The Myth Of The Werewolf

which has the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a winged

Werewolves are creatures that have been presented in many literary works and films for years, and are described to be cruel cannibalistic animals that shapeshift during every full moon. Although the character of the werewolf can symbolize many different things, there is an intriguing link between the werewolf figure and humans committing cruel abusive acts that actually make them the repulsive predator. Literary and folkloric texts like Wolfland by Tanith Lee, The Werewolves Daughter, and The Damnable Life and Death of Stubbe Peter by George Bores, explores different issues presented in society like sexual predators, abusive relationships, and the natural desire to kill which connects back to the werewolf figure. This connection explains that

Starting with Chapter One, the author introduces the reader to the first few accounts of werewolves, or what would be considered werewolves by our current imagery. She discusses the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh, which is the first tale of a werewolf and the first story of a man falling victim to, and being transformed by, a “wicked woman,” which is a theme that runs through many of the older stories. She also brings up Ovid’s retelling of the Metamorphosis, a Greek story about Lycaon, who attempted to serve human flesh to Zeus and was horrifically punished for his actions. Next is the Satyricon, written by Petronius. From the stories presented, we are able to start classifying the subjects as going through either voluntary or involuntary transformations.

A werewolf is someone who changes form into a wolf for a period of time, typically around the full moon. It is unknown when and where the first werewolf myths came to be, but one of the earliest recordings is of Bisclavret by Marie de France. In her story, the protagonist is a baron from Brittany, who has to leave his otherwise normal life for three days each week and roam the woods as a werewolf. As a nobleman in human form, he has conformed to and personified masculine gender norms of the middle ages, yet once he has transformed into Bisclavret, they are abandoned. To be masculine during any age, is to be in possession of the traits or qualities associated with men. The gender norms represented in Bisclavret by Marie de France are so

Willem de Blécourt says in his literary journal “I Would Have Eaten You Too”, where he documents and analyzes werewolf tales local to German, Denmark and Belgium, “The German subtype deals with how a man abandons his wife, comes back as a werewolf, bites into her skirt, petticoat, or apron, or some other piece of clothing, then goes off again, and comes back in human form, and is later revealed as the werewolf by the remnants of her clothing evident between his teeth” (Blécourt 28-29). This references back to the garwolf being a vicious creature, but also hints at the sexually devious nature of werewolves as well. The ripping of female garments is symbolic of an attack on a woman’s virtue. Blécourt describes again later in the journal, “...we can read the woven piece of cloth as representing humanity…” (35), showing that a true werewolf only seeks to defile and kill those who hold the humanity he has lost. Though he toils away in secret, deep in the forest, the knight remains an honorable man in both of his forms. “This beast understands, feels like a man,”(France) says the King, an old and loyal friend of the knight. Even in his beast-like state, the knight does not bow to the primal needs associated with beasthood, for he is unparalleled in his humanity. France uses the werewolf mythos to put the character of the knight on an even higher pedestal. Not only is he an

Most witch hunts were started during backdrops of social, economical, or religious change. The generalized stress branched from these backdrops, including the epidemics and natural disasters, seem to be the major cause of all hysterical outbreaks. Such as some malign conspiracy, one of the rumor-panics, was attempting to destroy the Christian religions through poison, witchcraft and demons. These hunts come and go for nearly three centuries, in variations to time. The range of death varied from the 26,000 estimated deaths in Germany to the lowest four deaths in Ireland. Also, research points out that in the more rapidly developing countries, where the Catholic churches were weak, experience the witch craze more often than not. Examples of such countries are Germany, France, and Switzerland (Jones 1 www.gendercide.org).

The vampire is not by any means a new manifestation of the fears of a society. Their presence in human culture can be traced back for centuries in human folklore. The first Anglicized representations of the creature in literature date back to the English poetry of the early 1700s, and were then followed in the fiction genre by such works as John William Polidori’s The Vampyre, Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, and of course, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. For the audiences of the 18th century, vampires embodied many of the following common fears shared between the people: of illness, both mental and epidemic, of an embraced sexuality, particularly that of women’s and homosexuals’, and of foreigners. As the archetypical vampire evolved throughout the

The construction of any railroad is never an easy task especially in the early years because of the lack of new technology. The Trans-Siberian railroad is no exception construction of the railroad began in 1891 and would continue until 1916. The railroad stretched 6,000 miles; it was made with minimal equipment, had to cross many large lakes, and had to be built to survive the extremely cold temperatures. The Trans-Siberian railroad was no easy task and was well acknowledged by their respective leaders at the time. Though the railroad was eventually constructed it had many setbacks and many issues that delayed it for years.

The wolf was once a much slandered animal. In the western world, people feared and hated wolves, and this legacy is reflected in stories such as Little Red Riding Hood and The Boy Who Cried Wolf. In these popular children's tales the wolf is made out to be a prowler and a killer of livestock and people. There is some basis for The Boy Who Cried Wolf, for wolves have killed cattle and sheep. But what of Little Red Riding Hood? There are no records of wolves killing humans in Canada or the United States. Yet, when wolves were spotted near rural communities, fear used to grip the populace, but over time this has become less prevalent.

The word werewolf is most likely to derive from two old-Saxon words, wer (meaning man) and wolf. In Greek, the terms Lycanthropy refers to the transformation process while Lycanthrope, which is a synonym to werewolf, is the afflicted person. The popular definition of werewolf or lycanthrope is a man who transforms himself or being transformed into a wolf under the influence of full moon.

The document is for public use. The author intended to spread knowledge about for time so it could be used for study so that people can seek knowledge about the upcoming process of railroad

Different depictions of vampires are commonly exhibited in vampire folklore in past and present literature and film. The diversity of different variations of vampire legends are prominently seen in most literature, but the main ideas and attributes are generally the same. This is not that case when focusing on specific novels discussed in class. The novels I Am Legend by Richard Matheson and Fledgling by Octavia Butler are two contrasting works of vampire folklore. The novels are about different societies of vampires. They both emerged in different ways, the survive and feed in contrasting ways, and they both represent completely different forms of vampires. This essay will examine the characterizations of the contrasting the vampire species in both I Am Legend and Fledgling, as well as, investigating how these different species of vampires relate to human species.

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After five hundred years of servitude, Dragon Shifter, Callius Falk and his three brothers are finally freed from their bonds. Callius has one mission, to find his true mate.

Werewolves are big, hairy, muscular, and most of all wild. Werewolves are often seen as vicious and deadly, werewolves are mostly found today as a hot teenage boy with rocking hair, that are super friendly, but that is what they are now. Originally werewolves came around in England, in December 1521, an Inquisitor-General the province in France, he heard a case that alarmed the neighborhood, it was of two men that were accused of witchcraft and cannibalism. The two men possessed the name of Pierre Bourgot (also known as Peter the Great) and Micheal Verdung. But this wasn’t the only time in which Pierre had witnessed something wild going on. Pierre once fell upon a boy of six/seven years old, and this boy