In the version of the legend as told by Thomas Malory in Le Morte d'Arthur, Elaine's father, King Pelles of Corbenic, knew that the near-perfect knight Lancelot would have a son with Elaine, and that that child would be Galahad, "the most noblest knight in the world". Moreover, King Pelles claims that Galahad will lead a "foreign country...out of danger" and "achieve...the Holy Grail". The source of King Pelles' knowledge is undisclosed. She is described as "passing fair and young". The sorceress Morgan le Fay is jealous of Elaine's beauty, and magically traps her in a boiling bath. After Sir Lancelot rescues her, Elaine falls in love with him, only to find he is already in love with Queen Guinevere and would not knowingly sleep with another woman. In order to seduce Lancelot, Elaine goes to the sorceress Dame Brusen for help. Dame Brusen gives Lancelot wine and Elaine a ring of Guinevere's in order to trick Lancelot into thinking Elaine is Guinevere. The next morning, Lancelot is most displeased to discover that the woman he slept with was not Guinevere. He draws his sword and threatens to kill Elaine, but she tells him that she is pregnant with Galahad and he agrees not to kill her, but instead kisses her. Lancelot departs, and Elaine remains in her father's castle and gives birth to Galahad. Thereafter, there is a feast at King Arthur's court, and Elaine goes to it. Lancelot ignores her when he sees her, and she is sad because she loves him. She complains of this to Dame Brusen, and Dame Brusen tells her that she will "undertake that this night he shall lie with ". That night, Dame Brusen brings Lancelot to Elaine, pretending that it is Guinevere that summons him. He goes along, and once again sleeps with Elaine. At the same time, however, Guinevere herself actually summons Lancelot, and is enraged to discover that he is not in his bedchamber. She hears him talking in his sleep, and finds him in bed with Elaine. She is furious with him and tells him she never wants to see him again. Lancelot goes mad with grief and, naked, jumps out a window and runs away. Elaine confronts Guinevere as to her treatment of Lancelot. She accuses Guinevere of causing Lancelot’s madness and tells her that she is being unnecessarily cruel. After this, she leaves court. Time passes in the story, and Elaine next appears when she finds Lancelot insane in her garden. She brings him to the Holy Grail, which cures him. When he regains his mental facilities, he decides to live with Elaine, and they live together for several years as man and wife.
Analysis
Elaine of Carbonic is often passed over in favor of Elaine of Astolat. Like the more famous Elaine, Elaine of Corbenic is in love with Lancelot. Yet unlike Astolat, she is successful in both bedding and marrying Lancelot. Despite this, she has been overlooked by most literary analysts. One theory for why she has been so ignored is because of the moral ambiguities of her actions. She does not fit into a neat category of female characters; she is neither good nor evil, but something in between. Roger Sherman Loomis's work The Grail: From Celtic Symbol to Christian Myth draws a connection between the concept of the feminine "Grail-bearer" and the sovereignty goddess of Ireland, Ériu, who grants the chalice to only the worthy.
In modern stories
Elaine appears in the 1939 novel The Once and Future King, by T.H. White. Although the basic character does not change, there are several key differences. Time is more definitely specified in this version; for instance, when Elaine finds Lancelot in the garden, Galahad is three years old. Additionally, Elaine and Lancelot live together as husband and wife for ten years and actively raise Galahad while Lancelot bears a pseudonym to hide from the court at Camelot. Another key difference between White and Malory is that in White, Lancelot is cured of his insanity by seeing Elaine, but becomes physically sick and is nursed back to health by Elaine. White also chronicles Elaine's final fate, having her commit suicide when it becomes clear that Lancelot will never truly love her or end his obsession with Guinevere. This creates a parallel with the character of Elaine of Astolat, who is also referenced in the novel. A more contemporary novel is Elaine of Corbenic by Tima Z. Newman. Based on Malory's account of the three brief encounters of Launcelot and Elaine in Le Morte d’Arthur, it chronicles Elaine’s journey through abandonment to the finding of inner strength and deepening wisdom. Elaine also appears as a character in The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. In this version, she tricks Lancelot with the help of Morgaine into sleeping with her by making him believe she was Gwenhwyfar. Her father finds out and forces Lancelot to marry her to keep her honor. She and Lancelot, in addition to their son Galahad, have two daughters by the names of Gwenhwyfar and Nimue, who later becomes a priestess of Avalon and is used to trick Merlin into coming with her to the isle to receive punishment for perceived crimes against the Goddess and later drowns herself. Unlike the Elaines in earlier stories, she dies of natural causes later in the book.
