tricksteresses
kslater
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We had a Church dinner a few evenings ago and i raised the question of
tricksters and female tricksters. It prooved to be a popular topic for
discussion. It is interesting that one person brought up Morgan le Fay,
and said that her last name means "Fairy". The suggestion was made that
fairys or at least many of them are female tricksters. I asked about
Spenser's "Fairy Queen", but no one at the dinner knew much aboout this
story. Can any one comment on the relavance of this story to female
tricksters? The other issue which seems to have not generated much
discussion is what are the primary attributes of a trickster. I argued
that the main thing was that the trickster created a sitiuation in which
the "victim" was led to believe a certain state affairs existed or was
true etc., but instead the opposite was true. However this in itself
was not quite sufficient, as the climax of the story must in some way be
ironic (argued for the ironic part less passionately).
Lowell Dabbs
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K Slater defines the trickster as one who creates a situation in which
the victim is led to believe something that was not true, rather the
opposite. Spenser's "Fairy Queen" was mentioned as a candidate for
female trickster.
Spenser wrote an epic of incredibly involved allegory about virtue,
English politics, and church doctrines. He called it "The Faerie
Queene" in recognition of Queen Elizabeth. The Queene seems to represent
Glory, Vertue, and Beauty, and these qualities appear in several guises.
There is a character called "Duessa" who practises "multiplicity," and
the Whore of Babylon, the Scarlet Woman, and the Church of Rome. We are
free to make of her what we will.
So I don't think the Faerie Queene of Spenser's work is a trickster.
But she is well worth studying for the virtues she represents.
Lowell
_____________________
Old Engish teachers never die. They just go into a comma.
Sherna Comerford
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kslater said:
...
The other issue which seems to have not generated much
>discussion is what are the primary attributes of a trickster. I argued
>that the main thing was that the trickster created a sitiuation in which
>the "victim" was led to believe a certain state affairs existed or was
>true etc., but instead the opposite was true. However this in itself
>was not quite sufficient, as the climax of the story must in some way be
>ironic (argued for the ironic part less passionately).
A trickster satisfies our primal urge to rebel against authority (which
includes generally accepted moral codes.) It comes out of the same
traditions and needs as April Fools Day, and the King's fool. Trickster
stories are a way of blowing off steam against society in a socially
accepted way.
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