All the Words that I gather,
And all the words that I write,
Must spread their wings untiring,
And never rest in their flight,
Till they come where your sad, sad heart is,
And sing to you in the night,
Beyond shore the waters are moving,
Storm darkened or starry bright.
W.B. Yeats
London, January 1892
Characteristics of the Folktale
Irish folktales are magical stories that are imaginative, inspirational, and superstitious. These tales have survived centuries of retelling and interpretations by many, but they still entrance the audience and capture their imagination. There is a definitive style and tone to Irish folktales that appeals to both children and adults; folktales are an excellent instructional tool which one may use to expose children to the essential literary elements such as tone, theme, and style. The importance of the folktale within the Irish culture cannot be dismissed.
“Folktales are full of simplicity and musical occurrences for they are the literature of a class for whom every incident in the old rut of birth, love, pain, and death has cropped up unchanged for centuries: who have steeped everything in the heart; to which everything is a symbol (Yeats, X).” Folktales provide a means by which the individual can journey into a mysterious and unknown land and discover a world with fairies, mermaids, ghosts, magic, and leprechauns. It is evident that folktales enable the Irish to make sense of tragedies existent within their own lives. It is thought that “perhaps, it is helpful to think that the souls of the dead often take the shapes of animals, sometimes insects, and beautiful to believe that a butterfly fluttering near a corpse could be the soul telling us that it has entered upon its immortal happiness (Yeats, X1).” There is a solace sought by the Irish that is provided through the folktale. This is exemplified in both films,
The Secret of Roan Inish
and
Into the West
. In both films, the folktale is interwoven and assists in explaining the tragic course of events that has occurred in the lives of the young characters. In
The Secret of Roan Inish
, the myth of the selkie, a magical creature that is a seal by day and a human by night, is the premise of the film. The selkies are believed to be of extraordinary beauty and characteristically have raven black hair and eyes. These mythical creatures swim near the shores to protect and be near their families (www.irishfestivals.net/selkies).
The Irish Folktale began as an oral tradition; within the village the traditional tales survived generations. The folktale is a significant part of the Irish culture and not something readily shared with foreigners, at least not through the oral tradition. To the Irish, retelling a folktale is sacred to their family, and at times can be perceived as being superstitious. This is exemplified in the film,
The Secret of Roan Inish
; the grandmother is insistent that the grandfather not share the tale of the selkie with his young granddaughter, Fiona. The grandfather, ignoring the superstitious warnings of his wife, tells the tale to an impressionable Fiona. There are however, various interpretations of a folktale that must exist. It is typical for the villagers to vote on which version of the folktale is closest to the Irish myth and will be the one retold to future generations. I believe this gives tremendous insight into the development of the folktale through oral tradition and the cultural importance in preserving the original myth. (Yeats, 5-6)
The folktale was used to explore answers to questions pertaining to life and death; it was used to explain tragedies that occurred, such as the Great Potato Famine in 1845-1850. The Folktale was used for entertainment as well as for providing solace and meaning to those things that are beyond one’s rationalization or understanding.
Symbolism of Mythical Creatures
There are two types of fairies within Irish folklore: the sociable and the solitary. Sociable fairies are more tenderhearted and generous (Yeats, 381), while the solitary fairies, like the Leprechaun, are uncharitable and mischievous.
The Leprechaun (believed to be the child of an “evil spirit and a debased fairy”) is a mischievous spirit that is perceived as the “practical joker” within the Irish folktale. Often considered “gloomy and terrible in some way”, the leprechaun’s sole purpose is to assemble and mend shoes while acquiring great wealth. If you behold a leprechaun mending a shoe, it is believed that he can be coerced into giving you gold. However, if you momentarily look away, he will vanish. (Yeats, 76) the typical attire of the leprechaun is a seven button, red overcoat with a hat. (Yeats 381-382)
“The Fear Laith,” or the Gray Man, was a musty smelling, fog covered man who frequented the coastal areas, high ground, and boggy hollows. To safeguard their potatoes from the Fear Liath, people sprinkled holy water and placed religious medals around the storage area (Bartoletti, 9). Those who did not heed the warnings of the myths of these solitary fairies discovered that their potatoes rotted and were inedible (Bartoletti, 9). Religion plays a significant role among the Irish because it provides a means by which one can use traditional religious customs to protect one’s family from “evil.”
Sociable fairies are the “sea-maids,” merrows (water fairies capable of shape-changing), and mermaids. Although they are not perceived to be as mischievous as the solitary fairies, some sociable fairies symbolize unfortunate occurrences. For example, the mermaid is symbolic of tumultuous weather (Yeats, 381).
These mythical creatures are integral to the Irish culture and their acceptance and understanding of tragedies that occur within their village. For example the travelers (Irish gypsies) believe that it is the fairies that cause the great winds that encumber their traveling from place to place (Bartoletti, 10).
The Importance of the Folktale in both
The Secret of Roan Inish
and
Into the West
“The souls of the dead sometimes take the shape of animals…if you see one fluttering near a corpse that is the soul, and is a sign of having entered immortal happiness (Yeats, 118).”
Both Irish films,
Into the West
and
the Secret of Roan Inish
, use the retelling of a folktale by a grandfather to enhance the story and create a more magical, mystical, and ethereal tone to the works. As we study these two films, it is important one understands the role and significance of the folktale within the Irish culture. The folktale becomes the foundation upon which people find courage, hope, and understanding within an otherwise dismal situation or tragedy. In both films, the main character’s story is interwoven within a folktale; as the film progresses the correlation between the characters’ development and awakening is directly related to their experiences and understanding of the folktale.
In
The Secret of Roan Inish
, it is the tale of the selkies that becomes the foundation upon which Fiona begins her spiritual and mystical journey.
Into the West
uses the “glorious white stallion by the name of Tir na nOg,” a figure in Irish legends (http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies /i/into_west.html) to tell the tale of Ossie and Tito as they escape the confinements of the urban Dublin and the depressive alcoholic state of their widowed father, Pap Riley in search of a better life. The most significant similarity between both films is the myth that human souls are reincarnated as animals in order to protect the loved ones left behind; specifically as a seal in
The Secret of Roan Inish
and a stallion in Into the West.
