Author Archives: Leon Alvarez

Week 5: The Great Old Hunter

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After having read “The Great Old Hunter”, I was seeing a different angle on other “things” and “creatures”, as mentioned in the story, and connecting them to the rest of the readings we’ve done. Particularly relating to sirens last week. From my understanding after having close read the texts, it seems as though the Sirens of war have served as a way to see into the future, or see the inevitable outcome of war for man, which is death. In someways, any catastrophes involving a siren and man at sea could simply be viewed as a dark favor by putting man out of ones misery prior to experiencing death involved in a war. In the reading for “The Great Old Hunter” however, the aviary creatures found within the forest of Broceliande, “[…] in the talons of a hawk on a golden perch, the Code of Love was to be found” (Pg. 12). This approach of the falcon/hawk is different than the ones of the sirens who attempt to lure men with their voice and beauty, or their alerts on war.

In this story however, it seems that man has the ability to question and be open to other voices, including their own, not fearing the unknown, “[…] men identified with things that could lead them further into the unknown; they sought in all directions the extensions of their physical and spiritual power. So they believed and so they lived, sure of themselves and strong at one moment, at the next deflated and weak[…]”(Pg. 12), this being so unlike the men on the ship in the Odyssey fearing a shipwreck, and too scared to listen to the sirens. It seems as though theres been a shift in the way the unknown is viewed and the way aviary creatures serve their purpose to man. In this case, they can be beneficial while taming the, “Fine proud heraldic and handsome, noble rulers of the sky[…]” (Pg. 13), yet another change from before. One in which I believe is a great shift.

Week 4: Interpreting Bodies of Water and Everything in Between

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After reading Steve Mentz, “A Poetics of Planetary Water: The Blue Humanities after John Gillis”, I was lead to believe that nearly any body of water from, “…oceans to include rivers, lakes, glaciers, and many other forms of water”, as well as other planetary features, are open to interpretations of any kind. While the text was heavy with neologisms, one takeaway was the way in which the sea is a deep void where stories can brew and be created as Salman Rushdie was quoted the ocean being a, “Sea of stories”. When you think about it there was not only an infinite amount of stories that are also left untold. When the text went on to include glaciers as a different form of body of water, I began to think of the story unfolding relating to that. Glaciers melting, possible new bodies of water forming, what other forms of literature will stem from that into oceanic, or blue scholarship. One question sparking my interest, why new genre will stem from the stories revolving around the melting ice caps? This seems like more of an unfortunate reality, than fiction.

The duality between the ocean being a place of mystery and endeavoring literary journeys, “A poetics that emerges from an encounter with alienating water always relates itself to the awkward relationship of humans and water; we depend upon it and love it, but it cannot be our home”. Similar to what we have been reading lately relating to Merpeople, humanity sees the ocean as a riveting place, yet fears it as much as we do mythical sea creatures. The best we can do at times is simply write about it. Reading between the lines, almost like you’re reading between waves of the sea, like attempting to make sense the the shapes of the clouds. Worth nothing, clouds are an extension of the bodies of water as noted within the text, “[…] take my cue from a famous exchange in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The prince, in mockery and in jest, attempts to interpret clouds”, giving us insight on how bodies of water have been a peak of interest for centuries.

Week 3: The Penguin Book of Mermaids

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In the introduction to The Penguin Book of Mermaids, I found the duality between our curiosity surrounding mermaids, and our fearing the unknown to be interesting. The first story alone that we are introduced, Lorelei’s Tale, is a testament to this. A beautiful maiden who is betrayed, accused of being a witch (shocker), and decided to kill herself in a strong act of love, is then turned into a cautionary tale to warn men of the alluring echos coming from that cliff. Couldn’t Lorelei just do this act in peace without it being turned into a tale portraying her as a “villain” mermaid attempting to kill men? It was bad enough already that she was betrayed, let alone took her own life. While this may be all fiction, and Lorelei may have never existed, the fear surrounding the tale seems to directly play into the fear of unknown, sparking curiosity. Almost as though curiosity is what drowned the cat. Man may be lured, but they took the steps to get themselves drowned.

Besides the fear mongering that surrounds mermaids, their habitat alone also sparks even more curiosity. The fact that we do not know what 90% or more of what the ocean looks like, and inhabits, only adds to this narrative. If say mermaid were purely fictional, and were only created for the sole purpose to serve as a cautionary tale, their natural habitat being the ocean was a nice touch. As the text perfected stated, “[…] the human-fish or human-snake hybrid is all the more a monster because its element is water, which is both a life source and a mystery that humans are transported by but cannot fully inhabit”. Think about it, if there was a way for humans to inhabit the ocean, you best believe that humans would take whatever infrastructure, resources, and systems merpeople have in place, and no longer fear them. Humans, or man, are really the enemy. Not the merpeople. Again, circling back to Lorelei, she may have simply been misunderstood and was grieving, but in turn she was labeled a witch, maybe could have also been called a “harlot”, as sirens were once labeled as well.

Week 2: History via Mermaids

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After reading the introduction to to Merpeople, I can say with confidence that I 100% believe in mermaids. I didn’t think that this soon into the semester, and into this class, this would be my stance on it, but I believe it. The thing that stood out to me the most was how several different cultures and religions have had their own versions and takes on merpeople, and what purpose they serve their views. From the Babylonians, to the Greeks, and inevitably, to Christians, there is a different version of merpeople. I was’t surprised to learn that Christian’s in a sense embraced the more exotic and “dangerous” side of mermaids. The way that they were portrayed as a lesson to their followers about the dangerous of love and lust is very telling. As I was reading, I couldn’t help but think of the phrase, “There is no other love like Christian hate”. Not to say or generalize that this is how Christians are, but at least at this point in history it is a direct reflection of how society was within a Christian context.

Seeing the images of sculptures and art work of mermaids within Christian worshiping spaces from the Medieval period was quite shocking as well. My own family was not very religious, although I did grow up Catholic, but I honestly wouldn’t have ever guessed that they would be portrayed in these kinds of spaces. Given that not a lot of people were able to read either during this time period, and would rely on descriptive images, I can imagine how the concept of merpeople existing was normalized like, “Oh yeah, I saw this sculpture of a mermaid in my church last week. This must mean that they exist because why would I question Christianity?” Aside from these images that I found shocking, I also had an interesting thought about how mermaids could be represented in modern day society under Medieval Christian context; Mermaids were the first feminists. Under the perspective that Christianity attempted to portray mermaids, they were here to bring the destruction of man through the inevitable lust for love, given that they were very beautiful. Not only that, but the way they were suggestive with their tail openings exposing their genital area, and being topless, this seems like a body/sex positive being. How ‘dangerous’ can they really be?