The Knight in Rusty Armor

While the knight struggles through difficult external conflicts like silence, complete darkness, and steep slopes, the novella’s allegorical nature means that these settings are all representative of mental and interpersonal struggles with concepts like fear and doubt. The role of fear and doubt in the knight’s life is what led to him being trapped in his literal and symbolic “armor,” and the knight’s internal conflict with these characteristics shows how devastating their consequences can be to relationships and happiness.

The knight’s armor stems from fear. The first time the knight is confronted with this fact is when Merlin tries to give him the drink called “Life.” The knight looks at the drink “suspiciously” and inquires what it is, prompting Merlin to muse, “You are so afraid” (13). The knight’s fear and hesitation to drink Life symbolize his fear of fully living his own life. At this early point in the knight’s journey, Merlin provides the knight with answers, rather than answering his questions with more questions, as the knight doesn’t yet have any foundation for understanding his mistakes and improving himself. Merlin says that fear is “why [the knight] put on the armor in the first place” (13): He put a literal and symbolic barrier up between himself and the world to protect himself.