12 “AND NOW WE COME TO the character of Morgan le Fay. An enchantress and a sorceress, she came of fairy blood, hence her name, ‘le Fay,’ which means ‘of the fairies.’ Morgan? Perhaps you can give us some insight into the character of your namesake?” Ms. Tavernier, my English teacher, was trolling for comments during the last class of the day, at the peak of a long, golden October afternoon. The whole class was staring out the windows at blue skies and red and yellow foliage, bending their united will onto the clock on the wall to make it tick faster toward dismissal time. I had finished reading “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” the night before. It’s this long medieval poem with somebody in it named Morgan le Fay. My interest was aroused by the name, so I did some research on her. Hers was an arresting and provocative personality, like mine. “Fairies, or the fay, aren’t those stupid little twits with wings in children’s books,” I responded. “They’re like normal people, only much, much better.
