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From childhood on I have been fascinated by myths. I wasn't selective; I began
with the Greek and Roman ones, like any European American kid, but soon
discovered a book in my mother's hand-me-down library called "Fairy Tales
of All Lands" which was a thousand pages of stories from all over the
globe. I read this during a long, long recovery from the German measles when I
was not supposed to be reading at all because of “the strain on the eyes,” but
of course books were my habitual refuge and it was just too hard not to sneak
in a few pages during long lonely hours in my sick room. In those days
the world was black and white--the good guys and the bad guys--and the
divisions were clear.
In college, I read translations of
the Icelandic Eddas. These stories have none of Wagner's Ring Cycle Victorian
romantic overlay and many more god/demon characters. From these, I learned more
about Loki, one of those ambiguous, powerful trickster figures that inhabit
mythology world-wide. Loki, it seems, could be male or female at will. Sometimes, in the stories, he's helpful, usually pulling the wool over some
antagonist's eyes to help out a more obviously central figure, like the Father
God, Odin.
Loki, in different forms, had a
whole series of monster children. As a mare, he conceived Odin’s horse, the
eight legged Sleipner, but let’s not get bogged down in the fascinating details
of that story. J
The ones I’d like to discuss are Fenrir, a kind of wolf on steroids,
Jormungandr, a serpent—also on steroids—and a little girl, Hel. Hel would be
beautiful, if half of her face were not a skull. Hel gave her name to our Christian
Hell.
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Odin, after hearing a prophecy that
Loki’s children will destroy him, Asgard, and all his god-kin, decides to
kidnap them. This is a serious breach of Norse morality well beyond the
kidnapping, because earlier Odin had sworn an oath of eternal brotherhood with
Loki. “Oathbreaker” was the most serious
charge that could be leveled against anyone. (And it probably still should be!)
Neverthless, Odin figures his first duty is to save himself and his kingdom, so
he steals the children anyway. His first move is to co-opt the terrifying Hel
with the gift of a kingdom of her own, Helheim. Hel is now ruler of the dead--the
ordinary souls--not the few chosen warriors who will feast eternally in Odin’s
royal hall of Asgard.
Fenrir is just a puppy when he is
taken. He longs for his mother and he longs for someone to love him, as puppies
do. The gods are all afraid of him, however, because of the prophecy. Only the
God Tyr is brave enough to feed him and be kind to him, and so Tyr becomes the
only god poor Fenrir trusts. The snake,
Jormungandr, Odin tosses into the ocean, but this doesn’t get rid of him or his
propensity to grow. Jormungandr goes on growing until, hidden beneath the sea,
he encircles the entire earth. Earth becomes his adoptive Mother, and he
becomes her secret protector and friend.
Meanwhile, Fenrir goes on growing. More
and more afraid of him, the gods go to the Dark Elves for a special magical chain
capable of holding him. When they return, they pretend to play a game with
Fenrir, putting on different chains and encouraging him to demonstrate how
strong he is by snapping them. Every time he does do, they clap exclaim at his strength
and power. At last, they bring out the Elven chain, but Fenrir senses their
duplicity. He refuses to allow them to put this one on until Tyr puts his sword
hand in Fenrir’s mouth as a show of good faith. “If you cannot break this
chain, you may do with me as you will.” Such a heart-breaking story! Tyr has sworn
loyalty to his master Odin but he’s also bonded with the wolf and he knows full
well when he puts his hand in that hot mouth, what is about to happen.
The great wolf, trusting Tyr, allows
the gods to “try out” the strength of their new chain. This one, so full of
magic, cannot be broken. Tyr loses both his sword hand and his monstrous
friend, while the hatred of Fenrir for the gods who have so abused him will now
grow ever stronger. This is one of the saddest tales in the long string of the broken
oaths and broken friendships which litter the ancient story.
Actions have consequences, although
it seems the gods have so far believed these could be avoided. Too
many rules have been broken, too many laws disregarded, and the finely balanced harmony
of the universe goes spinning out of control. The time comes when Fenrir, as
foretold, at last breaks even that magical chain. Then, he will kill the
oath-breaker Odin and finish his vengeance by swallowing the sun. Jormungandr will arise,
carrying the ocean over the land. Hel will unleash her army of the dead and the
world-wide apocalypse the Norse called Ragnorak will bring utter ruin to gods and men.
When I was younger, I remember only
being afraid of Fenrir, Jormungandr and Hel, those black monstrous terrors, that break down of order. The rationalizations
presented for Odin’s actions: “the ends justifies the means” seemed an inevitable
part of the cruel, cynical "realism" that was part of adulthood.
Now, re-visiting the story, I have had the dizzying experience of seeing the
old black and white change places. My heart breaks for Fenrir and the other stolen
children; I can better understand the natural forces they represent. With a shock of recognition, I see Odin’s lies, his self-service, his delusion of total control, and also have a spine-tingling vision of how some
forces are too huge for gods—or men—to imagine they can command.
~~Juliet Waldron
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