Mythology…Irish style
*Hodges Figgis: Bookselling since 1768 Photo credit: Dara Giddings
This week's guest blogger is Sam Ulrich. Sam is a student and long-time member of the St. Augustine Campus Book Club.
Before reading her blog, get to know a little bit about Sam!
- Genres I like to read: psychological, horror, mystery, fantasy, fiction, young-adult, dystopian, biography, romance, manga
- Favorite books: Lord of the Flies, The Lunar Chronicles, Heart-Shaped Box, I’m Glad My Mom Died, They Both Die at the End, I Fell in Love with Hope
- Least favorite books: The Twisted series, A Magic Steeped in Poison
- Authors I enjoy: Joe Hill and Stephen King
- Where, how, and why I like to read: I enjoy reading in the comfort of my own room, nestled in my beanbag, absorbed in a book for hours. Sometimes my cat will join me, curling in my lap, which makes the experience only a million times better. I enjoy listening to books on Libby or Audible while simultaneously reading the physical copy, and sometimes I will go on walks and listen to the book. The last time I did that was with NOS4A2 by Joe Hill when it was pitch black outside. In my opinion, it made the experience even better. I’ve always enjoyed reading ever since I was a little girl and the bookworm inside seems to grow with me. There's something amazing about connecting with a character, feeling their emotions as if they were your own, or even struggling to understand their perspective. Books take you into a whole other universe, and sometimes that’s something we need when life gets a little hectic. And when you need a break, this best friend will always be there, waiting. That’s my favorite part!
From May 15th to the 25th I traveled to Ireland for a study abroad trip with SJR students and had an amazing experience. I wanted to buy a book from there that had a lot to do with Irish culture and history, but at the same time was an interesting read. I visited many bookstores while I was there and one had a section that was meant to be for “gifts.” I saw this section and thought to myself “wow this would be a perfect gift … for me!” At Professor Giddings' suggestion, we traveled to Hodges Figgis Book Store* where I bought Otherworld: Nine Tales of Wonder and Romance from Medieval Ireland by Lisa M. Bitel and took it home with me to be able to share with all of you.
I’ve always had an interest in mythology, although I never dove deep into the genre. When I was little, I had this huge storybook that my mom would read to me, and my favorite story from it was the one with Hades and Persephone. You could say my reason for liking the story at the time was probably “not for the right reasons” as I would flip back to the picture of Hades with his three-headed dog, Cerebrus, more times than I can remember. Of course I was infatuated by the story, but I also wished I was the one in Persephone’s shoes.
There are nine stories in this mythological adventure, and the one I want to share is “Tochmarch Étaíne—The Courtship of Étaín.” The story is roughly 50 pages long and has some absurd aspects to it (as all mythology usually does). There are multiple main characters but the two I found most entertaining are Mac Óc and Midir. Midir is a foster parent to many boys, Mac Óc being his favorite. The thing I find most entertaining about Mac Óc is how ridiculous he is to call himself a proud warrior, and at the same time be the biggest crybaby in the world. He makes fun of a guy named Tríath for his race saying, “it galls me that a slave’s son should speak to me,” but the moment Tríath bites back at Mac Óc for not knowing his mother or father, he immediately “went wailing and grieving to Midir.” As if he wasn’t bad enough already, when Mac Óc finds out his biological father is Daga, who is a king, he becomes even more entitled and spoiled throughout the story as he cries to Daga whenever he needs something to be done. It definitely makes for a hilarious read.
Midir, on the other hand, is very cunning. He knows how Mac Óc is and uses it to his advantage, eventually gaining some riches and a beautiful woman, Étaín, from it. Although Midir is supposed to be smart, he brings Étaín back home to his wife, who, driven by jealousy and rage, basically takes her into the back and turns her into a puddle. Which then, somehow, turns Étaín into a worm, and then a beautiful fly. It made me think of the question that is so frequently asked by significant others as a trap, “would you still love me if I was a worm?” And I have a feeling Midir loved her even more, which was a funny thing to think about.
Those were only small parts of the story that I found interesting, but there are so many other things that go on in “Tochmarch Étaíne—The Courtship of Étaín,” that are, yes, ridiculous. But if you are a fan of mythology, I think you will enjoy some of these stories. I know I did.
