Reading Notes: Women Saints, Part B

After finishing the second half of the reading from the Golden Legends, I am extremely curious as to whether women frequently disguised themselves as men and became monks in the Middle Ages, as this theme appears in several stories from both halves. The phenomenon is especially intriguing to me because I would have assumed they could have just joined abbeys as nuns, though I suppose this would not have served as well as a disguise, nor would it have set the stage for the accusation of sexual immorality as well. 

This set of stories contained more adventures and less torture, which was nice. However, I do not think they delved as deeply into the women's psyches as the previous stories. So with an eye towards the retelling, I think it would be interesting to take a first person perspective and look more deeply into their motivations for say, becoming a monk, or their feelings as they attempted to convert people or slew dragons. I am familiar with Martha from the Bible, which would give me additional background to draw upon for her emotions and character. I like the team element of Daria's story. Even though her husband originally converted her, afterwards they worked as equals and partners in their mission. As for Cecilia, I would like to delve into what she was thinking while she preached half dead with her head partially severed. 

Another possibility, as mentioned in part A, would be to explore another figure's role. In Theodora's story, her husband is a likeable character, and the child she assumes responsibility for plays a larger role than in some of the similar stories. I was glad to know something of what happened to the child after the father/mother's death. Likewise, if I were to modernize a story, I think it would be Theodora's. I would be particularly interested in looking at battling demons in a modern context. 

Tarasque. Web Source: Je vois la vie en rose.

Bibliography: Voragine's The Golden Legend, link to the reading online.

Reading Notes: Women Saints, Part A

The stories of women saints from the Golden Legend are a striking combination of violence and innocence. In the first section, almost all of them lack worldly power, but gain some kind of agency as they hold on to their beliefs in the face of intense persecution. They are mostly young and unmarried, generally under the control of a father or husband. But through their perseverance they gain power over men, primarily to convert them, and even over the devil himself.

One of the most interesting things about these stories in general is the tone in which they are written. The violence and torture that these women undergo is described rather graphically, with a child's brains spilling onto the ground and marrow coming out of broken bones. Despite the pain, the tone still maintains a type of innocence or naivete. that seems almost paradoxical. Although the women suffer physically, they remain spiritually untouched. Because of this, the constant torture and death does not render these stories tragedies, but rather a sort of triumph.

As far as specific stories go, I am curious about Marine. Since she valued her obedience and purity, why did she confess to a sin she did not commit? The only benefit I can see is that the child was brought up in a monastery with someone who would care for them well. Mary of Egypt differs from the others both in that she does not begin her life as a steadfast believer and in that her travails are ascetic and self-inflicted.

Marine the Monk. Web Source: St. Takla. 

While I enjoyed the archaic language of these stories, I think I will have to use more modern language in my retelling. I'm less sure whether I can replicate the tone of the stories that I mentioned earlier. One possibility would be to retell them from another figure's point of view, possibly the torturer or the hangman in Margaret's story.

Bibliography: Voragine's The Golden Legend, link to the reading online.

Feedback Thoughts

I really appreciate feedback, both positive and negative. I find it very helpful in either making sure I am on the right track with my work or if there is something I can improve. In general I think I'm pretty good at receiving and incorporating constructive criticism. However, my own self-criticism is sometimes less useful. For this reason, I decided to read the articles "The Psychology of Comparison and How to Stop" and "Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head." The first I quite agree with. Comparison with others is generally not useful, particularly as it often leads to discontentment or judgement. The second was not what I was expecting, as I assumed the critical voice would be one's own, not others' words in one's head. While the most important factor for the author is whether the internal voice is positive or negative, I am generally more concerned with whether it is true or not. 

Feedback. Web Source: Buzinga. 

Topic Brainstorm

While I am still not sure whether I want to do a storybook or a portfolio for my project, I do have some ideas as to the topic. I plan to start off with a storybook as recommended and see if it is the better option for me.

The A Thousand and One Nights offers plenty of starting points, and I am particularly interested in learning more about the story of Sindbad, since I am not very familiar with his adventures. I actually bought a copy of الف ليلة وليلة (A Thousand and One Nights) while I was in Morocco this summer, though I doubt I can read it fast enough to use as a source. It would be interesting to write the story of Sindbad as if it were to be produced as a TV show, perhaps in a superhero universe.

I have always been intrigued by the ancient Middle East, particularly by old Semitic languages like Akkadian and by cuneiform. So the myths of Babylonia and Assyria would be interesting to explore. As far as myths go, they have an advantage for this type of project in that no one believes in them anymore, at least as far as I know. I would like to bring details from the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian cultures into the stories, while also retelling them as modern fantasy.

My interest in Russian fairytales is inspired by this song. There are several different collections of Russian fairytales on the Freebookapalooza, among which The Russian Garland looks to have several interesting characters. One possibility for retelling would be to put them in a sci-fi context. I would want to research Russia's history in space to see if I could blend fact and fiction.

В гостях у сказки. Websource: Youtube.

Of the Native American tricksters, I am most familiar with Coyote, but I would like to learn more about Raven from Myths and Legends of Alaska. I learned one story about Raven from the Pacific Northwest during my Native Earth Systems class that explains earthquakes and resulting tsunamis. My main concern with retelling these stories is that people still believe them. While I have read a few books, such as Summerland and Alif the Unseen, that put actual beliefs in a fantasy setting, I would need a lot of background information to do so considerately. When done well I really enjoy reading such books, but I know I would be very particular about which retellings of my own religion I would want to read.

Raven. Web Source: April White.

Week 2 Story: The Jackal's Test

Hello reader.

I’m three thousand years in your future. You won’t live that long of course, so here’s a glimpse of what your people have done to my world. You’ve burned it and hunted it and poisoned it. But you and your experiments also gave us minds.

Dystopia. Web Source: Flickr.

Yes, every one of us. From myself - Jackal, at your service - and the other animals to the surviving trees, all of us can think and feel and speak. Even the road beneath your feet. Well, my feet. You’re probably sitting in a chair in comfort.

Caged Tiger. Web Source: Pixabay.

Despite all these changes, your people are still in charge. Somehow. I’m hoping to change that. Afterall, are you really fit to lead? Take this fellow Brahman. We - Tiger and I - were trying to see how people responded to Tiger’s plea for freedom. This guy actually let him out of the cage, which was a start. But we wanted to give him more of a feel for our plight than that of one noble beast in a cage. It’s easy to have pity on a magnificent tiger. But what about the rest of creation that suffers on his behalf? So Tiger made him go talk to three of us. He thought he had to convince them that he should live. But really we wanted to see if he could convince himself.

He heard from the trees that died for his books and newspapers. He spoke to the cow that was force fed only to be slaughtered for his meat. He spoke to the road that choked under the pollution from his car.

Yet after all these conversations, his only thought was for how he might survive. So I pretended to help him by leading Tiger back into his cage. It would not do for him to suspect our fomenting revolution.

You see, now we need another plan. You humans cannot be convinced to sympathize with us, so we must find another route to liberty. Tiger is still in his cage, and next time I will be the one to let him out. Cleverness and violence will win our earth back. As you might suspect from this glimpse into the future, I will take the reins as we rise. 

Jackal. Web Source: WikiMedia.

Author’s note:
This story is based on “The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal.” In the original story, the tiger tricks the Brahman into letting him out, then threatens to eat him unless one of the first three people that the Brahman comes across can provide a convincing reason as to why he should not be eaten. The papal-tree, the buffalo, and the road see this trickery as the natural course of life, but the jackal pretends to be confused and forces a retelling of the story, until the tiger is back into his cage. In my retelling, I wanted to examine the jackal’s motivation for helping the Brahman and apparently opposing the tiger. I set the story in the future so that the personification of the animals, the tree, and the road would be more plausible.


Bibliography: “The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal” from Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1912). Web Source.

Reading Notes: The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal

From this week's anthology, the two stories that struck me the most were "The Hare that was not Afraid to Die" and "The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal," the first because of the hare's self-sacrificing acceptance of death and the second because of the Brahman's opposite perspective.


Hare. Web Source: Flickr.

The goal of the hare, an incarnation of the Buddha, is to keep the moral law, including a fast day in which all animals should share their food with any beggar who should pass. The hare has no food to share, so he chooses to sacrifice himself and give his food for meat. Because of his humility, the god who is testing him prevents the fire from killing him.


Tiger. Web Source: Pixabay.

On the other hand, the Brahman falls into the tiger's trap after freeing him from a cage, and his only way to avoid being eaten is for the first three people that he meets to agree that he should live. However, the papal-tree, the buffalo, and the road think that he should not expect anything less than death as a return for his kindness to the tiger, just as they receive only mistreatment from humans in return for their aid. At this point, I became less sympathetic to the Brahman. While I agree that he does not deserve to be eaten, the threat does not make him any more able to empathize with the mistreated creatures that he meets.


Jackal. Web Source: Flickr.

The jackal, who helped the Brahman by tricking the tiger into returning to his cage, is the most intriguing character, as his motives are unclear. Why does he help the Brahman? Is he sympathetic to his plight? Is he simply antagonistic to the tiger? Why does he not use his wits to help the others as well? From this tale, his is the personality I would most like to explore further.

In which I explore reading options

Possibly because I was homeschooled - and possibly because I like options - I find the idea of creating my own textbook very appealing. The unTextbook offers a wide variety of options for the different units, and I am already looking forward to reading some of them.

The unit that draws from a book called Folklore of the Holy Land intrigues me, particularly as it emphasizes the Muslim version of stories that I am familiar with from the Bible. During my time in Morocco, I heard the Islamic story of Noah many times, as one of my friends was named Noah. I would like to learn more about the differences and similarities between the stories.

I am originally from Georgia, and my home should by rights belong to the Cherokee. I read a Cherokee creation story in a class last semester, and would like to learn more of the myths of the Cherokee as presented in one of the units.

My primary interest in the Mabinogion stems from the Chronicles of Prydain, which pull from some of the characters and themes of the Mabinogion. Other than that I am not familiar with it, but the story sounds intriguing. In addition, some of my ancestors immigrated from Wales, and I like the sounds of the language and how it is written.


Standing at the Pool of Creation. Web Source: Legends of America.

Time Strategies: In the Absence of a Time Turner

First of all, I believe my pre-designed schedule will work well for me. I will be working Monday and Wednesday, with blocks of time that are perfect for getting most of the classwork done. Then, if I have anything left, I have Friday free of classes to finish my homework up before the weekend. My main time management strategy is to stay on top of deadlines and other commitments using my planner or Google Calendar.

"The Psychology of Checklists" was preaching to the choir: I definitely fall into the camp that gains satisfaction from a planner or app that allows me to check off what I've done - or add things that I've already done just to check them off.

"The Myth of Too Busy" contains similar ideas to articles I've read previously, but it's always useful to reconsider how I am prioritizing my time. For example, I spend plenty of unnecessary time on Instagram, particularly given that I am always trying to fit things I find more important into my day. However, I think it's impossible to prioritize every minute of the day, as my brain sometimes needs a break to just relax and do something unimportant.

This is part of the issue addressed in "Why Time Management is Ruining Our Lives," which describes the anxiety that the need for productivity and control over time can create instead of alleviate, because standards intensify along with solutions. Like many of the people mentioned in the article, I have long attempted to get the most out of my time, since I was nine and made schedules for the daily rest or play time that my mother gave us. However, like them, my attempts do not usually last long and I fall back into just doing whatever I need or want.


Checklists. Web Source: Trello.

Technology; or, this manuscript is not handwritten on velum

Of the list of sites and tools, I have only really used Google Docs, Weebly, and Wordpress previously. Blogger is new to me, but so far has not been difficult. I am pretty excited about the unTextbook and Freebookapalooza - what's not to love about free books? Pinterest is an excellent idea for images for blog posts, and I intend to make use of it. I appreciate the blend of simple, step by step instructions and freedom to explore that this class offers. I am also seriously impressed by the number of pages that Dr. Gibbs has created for us and the amount of time that must have taken. I also appreciate how this course offers practical uses for sites that are often a source of procrastination, like Tumblr or Pinterest or Wikipedia.


Technology. Web source: The Odyssey Online.

In which I ponder assignments

My first thought upon seeing the assignments: this is going to be so much fun! Since I was a child, I have enjoyed reading and writing stories, but it is often difficult to find time in college. This class seems like it's going to be a place that encourages creativity and imagination in writing our own stories, while providing structure and inspiration via the stories we'll be reading.

The extra credit assignment that I am most looking forward to is Wikipedia Trails. One of my life goals is to know enough about niche subjects that I can add to their Wikipedia pages. I enjoy research in general, and Wikipedia lets you explore so much.


Globe in Hand. Web Source: Pexels.

The Introduction: In which I tell you a bit about myself

Hey y'all! I'm Emily Wellham, and I'm originally from Marietta, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta). I'm majoring in Linguistics and Arabic. In case you aren't familiar with linguistics, it is the science of language. We study how you can take tiny pieces of sound and string them together into a meaningful sentence and the incredible diversity in sounds, grammar, and use among the world's languages. This semester I am in a couple of linguistics courses, including Structures of Lesser Studied Languages, where we'll be looking at Estonian and Icelandic and seeing what makes them tick, Language and Culture, which is an introduction to linguistic anthropology that emphasizes how people use language in a social context, and some linguistic research where I'll be comparing unrelated languages in a region to see how they've influenced one another.

As part of my Arabic study, I had the chance to spend two months in Meknes, Morocco this summer studying Arabic. It was absolutely fabulous, and I learned so much Arabic. One of my favorite of the units was actually on storytelling, which has a rich history within Arab cultures. In addition to language study, I had the chance to travel to several of Morocco's beautiful cities, including Tangier, Rabat, Fez, and Chefchaouen. The following song is in the Moroccan dialect of Arabic, known as Darija. Saad Lamjarred's popularity within the Arab world has been beneficial to the spread of Darija. I am also part of the Arabic Flagship program here at OU, which gives me the chance to study cultural aspects like poetry that are not covered much in class.

Let it Go. Web Source: Youtube.

In addition to languages and travel, my other favorite hobby is reading. While there's no way I could tell you just one favorite book, I particularly enjoy A Solitary Blue, Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey series, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and The Lord of the Rings. I read several books this summer before taking off for Morocco: American Gods, by Neil Gaiman, which emphasized the meaning behind our landscapes and stories; A Tale for the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki, which connects a girl and a woman across time and space by way of a diary; Word by Word, written by a woman who works for Merriam-Webster and talks about the process of making a dictionary and her love of words. If you have any book recommendations, please help me add to my ever-growing list. 

Since I'm a junior this year (hard to believe), it's getting close to when I need to think about my career and life after college. Well, I'll probably start with more school, specifically a master's in linguistics with a focus on language documentation. There are so many languages in the world - between six and seven thousand - and each of them has much to contribute to our understanding of how language as a whole works. I hope to help in the task of documenting languages before they disappear in a way that benefits both the scientific community and the community of speakers. Ideally, this will give me the chance to live and work in different parts of the world. Even though a linguist's job is to learn about languages, not the languages themselves, I also enjoy learning to speak new languages and hope it can be part of my everyday life. 

Personal photo, June 2017.

Growth Mindset and Me

Through my work as an office assistant at the Student Learning Center, I have become somewhat familiar with growth mindset, as this is the philosophy it seeks to instill in the students, tutors, and other employees. In general, I would say that I fit fairly well in the growth mindset box, as I enjoy learning new things and challenging myself in new situations. However, I still strive and expect to get the right answer. Both of these statements are true of me across the board, whether in school or in life as a whole. I think growth mindset fits in very well with the idea of constructive criticism, which I find to be very important in making progress.

Growth Mindset Mantra. Web source: Twitter.

I am not entirely convinced that the now and not yet are in complete opposition to one another. I think this is partly because I focus so much attention on language learning, which melds the need for immediate effort with future results. Perhaps in a beginners class the motivation is to get good grades, but without that effort it will be impossible to move to the next level of using the language. Or perhaps that actually is the tension at the heart of growth mindset.

As far as the semester goes, I am interested in learning more about Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences, which was also mentioned by my boss at the Student Learning Center. I think one of my main takeaways from the growth mindset readings so far was the need to challenge myself and not make ease the goal. I like challenges, and this inspires me to see how I can stretch myself even in arenas that are otherwise familiar territory.

Storybook Favorites

The first storybook to catch my eye was the Kalevala as told by Dr. Seuss. The Kalevala served as inspiration for one of my favorite authors, J. R. R. Tolkien, and I have been wanting to become more familiar with it for some time. On the other hand, Dr. Seuss was one of my childhood favorites. I enjoy the whimsy of his art and rhymes, and was interested to see what kind of flavor they gave to the epic tale of the Kalevala. I was particularly impressed by the introduction, which truly gave the sense that Dr. Seuss was narrating this story.

Lemmikainen upon the Flaming Horse of Hisi. Web Source: The Kalevala

Next, I could not resist The Little Dutch Store, as I am quite fond of the Netherlands. I enjoyed the setup of the story, easily imagining myself biking around the Netherlands and finding such a shop. The premise is that the narrator comes upon a shop in the woods filled with unusual goods, each of which is related to a folktale from Dutch history. I was unfamiliar with these particular stories, which centered on the arrival of Christianity in Friesland, the kabouters of Brabant and Limburg, and the history of the famous wooden shoes. The colors and design of this site fit the storybook well, and the illustrations were well-chosen to accompany the stories.


A typical view from the centre of Delft, the Netherlands. Web Source: Wikimedia.

Probably because of my fondness for Terry Pratchett's personification of Death, I enjoy reading other stories with this theme, such as Death's Final Story. The premise that Death is passing on their job to the reader draws in the audience well and was the first step in bringing the character to life. The first two stories were interesting, and I was glad to learn about the original appointment in Samarra after watching Sherlock. However, the third story gave Death the most personality and simultaneously developed the tale and personality of Sinbad.


Schip op zee. Web Source: Public Domain Pictures.

My Favorite Place: Utrecht

Since starting college, I have had the chance to travel to some amazing places - Guatemala, the Netherlands, Morocco - and Norman itself has quickly become a second home. Because I have had such excellent experiences in all of them, I am going to write about the place where I just enjoyed my life on my own, whereas in the others my experiences were more shaped by camraderie.

The summer after my freshman year, I spent a month in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, studying Dutch. Utrecht is a lovely city, and in typical Dutch fashion it is filled with canals and designed for biking as a primary means of transportation. One of my first experiences actually speaking Dutch was when I purchased a used bike for myself, which gave me the freedom to explore easily. Although my apartment was on the outskirts of town, I easily could bike past the sheep pastures and into the heart of the city to get to class, buy groceries, or visit a museum.

Dom Tower. Web Source: Holland.com

Aboriginal Art Museum in Utrecht. Web Source: Amsterdam Tips

Personal photo of sheep on my bike ride; photo from July 2016.

Greetings!

Welcome to my blog of myths and folklore from around the world.