Reading Notes : Saints and Animals, Part B

Content wise, part B of this reading was not as interesting to me as part A. Like the first half of the reading, it was very much focused on the human wandering and willingly offering themselves to suffering. In each story I read, the human faced trials with nature, which the animals helped them with. One thing that I found really interesting was that while some saints chose to wander for a long time or a very difficult location to call home, others would have fine houses and cloaks. The differences in practice were very interesting; Saint Francis would barely eat and would not even touch money, but Saint Ailbe had a princess as an adopted mother and lived comfortably. Still, each one was described as having a very pure soul and morally upright in every way.

Another thing that was interesting is that these stories defy normal scientific fiendings, like Saint Ailbe being rescued from the wolf pack but being able to grow up like a normal person. As a person of science, this is the biggest thing I had a problem with, but as a lover of fantasy and animal side kicks, I was totally okay with him being friends with the wolves later. There isn't much more that stood out to me, as part A had more elements that I would be interested in. I don't think I would describe the relationship between humans and animals as harmoniously as Brown does. Just as I don't believe humans can be as good as the saints described, animals also have their own emotions and instincts and can't be easily tamed, which makes them such an interesting and volatile component to have.

Image Details: Artic Wolf; source: flickr

The Book of Saints and Beasts. Abbie Farewell Brown. 1900. Web Source.

Comments

My Favorite Place...Practically Perfect In Every Way

I have been flying all over the world since I was young, much in part because none of my extended family lives in the United States. As I got older, my excursions got further and futher from East/Southeast Asia and began creeping into the riches of Europe, and whan incredible joy it has been. Throughout my time in Italy, Spain, Germany, etc., I kept retuning to the United Kingdom. London is truly one of the most beautiful and energetic cities I have been to. It is rich with history and culture, making Oklahoma pale in comparison. I have always preferred large cities to the mundane country life, and there is nowhere I'd rather enjoy my years than in the United Kingdom. Image Details: London at Twilight, source: Geograph What better place to feel the pulse of the city than at Piccadilly Circus? (on one side you can see some amazing architecture, and on the other the large electronic billboards always flashing their lights to the busy patrons be...

Reading Notes : Hans Christian Andersen, Part B

ANOTHER FAVORITE. The Little Mermaid is such a classic, and the original slaps. I guess I am old and beaten down now, but this version is my new favorite. The Disney version will always have a special place in my heart and be a part of my childhood, but his original version is so poetic. It is definitely more my style; it leaves an impression when the heroine doesn't get to live happily ever after, which is okay too! The world Hans Christian Andersen weaves is glorious . I could feel the mermaid's pain, urgency, and suffocating need to love and be loved. This is a story that will never get old, part of it due to how beautifully it is written. One of my favorite parts is when he describes the five older sisters and the things they experienced going to the surface for the first time. The scenes he paints makes me feel like I am experiencing those beautiful landscapes for the first time, too. Often time mermaids are fantasized, and it was interesting seeing it from the other per...

Reading Notes : Ovid's Metamorphoses Part B

For Part B of Ovid's Metamorphoses , the stories that interested me most were the ones about Narcissus and Pyramus and Thisbe . What attracted me to these in particular was the tragic endings that befell the characters, one out of pure love and one out of vain infatuation. After reading them together, it is hard to not compare the two. In both, I could understand (but not relate) to the intesity of each person's emotions, which ultimately caused everyone's untimely death. Both stories were not afraid to use the extreme end of the dramatic spectrum to describe the depth of feelings. I like this technique; there is no wishy-washiness and the reader is very clear at where each character stands. Part of this is because the characters take out their emotions on their own bodies, and the consequence is clear. When Narcissus cannot embrace his own appearance, he beats his own chest and bruises his marble-like body. Pyramus, after finding Thisbe's bloody scarf, stabs him...

Mythology and Folklore

Search This Blog