> Now this is interesting ... ; - ) You were exaggerating to make a point? Ah, I see ... not unlike my (regretable) Bible comment? ; - )

Actually it wasn't like it at all. In your example, you didn't exaggerate enough -- Jordan's Wheel of Time is already longer than the Bible. In my example, I stated at the outset that I was being partly facetious...and I wasn't being all *that* facetious. The point was still valid; I just used a facetious tone to express it.

> you also mentioned that Merlin and Arthur were 'ensnared'; that their gender was used against them? It is difficult to sympathises, then, with these two characters, if such mighty men can be dominanted by so small a thing ....

It would be harder to sympathize with them if they were invincible. Their weaknesses -- call them "tragic flaws" if you want to sound learned -- reveal their humanity. And for that matter, I wouldn't call seduction a "small" thing. It's hard to find stronger temptations ingrained in humankind.

> Funny, don't you think, that with these two examples, the notion of manipulation and dominance seem very wrong - two loathsome notions hightened by the tragic fates of these two men - and yet it would be reasonable to wonder how one might feel if we were discussing two women instead?

I don't think it makes any difference. Who we sympathize with, in the case of the Arthurian legends, relies on the character of the characters, not their genders. Arthur was a great man -- he was benevolent, did not abuse his power, brought a nation together, and made it prosperous. With Merlin, it depends on the interpretation you read, but most portray him as an essentially good person, too. But Morgause (or Morgan le Fey, depending on the legend) who seduced Arthur was a selfish, lustful, deceitful witch who used black magic for her personal gain. Nimue, who seduced Arthur, wasn't quite so evil, but in some interpretations, she *is* a sympathetic character anyway.

Moving on to other women in the Arthurian legends, Guinevere, who proved Lancelot's undoing, is also a sympathetic character, and their story is one of a tragedy brought about by human characters with tragic flaws. Personally, I sympathize more with her -- although I don't condone all her actions -- than I do with Lancelot, as Lancelot seemed to be the one more aggressively pursuing an illicit affair with her.

So no, I don't think gender has anything to do with who is sympathized with.