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Comment
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tlchang37
Registered User
(1/25/05 5:37 pm)
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Ill-fated excursions to faery...
I'm hijacking a quote by Terri from another thread:
>"...I've edited many of Charles de Lint's books, and I know he doesn't consider the fairies in his books to be literally real -- although he'd probably go so far as to acknowledge that the world is a mysterious place, and that there may be more to it than we see in a day-to-day way. Mostly, however, he uses folklore as a means of telling entertaining and richly metaphorical stories. The "magic" he's most interested in portraying, through the use of folkloric metaphors, is the real-world magic and power that lies in friendship and community.
That's a magic he believes in strongly."
I've been thinking about the 'draw' of faery - many are fascinated by it (as evidenced by many of the contributors to this board for starters). On the one hand, it is very appealing, but on the other, I have to wonder *why*?!? In most traditional tales and re-tellings, it rarely if ever ends well for the hapless mortal(s) involved. ( I recently finished reading Charles Vess's "Ballads", which reiterates, among other things, that faery lovers are not what they're cracked up to be! ) Charles de Lint's stories are maybe an exception - and Terri's explanation could be why - since he is using folklore as metaphor, he is thus not as 'bound' by normal fey-interaction conventions? His are not all 'happy' by any means, but they don't feel as overall 'doomed' as much of the faery literature I've read.
I've been trying to think of examples of interacting with faery being a good thing. Of course, not all end unhappily - Tam Lin could be an example for instance - but I don't think his experience was fun for him or anyone else involved, even though he was able to escape. Can anyone think of positive examples?
Right now, the 'lure of faery' feels similar to me as the lure of, say ... addictive drugs. *Feels* really good there for a minute - but it's not real, and the consequences can be deadly. It's all glamor, not substance. Then why does it continue to be such a prevalent theme and so appealing?
Curiously,
Tara
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Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(1/25/05 6:19 pm)
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Re: Ill-fated excursions to faery...
Things don't go that badly for Thomas the Rhymer, but by and large I think you're right.
In my opinion, tales of fairies are captivating specifically because their glamor and other-ness calls up issues of what it means to be human, what we value, being attracted to things that you know are not necessarily that good for you, feelings of alienation, and other such things.
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CougarDolphin
Registered User
(1/26/05 9:44 am)
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Re: Ill-fated excursions to faery...
For me, faery is a metaphor for the unconscious...so it's the unseen parts of ourselves - sometimes the dark, sometimes the wild parts of ourselves. I can't htink of any fairytales where mortals fare well tho.
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Erica Carlson
Registered User
(1/26/05 11:26 am)
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Re: Ill-fated excursions to faery...
Tam Lin is one of the few tales I can think of off-hand where a mortal enters and exits Faery and manages a happy ending. Though there is also Mother Holle, now that I think of it. Anyway, three cheers for Janet, I say.
People seem to fare a bit better (with notable exceptions) when the denizens of Faery visit or take up residence in the human world. There are helpful household fairies, fairies who give warnings and advice, and fairies who reward or punish certain behaviors. I'm using "fairies" in a very broad sense here, though.
Best,
Erica
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Elizabeth Genco
Registered User
(1/26/05 12:11 pm)
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Re: Ill-fated excursions to faery...
Well, I don't think that a happy ending is a pre-requisite for a fascinating story. I mean, take a look at the newspaper, and what sells them. We are a nation that is captivated by disaster and fear. It's not the happy endings that make news, but the bad stuff: the darker, the better. Why do we ogle at the trainwrecks? Really, Really Bad Things have an interesting allure, and I think that it's at least partially tied up in our primitive responses to fear. Why is horror so popular?
For me, at least part of the lure of folklore and folktales comes from Really Good Narrative. There are certain bits of my brain that get a little happy massage from a good story. I don't know how else to explain it, but I respond in a very happy-glowy-pleasurable way to a thickly-knitted tale, seams shorn up in all the right places.... even if (especially if!) that story leads to difficult questions. The backbone of a good story? Why, conflict, of course -- folk and fairy tales have that in spades.
---
What's that fiddle player in the subway thinking
about?
Edited by: Elizabeth Genco at: 1/26/05 12:13 pm
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redtriskell
Registered User
(1/27/05 1:57 am)
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alluring faeryland
I think the " fields beyond the fields we know" are so appealing because reality bites. This life is difficult and painful a lot of the time. Happiness is fleeting. So I think at least some of the draw is escapist. Give me a life in Land- under-Waves any day. That said, I also think the enduring call of all the fey realms is a sense of wonder. A glimpse of people and things both beautiful and wild. I also agree that storytelling is its own magic, that the comparison between mortal and the good folk makes us feel glad to be human, and that a good arguement can be made for the fey as representative of our subconcious desires. Besides, I think we could all use a little reminder now and then of the grace and beauty that does exist in our world. I think of faeryland, in all its guises, as an idealized vision. Utopia. A place where no one grows old, no one gets sick, everyone can decide how they want to be seen, no one dies... Of course, that's only one way of looking at it.;)
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Terri Windling
Registered User
(1/27/05 7:22 am)
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Re: alluring faeryland
If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend Lisa Tuttle's new "fairy abduction" novel The Mysteries. It's wonderful, and thoroughly grounded in fairy lore.
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janeyolen
Registered User
(1/27/05 8:12 am)
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another recco
My son has a mortal-encounters-faerie novel coming out this summer which is dynamite--SINGER OF SOULS--and of which Anne McCaffrey has said, "Possibly the best first novel I have read in 50 years!" It's very dark and very funny at the same time, quite a trick. With a Charles Vess cover that's gorgeous.
I am a little jealous. Okay, a LOT jealous.
Jane
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Elizabeth Genco
Registered User
(1/27/05 5:06 pm)
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Re: another recco
Wow. Jane, that's no slouch! :)
Thanks for the heads-up -- I'm writing it down.
---
What's that fiddle player in the subway thinking
about?
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tlchang37
Registered User
(1/28/05 2:26 am)
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Re: alluring faeryland
Thanks for your responses and recommendations. (I will definately look up Lisa Tuttle's and will anxiously await - is it Adam's book, Jane?)
Redtriskell - good analysis, good points. They're sounding more like cautionary tales to me... Yes, it's good to remember the grace and beauty of in our world, but I hate the idea that the allure of *wonder* and magic and the wild beauty of 'otherness' is inherently dangerous... (Reminds me of the subtext on "Buffy" of sex being dangerous. And 'punishable'. Sleep with a guy and they wake up a souless, bloodsucking beastie. Always). Hmmmm.
Still thinking..
Tara
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redtriskell
Registered User
(1/28/05 2:48 am)
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Re: alluring faeryland
Tara- Now that you mention it, waking up to a soulless, blood sucking beastie sounds eerily familiar. giggle. Anyway, I see your point about "otherness" being cast as inherently dangerous. Perhaps it is a function of humanity's survival imperative to regard what is strange or new or unfamiliar as bad and potentially life-threatening? I mean, I *might* not freak out if I were suddenly whisked off to Faeryland, but... On a slightly different note, I was thinking that these stories are lessons. ie- if you stray from the path, a wolf will eat you up (there's that pesky beastie again) so, if you follow the "rules", you will be safe from all manner of predators, be they fey or human. Just a thought.
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