The Romance of Tristan (Parts 14-19)

I play on a game quite frequently called a MUSH based on Joss Whedon's Firefly/Serenity franchise. It's a game much like world of Warcraft but text based and more creative. You basically writing a novel for your character in poses. Anyways I had just got done reading the last few chapters and got into a discussion about it with another player. I had started posting the entire conversation but my computer got restarted because of updates and was only able to recover this in response to:

She did what she had to do to survive... ( In regard to me thinking Isolde stopped really loving Tristan and was nothing but a power grabbing slut, thinking of her self and playing everyone for dumb so she could get her jolly's. I figured she now only viewed Tristan as eye candy and a booty call. Excuse my language, it may not be up to proper literary standereds due to the relaxation and familiarity with this person. I'm certainly not a literary Major.)

She did that so she could have the finer things in life, at least from my understanding. When she was with Tristan in the woods, she lived and was in love and most importantly happy but as soon as that potion waned she started blaming everybody for problems she caused for herself, missing her life of luxury. I understand that the Potion is Supposed to represent true love and she dose indeed have feelings for Tristan still but they seem only superficial and based on the fact that she thinks he's hot or something. I've sort of been in Tristan's position though, however I found out that I was being played for a fool as I'm very good at finding those things out. The thing she said in her head at court regarding Tristan, “Now he can repay me for all the hardship /he/ put me through.” really just through me off her side. She wanted a quiet, normal life, embodiment of apatite, though she wanted to be a queen for she was so used to getting the best of everything in Ireland already. Love is supposed to make you give up everything as superficial as carnal pleasures so you can peruse it. And she did for a while, under the potion. She seemed happy, but once it shut off, she started blaming everyone for her own problems. That was just the start of it though. Tristan goes mad because he can't see his love, and she's there playing him for a fool. He says at one point, “If we had not known each other and we had fallen in love, you could not resist me.” I felt like puking. It's just terrible to see Tristan in such a mess over one girl and I've been through this kind of thing before. I think everyone has or will at some point in life and this is probably what the author is trying to portray. I had a hard time believing that if Mark and the others weren't in the picture that she really would have fallen for him. Used him maybe, to get something she wanted, but not fall in love with him. In the end though she seems to redeem her self by coming to his deathbed, though the other Isolde was rather in the right to send the lovers packing. One less Adulterating couple.