The sword with which Arthur hacked civilization out of a wilderness was only a loan, whatever Arthur and the wizard-tempter who created him may have hoped. It is returned at last to the terrible Power which moves behind the jerking-puppet machinations of wizards and men, the Power to which Galahad and Launcelot pray. Triumphantly — and menacingly — the hand reaching out of the water brandishes the sword three times.
So, too, Guinevere's love for Launcelot was only a loan. She returns for the last time to sleep with her husband, and Launcelot dies, to be buried in the castle with the bitterly ironic name of "Joyous Gard." The tragedy is finished.
