Worse than the cruelest
“Fairy Lover”.
Worse than that (ok, I admit it,) imaginary
girlfriend many of us had in the 7th grade,
Worse even, than the professor's relationship with Marlene Dietrich in The Blue
Angel…
The piece of achingly lovely fluff that Math and
Gwydion spun up as a mate for Lleu was made of that same deadly fabric that has
laid-low a thousand mighty young princes:
beauty... lacking substance.
BLODEUWEDD WAS NOT A
NICE YOUNG LADY!
She was one of the foulest characters in the whole Mabinogion !
Just because she was awesomely beautiful and she
had been made out of nothing but flowers
and magic,
IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT SHE WAS EVER
A
WONDERFUL “GODDESS OF FLOWERS”.
And, IMO, whenever any of you
are foolish enough to honor her as such,
you risk the
curse of the ancient Bards of Wales
for buggering one of the most precious gifts they
have left us.
This Fourth Branch of the Mabinogion was a masterful piece of storytelling as well as being a truly a mythic construction bearing a timeless message. A cautionary tale; an instructional myth.
Good Gods, guys...
HAVE-YOU-NOT-READ-THE-STORY ?
The ONLY (only!) place in all of history she is ever mentioned is this
very story, constructed with the obviously express intention to warn young men* of the dangers of their
own inherent vulnerability to the
power of beauty when devoid of character;
a loveliness without compassion or care… La Belle Dame sans Merci, the monstrous, nay, lethal, danger of transcendent beauty without a soul.
I would go on, but I fear I have already have offended too many friends
here, and, although I feel some things must be
said, such was not my intention.
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* Mabinogi = “lads’ tales” is as good a translation of the title as any
you’ll find.
* * Lars
and the Real Girl (2007) - a very sweet and entertaining film, definitely worth seeing.
