Indeed, the mythology that comes to us is so influenced by patriarchal consciousness and Christian dogma, seemingly little of the original is left but the bare bones. The question of why Arthur is completely guilt-free in the face of his infidelities and Guinevere sentenced to burn at the stake for hers is never resolved. Except that it shows the treatment of women in that time. Countless heroines are represented in a variety of ways. The disgraced and sentenced Guinevere though must somehow reflect attitudes about women at the time, just as the goddess of soverignty, Gwenhwyfar, was somehow a reflection of attitudes about women when she was honored.
Myth is only significant as long as it is relevant to the context it exists in.
Thus myth is dynamic but also enduring so long as it is important to a particular society. However, it is difficult to dismiss the numerous examples of Irish and Welsh mythological heroines such as Rhiannon, Brigid, Etain, Scathach, Iseult, Queen Branwen and others, and call them just machinations of Christian monks. There are elements to be sure which are undeniably Christian. Christian interpreters used the myths to serve their own purposes in their own context, and shaped them as they pleased, but some myths do survive which give us a glimpse of the certainly rich literary pre-Christian past. Another interesting case for the elevated status of Celtic women, especially Irish, is found in their surprisingly progressive early codes of law.