Character Analysis
Chances are you've come across Merlin before. The Sword in the Stone, maybe? Excalibur? The TV show Merlin?
Dude's hard to miss, right? But don't think you know everything there is to know about him yet. Mary Stewart's got some very specific ideas about who this mysterious guy is—this is Merlin as you've never quite seen him before.
Demon Seed
There's some question at the beginning of this book about Merlin's father. Is he really a demon? Or is that just town gossip to spice up the days of people at the king's crumbling court? Merlin has two things going on that seem to prove his demonic descent. He's dark-haired, unlike his ginger-headed family, and he's kinda odd.
His grandfather the king hates him for it, and he uses Merlin's looks and behavior to point out his devilish ancestry: "Six years old this month, grown like a weed, and no more like any of us than a damned devil's whelp would be. Look at him! Black hair, black eyes, and as scared of cold iron as a changeling from the hollow hills" (I.1.18).
We learn later that Merlin's dad is earthlier in nature, but the demon-seed theory is telling. People see something strange in Merlin—and there really is something otherworldly about him.
His high IQ and powers of "second sight" really help clinch the idea that he's only half-human. By the time he makes his way to Ambrosius, it's clear to anyone who meets Merlin that he's only living part-time in the "real" world. Ambrosius is sooo not surprised to hear that people think Merlin was fathered by a demon.
"…no wonder you talk of helping kings to their kingdoms, and dream of gods under the stars." (II.4.64)
Before this, Galapas understands right away that Merlin's got something special going on. It's not a demon daddy, but it is an ability to see things as the gods see them—but only when the gods want Merlin to see things that way. As Galapas observes, Merlin is really nothing more powerful than "A whistle for the winds" (I.7.51).
Merlin later calls himself a "tool" for the gods, a servant waiting for orders.
Magic Man?
Is it possible that Merlin, the wise man and wizard of Arthurian legend, could be nothing more than a "reed with the pith pulled out" (I.7.50)? Or is he really a dude with phenomenal cosmic powers? Merlin makes light of his powers, saying he's nothing more a plaything of the gods:
"I am a spirit, a word, a thing of air and darkness, and I can no more help what I am doing than a reed can help the wind of God blowing through it." (V.6.62)
Stewart's version of Merlin is also much less "magical" than the ones you will find in online fandoms these days. You won't see him fooling around with crystals or communing with dark forces, for one thing. But he's also way more of a scientist than the character of medieval legend, too.
This Merlin hates the thought of love potions and sacrifices. He rolls his eyes at the thought of having to wear a classic wizarding robe after prophesying for Vortigern:
"Not long white robes with stars and moons on them, and a staff with curled snakes? Oh, really, Cadal—" (III.11.56)
He makes no bones about it: supernatural works are his part-time gig—his powers are too unpredictable for him to quit his day job as engineer and generally useful guy in the army. Ambrosius jokes that Merlin is his jack-of-all-trades, even when he'd like him to be a master prophet:
"Will you be any use to me?"
"Probably not as a prophet. But do you need an engineer? Or an apprentice doctor? Or even a singer?"
He laughed. "A host in yourself, I know. As long as you don't turn priest on me, Merlin. I have enough of them." (IV.5.75-77)
There's no denying that when Merlin's magic is on, it's on like Donkey Kong. He pulls off an amazing show in the mineshaft under Vortigern's doomed tower walls, for example: eyes rolling up in his head, speaking in a different voice—everything. Vortigern's men are good and freaked out by it. He takes his army and skedaddles, which pretty much pins him into a corner. War. Over.
But instead of emphasizing his power, Merlin explains just how out of control of his powers he really is:
What I had done at Dinas Brenin, I had not done of myself. It was not I who had decided to send Vortigern fleeing out of Wales. Out of the dark, out of the wild and whirling stars, I had been told. […] The voice that had said so, that said so now in the musty dark of Camlach's room, was not my own; it was the god's. (IV.2.89)
In the end, Merlin has only one job to do: follow the voice of the god until he can figure out why he's been chosen for all this hocus pocus.
Kingmaker
Let's not forget that our waif Merlin is actually a double prince—both mommy and daddy are from royal families. It doesn't really do him much good, though: his mom's family is destroyed by Vortigern, and it's clear that he'll never inherit the throne from his father (remember Uther?). Even Ambrosius acknowledges that ruling isn't in the cards for Merlin:
"…I saw how you faced Uther that night in the field, with the vision still in your eyes, and the power all over you like a shining skin. No, Merlin, you will never make a king, or even a prince as the world see it, but when you are grown I believe you will be such a man that, if a king had you beside him, he could rule the world." (II.12.82)
Ambrosius sees that his son has great powers, but these powers weren't meant for the court. And yet he recognizes that Merlin's abilities should serve the kingdom. It isn't until Merlin has a vision of Britain—of a time long after the death of Ambrosius—that he understands his purpose in life.
Small and perfect in the heart of the crystal lay the town with its bridge and moving river and the tiny, scudding ship. […] It seemed that the whole countryside, the whole of Wales, the whole of Britain could be held small and shining and safe between my hands, like something set in amber. (V.3.32)
The time is coming when Merlin will play the most important role of his life. He's about to use his powers to create a king. But not just any king, obvi. We're talking about the once and future king. The shield and sword of Britain.
Yeah, we're talking about Arthur. Cue the Round Table and the Sword in the Stone.
Before all of that, it will be Merlin who gets Arthur's parents together, Merlin who saves Arthur from Uther's hatred, Merlin who educates Arthur and raises him to the throne at the proper time. And of course, it's Merlin who will eventually advise the great king and his knights.
But that's material for the next three books.
Merlin's Timeline