An Island Getaway
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King Arthur Carried to the Land of Enchantment, 1847, William Bell Scott (5) |
In Arthurian legends, Avalon is the magical island where King Arthur is whisked away to as he lays dying. In many stories, particularly earlier texts, this island is where he is taken to heal after his final battle with Mordred.
Geoffrey of Monmouth writes in his Arthurian stories that Avalon is ruled by Morgan le Fay and her eight sisters, where they practice mystical healing arts (2, 7). In some 13th and 14th century texts, Morgan le Fay is also the one who ferries Arthur to Avalon and is tending to him until he returns to the throne (2). The island of Avalon is King Arthur's magical paradise island getaway till he claims his title as King of Britain.
Avalon in the Here and Now
While it's highly unlikely that King Arthur was ferried from his final battle to the New World across the ocean, that hasn't stopped Americans from using "Avalon" as a name to invoke images of a paradise island. In fact, "Avalon" is a rather common name given to places and products. Toyota has a luxury sedan model called the
Toyota Avalon (6). There are too many iterations of "Avalon Apartments" across the United States to even begin to count. There's even a borough in Pennsylvania six miles south of Pittsburgh named Avalon! Because Avalon is the name of a luxurious place of rest and relaxation, it's no surprise it pops up all over as a marketing tactic.
Avalon, California
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| Mt. Ada overlooking an Avalon Harbor (4) |
Perhaps one of the most idyllic iterations of the various "Avalons" is located about 22 miles off the coast of southern California, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Sitting on Santa Catalina Island, Avalon, California is the only incorporated city on the island which makes it an incredibly popular vacation destination for posh busybodies, wealthy tourists, celebrities, and the social elite (1). This small city touts miles of beautiful, uninterrupted shoreline and beaches, thriving marine life, a bustling night scene, high end shopping, fancy hotels, and fine dining (4). Despite the beautiful natural surroundings and opportunities for both hiking and mountain climbing on Mt. Ada, the island inhabitants have crafted many alluring ways for visitors to spend their time and money while on the island. There's a casino, a botanical garden, a boardwalk called
"Pleasure Pier," and all sorts of boating and sailing adventures at the countless harbors and piers (1).
No Cars in Paradise
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| Golf Carts Rule the Narrow Roads in Avalon, CA (8) |
Perhaps one of the most surprising features of this paradise island is its ban on personal vehicles. Because Santa Catalina is a tiny island, and Avalon is even smaller, it features small houses connected by narrow roads, congested traffic leading to small shops that offer sparse parking opportunities, and small restaurants with miniscule space for cars after the tourists on scooters and bikes, the locals in golf carts, and the travelers on busses have claimed their space. Simply put, cars disrupt the quaint and quiet way of island life so only a limited number of residents are permitted to own vehicles at any given time. The wait time to acquire a permit to own a car is years long, and since the town simply doesn't have the infrastructure to support car-based travel the way most of mainland America does, the island forbids owning cars for the vast majority of island inhabitants (3).
Works Cited
1- “Avalon: Visit Catalina Island.” CA, www.visitcatalinaisland.com/about-the-island/island-guide/avalon/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2023.
2- Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Avalon". Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 Feb. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/place/Avalon-legendary-island. Accessed 30 September 2023.
3- “City of Avalon: FAQ’s.” FAQs • Avalon, CA • Civicengage, www.cityofavalon.com/faq.aspx?qid=77. Accessed 30 Sept. 2023.
4- Hemmerlein, Sandi. “Seven Best Places to Visit in and around Avalon on Catalina Island.” PBS SoCal, 21 June 2022, www.pbssocal.org/shows/socal-wanderer/seven-best-places-to-visit-in-and-around-avalon-on-catalina-island.
5- Lanigan, Dennis T. “King Arthur Carried to the Land of Enchantment.” The Victorian Web, victorianweb.org/victorian/painting/scott/paintings/16.html. Accessed 30 Sept. 2023.
6- “Toyota Avalon.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Sept. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Avalon.
7- Villarreal, Allegra. “Geoffrey of Monmouth: A History of the Kings of Britain.” An Open Companion to Early British Literature, 22 Jan. 2019, pressbooks.pub/earlybritishlit/chapter/geoffrey-of-monmouth-a-history-of-the-kings-of-britain/.
8- Wilkens, Laura. “The Perfect Catalina Island Day Trip Itinerary.” Adrift Aesthetic, Adrift Aesthetic, 7 Nov. 2019, adriftaesthetic.com/blog/perfect-catalina-island-day-trip-itinerary.
Interesting blog! I vaguely knew about King Arthur going to Avalon to restore his health/strength after a battle. As I read your blog, I never realized how many things have the name Avalon. Once you mentioned Toyota Avalon's I was definitely shocked. Very interesting blog, I would suggest adding more comparisons to medievalism throughout it.
ReplyDeleteHey Eliana! Your topic of choice is incredibly interesting. Its not something I don't believe I've thinked about too heavily until this class, but you're right in that the concept of Avalon has taken a surprisingly strong place in our culture. It makes sense that a place like "Avalon, California" would want to hold true to their name and do things unheard of like ban cars (though I bet its super nice without all that noise) to closer create an atmosphere that is "utopic" and stand-out from everywhere else. I also have a piece to add regarding the usage of Avalon- one of my favorite songs is "Take Me Avalon I'm Young" by Pond, which is essentially about a young man who wants to end it all now while he's still in his prime. I'd argue that the concept of Avalon functions well in how we as people think about life and death.
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