire for her.
XIII: Philosophy of Gogyrvan Gawr
The subject of the conversation; Gogyrvan discusses her betrothal to Arthur and her flirtation with Jurgen.
XIV: Preliminary Tactics of Duke Jurgen
The beautiful young princess of Glathion, with corn-floss yellow hair and gray eyes, whom Jurgen loves hopelessly and who is soon to be married to another.
XV: Of Compromises in Glathion
She meets Jurgen at night in the Hall of Judgment, revealing a curious and knowledgeable side she hides by day, but shows little contrition for their secret meetings, treating them almost as a matter of course.
XVI: Divers Imbroglios of King Smoit
Unable to converse with Jurgen for three nights, leading to his carouse with barons.
Why Merlin Talked in Twilight
Jurgen tells her he will not accompany her to London; she weeps heartbrokenly.
XX: Efficacy of Prayer
Rides past the cathedral on her way to marry King Arthur, not noticing Jurgen.
XXV: Cantraps of the Master Philologist
Mentioned as the wife of King Arthur, who receives Caliburn from Anaïtis.
In the Manager's Office
Mentioned in relation to the stairway Jurgen and she ascended.
XLV: The Faith of Guenevere
Queen Guenevere appears, not recognizing Jurgen, and offers to marry him. She speaks of her divine beauty and the faith of knights, then departs forever.

Chapter companion notes

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