|
Author
|
Comment
|
unregistered
Unregistered User
(11/27/05 10:49 pm)
|
Where is the wolf?
I'm doing a study on the character of the wolf in fairytales, films etc. I've looked at Angela Carter, and a few different childrens books, particularly versions of LLRH and the three little pigs. Any other suggestions?
|
princessterribel
Registered User
(11/28/05 3:13 am)
|
Re: Where is the wolf?
2 suggestions: You may want to look at the satiricle role of the wolf in both the Shrek films also the new film Thr Brothers Grimm that was released recently features the wolf quite a lot...the one with Heath ledger. As for fairy tales, I'm afraid I am only aware of those two.
|
Northerner4me
Registered User
(11/28/05 4:51 am)
|
Re: Where is the wolf?
There are bound to be a few wolf stories scattered around. There's one in this anthology, "A Twist in the Tail", called "The Wolf Who Loved Sheep".
www.powells.com/cgi-bin/b...59466:5.98
Also if you do a search for wolf stories in google you will find more stories on a variety of sites.
www.wolfcountry.net/stories/
Edited by: Northerner4me at: 11/28/05 5:06 am
|
Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(11/28/05 11:24 am)
|
wolves
Have you looked at the history of werewolf films? Starting with the first werewolf horror movies (with Lon Chaney Jr.) and going up to the recent Canadian movies that are so interesting (Ginger Snaps, Dog Soldiers, Blood Moon). A lot of them play with fairy-tale tropes, and they're all really fascinating.
|
Crceres
Registered User
(11/28/05 2:13 pm)
|
Re: wolves
If you want to branch out from the big bad wolf of LRRH and the 3 little pigs, you might look at some Scandinavian and Russian stories. In the Blue Falcon (and variations) the wolf helps the prince when his horse dies and he kindly allows the starving wolf to eat it.
|
AliceCEB
Registered User
(11/28/05 2:20 pm)
|
Re: wolves
The wolf is also a recurring character in Brer Rabbit stories: usually somewhat plodding, but also dangerous.
Best,
Alice
|
bielie
Unregistered User
(11/28/05 2:36 pm)
|
Jackal and Wolf
The wolf is always the jackal's antagonist in South African Dutch tales. He is always the victim of Jackal's tricks.
|
BlueWolf
Unregistered User
(11/29/05 9:16 pm)
|
reply
The Wolf and the 7 Kids (or goats or sheep, depending on the telling) is another good wolf related fairy tale.
|
avalondeb
Registered User
(11/29/05 9:31 pm)
|
Re: reply
I always found it interesting that the "Wolf" and the "Narrator" roles in the play "Into The Woods" are played by the same actor. So essentially, the Wolf is in charge.....
|
Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(11/29/05 10:47 pm)
|
wolves
If you're interested in myth, you could look at the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a wolf when young--which is especially interesting when you know that the word for "wolf" in Latin was also a slang term for prostitute.
|
Mirjana1
Registered User
(11/30/05 1:10 am)
|
Re: wolves
I know this may sound trivial, but I was thinking about the role of a wolf in fairy tales just the other day when I ended up in a local zoo. They had a pack of wolves in one section, and suddenly, for no reason, they all started howling. It froze blood in my veins! All I could think of is how much worse that sounds in a stormy night, for children tucked in bed in some log cabin.
On another occasion, I saw taxidermy exhibition, and they had a wolf - and I tell you, it is bigger than any dog you can imagine, including great Dane! It is a really, really big animal, and it is no wonder it ended up being such a scary character in most stories, particularly in Europe, where it was, after the bear, the most dangerous animal. However, bears hibernate during the winter, so it was wolf that stole sheep and other cattle and instilled fear in story tellers of the time.
As I said, not an opinion of an expert in fairy tales, but we are so far removed from the actual animal, we forgot it is really, really scary. :-)
|
AliceCEB
Registered User
(11/30/05 8:39 am)
|
Re: wolves
That description reminded me of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf"--Peter's light childhood bravery, and the ominous sound of the wolf approaching. Brrr....
|
Chris Peltier
Registered User
(11/30/05 12:03 pm)
|
Re: wolves
In Greek mythology, the god Apollo was associated with the wolf, and had the surname "Lukogenes", "born of the wolf". Apparently his mother, Leto, encountered a wolf while she was pregnant, and some vital essence of the wolf passed to her.
In Athens, the land surrounding Apollo's temple was called "Lukeion", the "Lyceum" or school, and literally meant "the wolf's skin". This is where Aristotle taught philosophy.
|
Mirjana1
Registered User
(11/30/05 12:18 pm)
|
Re: wolves
To add to my previous message:
Wolf in European cultures has very prominent spot and huge significance. It was THE animal to fear and one that caused most losses in cattle, so important to villagers.
In Serbia, where I am from, wolves were so aggressive and caused so much grief that post war communist government in forties gave a prize for every wolf killed, which of course, caused them to be almost extinct (wolves, not the government!). They were present mostly in mountain areas, where villagers had large flocks of sheep , and depended on the sheep as most important animal in their survival. A pack of wolves could kill half a flock in one night attack, devastating the household.
Names that originate from the word wolf are very common in Serbian culture. One of the most prominent historical figures in Serbian culture, Vuk Karadzic, got his name (that literary means wolf) as his parents lost many children before him to illnesses, so they thought by naming him Vuk (wolf), he will assume the strength and resilience of the animal itself. The interesting thing is that Vuk grew up to be the reformer of Serbian literacy, and he spend whole his life collecting folk stories, that today represent the unsurpassed collection of Serbian fairy tales and folk stories. Today "Vuk" is one of the most common names in Serbia.
Some of the names in Serbian culture that originate from word vuk (wolf) are:
Male names:
Vuk, Vukoje, Vukashin, Vukosav, Vuskoslav, Vuchidar, Vukadin, Vukomir, etc
Female names:
Vukosava, Vukoslava, Vuka
Last names:
Vukojevic, Vukic, Vuchichevic, Vukobratovic, Vuchenovic, Vukomirovic, Vukovic, Vukadinovic, and many more
Names of the villages/towns:
Vukovar, Vukovo, Vuchji Dol
Another interesting thing is that on one of the mountains where
wolves were common, Shar-Planina, the villagers breed a dog specifically
to defend the flock. This dog, shar-planinac, is very similar in
size and built to the new foundlander (which measn it is huge),
but the fur colour is sandy with black tips. It is a vicious breed,
aggressive and extremely protective, and until recently was the
only internationally recognized breed originated in Serbia. Today
it is a junk yard dog, and often times supplements for bit-bulls
and other aggressive breeds. It is listed as a dog inappropriate
for children. (see more on www.ahhc.at/sarplaninac.html
Back to the wolf:
Many are sayings and references to wolves in European cultures. "Lupus in fabula" ("wolf in a fable") a Latin proverb translated as "Speaking about the devil…".
Serbian proverb "Wolf changes coats, but not its nature" refers to people who may appear as if they’ve changed but it is a deceit.
In mythology: it was a she-wolf that raised Romulus and Remus, the founders of Ancient Rome.
In Serbian folk tales, wolf does not take a very prominent spot, not that I can remember, but I have a book at home and I can check out on that. However, I do recall many novels written in 19 and early 20 century that used wolves as motif, usually as a tragic end to someone lost in the forest (one story talks about a forbidden love between two young people; they were suppose to meet secretly but he got attacked by wolves and all she found was a hand; she died when she saw it).
Other continental European cultures had very similar experiences with wolves and they most likely saw it as a biggest danger "out in the bush", and they also used the word for personal names (Wolfgang Amadeus?)
I hope this gives you some social background for the reason why wolves have such prominence in European fairy tales. I myself always wondered why is it so scary, but as I said, once you see how big it is, and how scary it sounds, you can imagine how much was it feared when it was widely present.
Edited by: Mirjana1 at: 12/1/05 10:29 pm
|
Chris Peltier
Registered User
(11/30/05 12:54 pm)
|
Re: wolves
Wolf symbology is a bit of a mixed bag - early Christian symbolists associated all manner of vices with the wolf: anger, gluttony, rapacity, and heresy. In ancient Rome, the female wolf signfied the worst type of prostitute. Dante would later represent "concupiscence of the flesh" as a female wolf.
On the other hand, ancient northern cultures pictured the wolf as a creature of light. Odin had two wolf companions, Geri and Freki. In the hunting traditions of the Middle Ages, the wolf was praised for being a highly intelligent creature that faced death stoically. Writing in 1568, du Fouilleux wrote, "Wolves do not complain, as dogs do, when they are killed."
Because of the wolf's association with Sun-Apollo, Christ was sometimes portrayed in illuminated manuscripts as a wolf. This is truly ironic, since Christ noted in His parable of the Good Shepherd that the wolf is the enemy of His spiritual flock.
Poor Wolfy.
|
Eien
Unregistered User
(11/30/05 7:34 pm)
|
Re: wolves
In Japanese mythology, the wolf is sometimes associated with the sun goddess Amaterasu.
|
faeryfriend
Registered User
(11/30/05 10:34 pm)
|
wolves
I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but Patricia McKillip wrote a beautiful novel called The Book of Atrix Wolfe which has some interesting mythic themes. The wolf in this case is a shapeshifting wizard who often takes wolf form. It also explores the good old themes of faery abduction and the power of love to break spells, etc.
It may or may not help in your research but I'd recommend reading it anyway.
Also, the movie Neverending Story has a scary black wolf in it, an agent of the nothing that's eating up ... was it Fantasia? Or something like that, haven't seen it in years.
Orcs ride wolves in some parts of the Lord of the Rings books, I believe (trusting my poor memory here, so I'm not sure if I'm right about this one.
|
Eien
Unregistered User
(12/1/05 12:59 am)
|
Wargs
The creature from The Lord of the Rings is called a warg. Wolf-like in appearence, but much, much bigger.
And yes, it was called Fantasia. I really need to pick up the book and read the whole book through. The movie, as it turns out, only covers the first half of the novel, and the second movie is its own story, instead of adapting the second half of the book.
On topic, while not a book, there's a beutiful animated series called Wolf's Rain that features wolves who can disquise themselves as humans, and are look for Paradise as the world around them ends.
|
winkamon
Registered User
(12/1/05 3:33 pm)
|
Re: Where is the wolf?
I'm English, and there are quite a few fairy tales featuring foxes, e.g. The Little Red Hen (where the fox is the predator). This might be a varient on the wolf character, as wolves died out in England. Foxes are seen as a massive threat to farmers here, and the whole culture of fox hunting is seen as an English tradition. It has now been outlawed (very controversially) quite recently. I wonder if the fox is an English version of the wolf. I've seen foxes and they're like skinny little dogs, so aren't really threatening in the big bad wolf sense, but they are threatening to British farmers as they like to gobble up their livelyhood! Anyhow; toffs on horses chasing little scrawny foxes with a pack of dogs for fun is not cool.
Just thought - what about The Boy Who Cried Wolf?!
Winky
|
Veronica Schanoes
Registered User
(12/1/05 3:46 pm)
|
wolves
That Neverending story wolf sounds like the big black wolf who eats the sun at Ragnarok, the Norse end of the world.
|
cammykitty
Registered User
(12/1/05 4:17 pm)
|
Re: wolves
mmm foxes seem very different to me - clever - reynardine/bluebeard - dangerous, but not pure brawn I'm going to come and eat you up wolf-like - it's an interesting comparison though.
And I just found an odd wolf AND fox story called Strange Musician on this site
www.surlalunefairytales.c...ician.html
Although I must say, I'm bummed that the wolf didn't get the musician in this story. Sometimes the wolf should win.
|
|
