One of my favourite love-stories is that of Elaine, the Lady of Shalott. Her father kept her a virtual prisoner in a tower to shield her from corruption. She was forbidden even to look from her window, and viewed the world only by its reflection in a mirror, fearing her father’s curse that if she look upon it directly she would die. One day, Sir Lancelot approached the castle in full armour. Elaine could not resist looking at him from her window, and the mirror shattered, indicating that the curse had come into effect. She met Lancelot and fell deeply in love with him, asking him to wear her sleeve as a token at the forthcoming tournament. Lancelot did so, but was severely wounded. Elaine left the castle to nurse him back to health, hoping that Lancelot returned her love. But the knight explained that he could not love her as he was in love with Queen Guinevere. Elaine returned to the castle broken-hearted and climbed into a funeral-barge, convinced she would die. Lancelot returned to Camelot to encounter the jealous Queen, who threw Elaine’s token into the river - just as the barge carrying Elaine’s body floated by. Don’t you just love sad endings?
