A Discussion of the novel Wyrd This essay will discuss the novel Wyrd. It will explore some of the concepts that are found in the novel and attempt to extend the issues to a point at which they become more clear, and prove the assertion that, just as Wyrd is a fast moving narrative that spans continents and ages, it is a novel of ideas. Wyrd was, in length, a short to medium length novel that was written by Sue Gough. Briefly, it was the story of Berengaria, Saladin's daughter and wife of King Richard. After her husbands death, she was moved to a French nunnery with her handmaiden and son, the prince (incognito). There she kept an explicit and wise diary, recording the events in her life. She founded a healing order, and invented a cordial that was surprisingly popular among the village folk. She continued to practice Viking religion in subtle ways, and encouraged spiritual openness, as opposed to the dogmatic teachings of the time, vesting confidence and a sense of worth in her fellow devotees. However, she was plagued by her evil anti-thesis, the Abbe De Ville, who encouraged her son to join in a 'children's crusade' -- and unwise and dangerous religious march. Pat, her son, was eventually sold as a slave in the middle east, but the Abbe did not know this and told Berengaria the 'news' of his demise. Unable to cope with such a revelation, she died and was entombed, as a mummy, with her book beneath the priory. Found by two archaeologists in modern times, her book was recovered and her tomb destroyed. Sent to a group of Australian women (in order to keep it out of the claws of the modern De Ville, Professor Horniman), the book found it's way into the hands and heart of Trace, a street kid from Sydney, come north as part of a modern children's crusade. Unwilling to return to the slums of Kings Cross, Trace had found her way to the women's homes and beguiled herse-lf of them. To conclude the story, Professor Horniman attempted to steal the book, and it was destroyed. All of this was spoken by one Dr Renouf (a possible future Trace and modern day Berengaria), in an attempt to draw together the warring factions of the middle east. One of the most primary themes in the book, apparent even in the summary, is the repetition of events: recurrence and echoing of past events and people. The binding threads of time, so to speak, are constant and absolute: even in different times, the same forces are still at work throughout the novel. The change of setting is incidental, and the characters are a constant equalling force. The children's crusade, the concepts of war and peace, good and evil are all tied together in the plot, past mirroring future. However, another theme that is important is the power of the undecided (* - wyrd, the blank Viking rune, is the rune of 'maybe'), and the outcomes are different -- Professor Horniman was defeated, De Ville was not. Although this only lead to Horniman's defeat, it was substantial, and the cosmic superbeing could have turned to favour the powers of 'good' (Berengaria, Trace, the wyrd sisters/the three women) or 'evil' (De Ville/Horniman, war, etc). The future is merely a continuation of the past, but events may be replayed. Change only occurred with respect for the future, the past remained stained, but was a valuable lesson. The repetition of events occurred mainly because lessons of the past were unheeded, and present changes are the force behind the it's cessation. The blank rune, the undecided future, the last, blank page in the old Queen's diary, are all a means by which these events can occur: change and exploration of possibilities is vital to allow continuation. Who controls the past controls the future only in that the past is part of the present and the present is what controls future events. Another theme, discussed mainly in the book's feminist undertones, is one that is heavily discursive of the rules of society. Religious dogma, meaningless legal writings, unwritten rules placing different people in situations beyond their control, and the concept of elitism -- our class system, are all discussed, if briefly, in the texts. Non conformity was all but preached: it clearly stated that the rules of society, the laws we make for ourselves, are not compatible with the needs of the people. Religious laws were obeyed to the letter in the main time frame and our own, to a lesser extent because times have changed: Berengaria was a nun, and De Ville was an Abbe. The laws that govern Christianity are mostly good, but intervention on the part of the church, often with the best of intentions, can lead an uneducated and oppressed society (like that of, say, medieval England or France) into ruins. In the novel, Berengaria was seen to actively opposed rules she thought were 'wrong', and refused to submit to the system: a self perpetuating autocracy, in which the supreme power lies in the ability to bluff and blunder through situations, and keep a crowd entertained. Her major disadvantage, at least at that time, was the fact that she was a woman: strong, intelligent and a leader, yes, but existing in a time and reality that did not judge a person by such qualities. Power in our society is driven by corruption, in many cases, and hope for the future lies in the powers that be. The same was true, to extremes, in Berengaria's time, but her knowledge and charisma were not about to be bound by half-truths and lies (the lies seeded by her time's power system). In any time and any system there are the high, the middle and the low. The aim of the high is to stay there, the middle want to get there, and the low want to survive. With a few exceptions, a system that acknowledges and works with this social and economic hierarchy is one that allows for very little personal growth: true now and then. Her system and ours are clearly corrupted by this and the novel clearly demands that we do something about it. The unwritten, unknowable future is a powerful force here: the future is the right place to escape to. Another powerful and recurring issue is that of knowledge: it's power, importance, and ultimate truths. Learning and self healing are important factors discussed by Berengaria in her life and writings, factors that affected people in many different ways. She understood the importance of understanding and wisdom and shared it with others, who gained those qualities and shared it with others.....etc. Learning is a mighty influence that can heal wounds and spread enlightenment. In many ways it is the only force by which to fight corruption, but seeds must be planted. The complete amalgam of knowledge discussed in the novel is contained almost wholly in Berengaria's book, which planted it's seeds in many ways. It shared it's message of healing and medicinal lore with nurses and other assorted healers; it shared it's knowledge of love and spirituality with the emotionally recluse, encouraging growth and healing; it shared it's artistic beauty and knowledge of the assorted wonders of our planet with the artistically inclined, enhancing their lives and through them: ours. The concept of the search for the self is another constant in this novel: people with no identity grow and learn to become their own person, unique and independent: through knowledge. It is through knowledge and understanding that peace can be won: the hope lies not only in the unknown but in the ability to make it the known: through knowledge. This novel is very fast moving. The constant swapping of time frames and scenery are affective in drawing the reader in and swiftly making the novel's compact point. It is also a novel of ideas: the concept of recurring history and unknown future, the rules of law and the laws of nature, and the importance of knowledge. Even having unravelled the threads of metaphor and elusive historical reference that the author has woven into the story, the message remains the same at the outset. Times change but people don't -- despite the uplifting mores of this novel, the battle of good versus evil continues.
What can you predict about the story from the back and front cover of the book?
...ess of whose feelings are hurt or the actions of a dutiful daughter like Mariane who will obey her father, no matter her own feelings. The technology, time, location, situation and scenario has changed nothing over time. The only dwindling quality that we see less of today is the dedication and support like that of Dorine and Gerasim. Who knows what this world is truly coming to in the end, but who makes the rules for what is right and wrong?
The third stanza starts off saying, “She was advised to play coy, / exhorted to come on hearty, / exercise, diet, smile and wheedle” (12-14). In the girls’ mind she is becoming completely fake to herself to make society happy; this in turn makes her dissatisfied. She soon grows tired of pretending and, “cut[s] off her nose and her legs (17).
is a human attribute that will apply to any time period anywhere. In the incident with Unferth, for example: "angry that anyone in Denmark or anywhere on earth had ever acquired glory and fame greater than his own"(236-238) tries to belittle Beowulf’s claims to bravery, and, by doing so, adds realistic qualities to his character. Belief Divine or supernatural notions are also tendencies of human nature. The poem reflects this ageless concern through references to "that Shepherd of Evil" (432) and "[sacrifices] to the old stone gods" (90). These are both conflicting allusions to the two prominent religions of the time. One pertains to Christian ideology; i.e. "The Almighty God" (493), and "the Almighty making the earth" (8), and the other relates to Anglo Saxon religious beliefs; i.e., "the omens were good" (118) and "fate will unwind as it must," (189). The poem alludes to Christianity, a monotheistic religion that rejects ideas of fate.
The end of this novel is the restoration of a world as the Victorians know it: the vampire destroyed, the women rid of their evil sexual desires and kept out of the dangerous world outside their homes, and the men safe and free in a male-dominated world, playing their exclusive gallant, intelligent, and adventurous roles.
Wilkie, Brian. “Beowulf.” Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.
Beowulf is an epic tale written over twelve hundred years ago. In the poem, several different female characters are introduced, and each woman possesses detailed and unique characteristics. The women in Beowulf are portrayed as strong individuals, each of whom has a specific role within the poem. Some women are cast as the cup-bearers and gracious hostesses of the mead halls, such as Wealhtheow and Hygd, while others, Grendel's mother, fulfill the role of a monstrous uninvited guest. The woman's role of the time period, author's attitude, and societal expectations for women are evidenced throughout the poem.
As time has flown, many fictional men and women have resembled the Prince of the Christians in one way or another. But not many times other than once or twice has a character followed the life of Jesus so accordingly. As I write today, I plan to show from start to finish, just how closely Jesus and Beowulf are to one another. Maybe not in the same manner, but Beowulf lived, fought, and sacrificed himself for his people, just as Jesus had done for all mankind, making them, two sides of the same coin.
Although the relatability of characters does not qualify a novel as being ‘of literary merit,’ it is notable when the novel is more than one hundred and fifty years old, and the characters were created with a completely different ‘set’ of moral and social ideals in place. For example, it is more difficult for a modern teenager to relate to a medieval princess than to, say, a character of a similar age and era (four sisters in Civil War-era Massachusetts is hardly a challenge when faced with Romeo and Juliet for the first time). Even angelic Beth, an example of the old female archetype that shall be mentioned later, is relatable in her shyness or ...
Women were treated as second class citizens. They were willfully ignored by members of the Christianity and Despite the patriarchal society from the biblical days, God is taught as being just as much a Mother as God is a Father (102). The willful ignorance of religious scholars of the time just show that they were making a conscious effort of trying to keep women from retaining any power that they had. This relegation of religious roles in an effort to keep Men in power is a poor example of how Christianity is a religion which promotes for the love and care of all people, no matter their status. The interpretation of God from these times clash severely with my notions of what is now considered to be an all-loving entity.
Wilkie, Brian. “Beowulf.” Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.
Wright, David. “The Digressions in Beowulf.” In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.
Next is the criticism of the role of the women in society. It was basically a time where the woman could not do anything for herself. An example of this from the book is the loan that Nora took out to save Torvold’s life. Nora could not take out the loan herself due to the fact that she was a women and only men could take out loans, a women could only take out a loan if they had the consent of a husband or a father. Due to the fact that she was doing this for Torvold she went ahead and forged the documents knowing that it was wrong and could end up getting her into trouble. This was a total mockery on society due to fact that even though Nora was doing this to save the life of her husband she not only was not aloud to do it but then Torvold found out he was not happy she saved his life but mad about what it could do to him.
What is SPAM? "SPAM", in its original definition, means "spiced pork and meat", a disgusting canned substance that originated in the 1930's. Today, SPAM is more commonly thought of as the annoying junk email we get everyday asking us to "re-finance your home" or "visit my webcam". Michael D. Sofka, of the Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, states many definitions for SPAM, the most pertinent and obvious being simply: "Mass, Unsolicited Commercial Email" (1). According to Spam expert Brad Templeton, mass unsolicited email was first coined as "Spam" in April of 1994. Two lawyers named Canter and Siegel hired a programmer to write a program script that would post the lawyers' advertisement to thousands of newsgroups on "USENET", which is the world's largest online conferencing center, (or at least was at the time). Templeton says that this act was termed "Spam" from an old Monty Python skit, in which "a restaurant serves all of its food with lots of Spam, and the waitress repeats the word several times in describing how much spam is in the items. When she does this, a group of Vikings in the corner start a song: "Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, lovely Spam! Wonderful Spam!" Until told to shut up." (2). Because of how repetitive and annoying the word "Spam" became in the skit, a few people started calling these annoying and repetitive emails "SPAM". The name stuck, and to this day junk email is still called Spam. These annoying emails were originally intended as a marketing ploy, simply to get a company's message out to as many people as possible. Now they are so annoying, I can honestly say that Spam is the absolute worst way to get your message across; these junk emails are never read, only deleted.
A mosaic of rivers, forests, savannas, swamps and flooded forests, the Congo Basin is teeming with life… There are approximately 10, 000 species of tropical plants in the Congo Basin and 30 percent are unique to the region. Endangered wildlife, including forest elephants, chimpanzees, Pan paniscus, and lowland and mountain gorillas inhabit the lush forests. 400 other species of mammals, 1,000 species of birds and 700 species of fish can also be found here.