Famous Last Words: Week 2

The first week of the Spring semester of 2015 is in the books, and it looks like it is going to be a busy one. While I’m taking classes that are rather commonplace and familiar to me (i.e. Genetics and Physical Chemistry II), I am also enrolled in an Honors Colloquium called “The Cognitive Science of Fiction”. This class seems like it will be very interesting, and while I will enjoy listening to the conversations in the class, everyone is supposed to contribute to class discussions. I do not like talking in front of people.

Anyways, the most novel part of this semester for me is actually this class. I have never taken an online class before, so all of this is very new and different to me. I have never used google as anything other than a search engine. I have never used pinterest. I have never even read a blog post before this class. All of that seems to be coming along pretty well though. What I’m struggling with is exactly how I am scheduling the time I spend on this class with other classes. A lot of that is probably just because I still don’t know how much time I need to devote to my other classes either. Hopefully by the end of next week I’ll be more comfortable in this situation. Change is hard.

I am looking forward to the three day weekend. I plan to relax, watch a ton of netflix, and maybe get a little further ahead in this class (but I can already hear netflix calling me, so maybe not). I also am looking forward to the Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State basketball game tomorrow night and the NFC/AFC championship games on sunday. I really enjoy getting to go and watch the basketball games in the Lloyd Noble Center.

(Image Information: Inside the Lloyd Noble
Center Web Source: Sooner Sports)

MythFolk Topics Brainstorm

Common Women in Greek Mythology

Comments:

Having read Ovid’s Metamorphoses (books 1-4) I can already see that women are a key component to nearly every story. What is interesting is that, though they are vital to the story, they hold little to no power over their fate.

Possible Stories:

With plenty to choose from in all three parts of Metamorphoses. Anything that includes a mortal women should work well.

Sample Story Comments:

In books 1-4 od Metamorphoses, there is a story about a girl who is violated by Jupiter, then turned into a heifer for her protection, then taken prisoner by Juno, until she is saved and finally restored to a human.

Bibliography:

“Io” from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline; Web Source: Poetry in Translation

Smarts in Brer Rabbit

Comments:

Knowing that I plan on reading Brer Rabbit later this semester I did a little research and found that Brer Rabbit often uses his intelligence to get him into and out of situations. This may be something that recurs in all the stories.

Possible Stories:

I can use any of the stories from the Un-textbook from Brer Rabbit I, II or any other stories I may come across while searching around on the internet.

Sample Story Comments:

In the sample story, Brer Rabbit is fooled by Brer Fox. Brer Fox wisely uses a tar doll to entrap Brer Rabbit, and Brer Rabbit never suspects a thing.

Bibliography:

“The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story” from Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings, by Joel Chandler Harris (1881).

Religion in the Canterbury Tales

Comments:

I have always wanted to read the Canterbury Tales but have never been able to find the time, so I am greatly looking forward to reading it later in the semester. After doing a little online research, it seems that the role religion plays in many of the stories is a very interesting topic to follow throughout.

Possible Stories:

Any of the Canterbury Tales in the Un-textbook or online that include a religious/clerical figure. Specifically focusing on how the character is portrayed and how the character acts.

Sample Story Comments:

This is the story of a young Christian boy named Hugh. Thanks to his mother, Hugh had a deep love for Christ from a young age and was so passionate that he learned a song the older kids were singing, O Alma Redemptoris. This upset Satan, and so he had an “evil” Jew slit the boys throat. But even with his throat slit, thanks to holy powers, he was able to continue to sing until it was his time to join his maker.

Bibliography:

“The Prioress’s Tale: Little Hugh” from The Chaucer Story Book, by Eva March Tappan (1908)

Animal Tendencies in the Tales of Bidpai

Comments:

Only knowing that I plan to read the Tales of Bidpai later this semester, I did yet another search to try and find out a little bit more. The use of animals in these tales is so prevalent that it could be something very interesting to track the tendencies of certain animals and if they may play the same role in different stories.

Possible Stories:

Nearly all of the Tales of Bidpai in the Un-textbook have animals and most of the animals are used in more than one story.

Sample Story Comments:

The story had a thin cat who wanted what a fat cat had; unfortunately, she was so blinded by her greed for more food that she didn’t see the hands that would kill her right behind her.

Bibliography:

“The Lean Cat and the Fat Cat” from The Tortoise and the Geese and other Tales of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton, with illustrations by E. Boyd Smith (1908).

(Image Information: My fat cat in her royal kitchen;
a personal photo from July 2014)

Essay: Women's Woes in Metapmorphoses

(Image Information: Jupiter and Semele by
Gustave Moreau (1895); Web Source: Art Magick)

Women had it all. Women had nothing. Women showed bravery. Women showed fear. In Ovid's Metamorphoses (books 1-4) there were women of varying personalities and situations; however, no matter what characteristics they had, they were subject to a higher power. None of them were strong enough or smart enough to outwit the gods, who always decided their fate.

Io, Callisto, and Semele were all women who were raped by Jupiter because of their immense beauty and appeal to the king of the gods. They had no say in the matter and were often deceived by Jupiter so that he could have his way with them. Afterwards, the girls would feel a great sense of shame, but this shame would stay with them for at least nine months as they carried one of Jupiter’s bastards. It was only a matter of time before Juno would discover her husband’s infidelities and take revenge on the women. Io was raped and transformed into a heifer by Jupiter, taken prisoner by Juno, and eventually left alone and returned to human form. This sparing, due to a lot of pleading by Jupiter, is very similar to Jupiter changing Callisto and her son, Arcas, into constellations before Arcas shoots down his mother. In this story, it is Juno that changes Callisto into a bear. Semele is not as fortunate as the other two, and Juno tricks her into walking right into her own death.

Then, there was the brave nymph. While other nymphs were having relationships with Jupiter, Juno would come looking to punish them. Everytime she would appear, so would Echo, and Echo would use an endless stream of conversation so that the other nymphs could flee and not be found with Jupiter. This constant deception lead to Juno’s decision to punish Echo, leaving her unable to create her own words. Because Echo could only repeat the words she heard, when she saw beautiful Narcissus, she was unable to appeal to him. Still to this day she lives in nature, often repeating what she hears.

As for a typical women, look no further than the story of Perseus and Andromeda. Andromeda was the daughter of Cassiopeia and was doomed by her mother’s words to be sacrificed to the sea monster. Andromeda was beautiful, but she was no more than that. When Perseus passed by her he thought she was so beautiful that he decided to save her in exchange for her hand, terms which the king and queen accepted immediately. Andromeda screamed in fear of the monster, and after being saved, was enamored by her hero.

Women (mortal women) came from a variety of backgrounds in this unit, but one thing seemed to remain consistent. These women did not hold any power over their own lives. They were subordinates to stronger men or gods, and it was these superiors who held the women’s fates in their hands.

Storytelling Week 2: Ca(t)llisto

There was a great following of Diana, goddess of the hunt. Those who followed her devoted their lives to serving her. They abstained from not only from sex but from the other sex entirely. They dressed very plain and made no attempt to draw any attention to themselves, fearing that they may scare away their prey if they did.

One day, Jupiter, while surveying Earth and its inhabitants, caught a glimpse of one particular girl deep in the woods. Her name was Callisto. Jupiter noticed right away that the girl was a follower of Diana, so he devised a scheme to get her. He decided that he would disguise himself as a deer and, knowing Callisto would follow him, planned to lead her deep into the vast wilderness where Juno could not find him.

So Jupiter turned himself into a beautiful deer and successfully lured Callisto away. He then transformed into a human, and explained to Callisto who he was. Callisto, still in shock from what she had just seen, was powerless to the great Jupiter. She knew that she was tainted and that, sooner or later, Diana would find out.

What never crossed Callisto's mind was Jove’s wife. Jupiter believed that he had been out of Juno’s scope, but Juno, knowing the tendencies and infidelities of her husband, sensed something was happening and tracked Jupiter, seeing everything that happened. Foreseeing that Callisto would be giving birth to a boy in nine months, Juno decided that waiting and being shamed by Diana would be a worse fate than whatever she would do.

Callisto, after several months, could no longer conceal from Diana what she was carrying in her womb. Diana, seeing the curve of Callisto's abdomen, berated her and exclaimed that she must leave and be alone so that she does not bother anyone else with her infidelities.

Time passed and Callisto gave birth to a bastard, Arcas. Although Juno had previously restrained herself, this straw broke her back, and, overcome with rage, she turned Callisto into a cat. Callisto, realizing what had happened after seeing her reflection in a pool of water, let out a curdling groan.

Although a cat, she still had her memory and emotions, so Callisto went looking for her son. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months to years until finally Callisto found Arcas laying under a large tree. She slowly approached him and rubbed her face on his breast, purring feverishly. Arcas felt a connection to the cat and returned the favor, petting the cat until the great Sun had finished his duty for the day. When the day ended, Arcas headed home, but not before turning around and giving the cat one last kiss on the the top of her head. He thought he saw a tear roll down her cheek as he turned around for the final time.

(Image Information: A very sad cat; Web Source: quotes.lol-rofl)

Author’s Note: This is a version of Ovid’s Callisto. In the original story, Callisto is a nymph who serves Artemis. One day, Zeus sees her beauty and rapes her. Pregnant, Callisto cannot conceal her shame any longer and is banished from being with the other nymphs anymore. Disgraced, she lives alone until Hera exacts her revenge for bearing Zeus's bastard. Hera turns Callisto into a bear. Then, one day, her bastard son, Arcas, sees her in the wild. Before he drives his arrow unit his mother's bosom, Zeus stops them and turns them both into constellations in the sky.
Instead of Callisto being changed into a bear, and then Arcas hunting her but Jupiter stopping them and turning the two into constellations, I had Juno change her into a cat because cats rule meow. Also, the ending is happier because they both live, but also much sadder because they cannot end up together.

“Callisto” from a translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses translated by Tony Kline. Web Source: Poetry in Translation

Reading Diary B: Ovid (pt. I)

Here are some notes on Ovid (pt. I).

Echo

I could read this story a thousand times over. I thoroughly enjoy the stories where people are immortalized by their name. Specifically in the story of Echo I like that Narcissus rejects her (and ends up getting his own eventually) and Echo just disappears into the Earth and repeats what others say. The story gives life to nature, and I find that very interesting.

Perseus and Andromeda

Having seen the original, claymated Clash of the Titans about one-hundred times as a kid, I greatly enjoy reading everything that has to do with Perseus. Perseus refuses to be defeated; he even turns the mighty Atlas to stone. Then, as most great heroes do, he finds a beautiful women (Andromeda) and plans to win her love. His task, that he performs successfully, is to save her life by defeating the sea monster that she is being sacrificed to.

Perseus and Medusa

After killing the sea monster using his intelligence and power, Perseus sets down Medusa’s head on the shore. This leads to an interesting side story about coral. According to Ovid, coral comes from the plants that Perseus used as a blanket for Medusa’s head to rest on the beach. While the plants were alive and fluid in the water, once they made contact with Medusa’s head, they turned to stone. Also, in the end you feel sorry for Medusa’s fate. She, like Io and others, was simply a beautiful woman who was violated by the gods and punished for being violated.

(Image Information: Perseus holding the Gorgon's head;
Painted by Luca Giordano in the early 1680's; Web Source:
National Gallery)

Reading Diary A: Ovid (pt. I)

Here are some notes on Ovid (pt. I).

Phaethon and the Sun and Phaethon's Ride

I enjoyed the stories about Phaethon. His desire to be recognized as a god was so great that, after traveling to see the Sun and being offered anything, he wanted only to prove his immortality. Despite his father's pleads, Phaethon boyishly and stubbornly continued to request that he ride his father's chariot for one day. His hubris, or better his childish ambition, appears to be leading to his ultimate demise. As he "rides", he destroys nearly everything in his path, and although Phaethon is the one who actually did these terrible things, it is the Sun who is responsible for his son.

The Death of Phaethon

The third and final part of the Phaethon trilogy begins with Phaethon being killed by Jupiter. But what was interesting about this final part was the aftermath. Those who devoted themselves to mourning the loss of Phaethon were punished. The sister’s were transformed into poplar trees, and Cycnus was transformed into the first swan (see quote below). Only the Sun was able to mourn and then return to work.

“Remembering the lightning bolt the god in his severity had hurled. He looked for standing water, and open lakes hating fire, choosing to live in floods rather than flames.”

(Image Information: Fall of Phaethon by Sebastiano
Ricci in the early 18th Century; Web Source Wikimedia)

Callisto

Besides all the normal junk, Jupiter rapes, victim gets pregnant and gives birth to a son, and Juno gets mad (blah, blah, blah), the ending of this story was actually nice. For Jupiter to show mercy by stopping Arcas from killing Callisto (his mother) and immortalizing them as constellations was a nice twist at the end.

Semele

Again. Rape leads to baby, baby leads to jealousy, jealousy leads to death. But it is interesting to note that the infant is Bacchus and that Semele, the mortal, is fooled by Juno to walk into her own death.