Why not the wolf?
Okay, so you’ve probably noticed a huge theme recurring theme of wolves throughout everything – one of the major characters of the Sirin Chronicles, the website….me… So why is it such a personal thing to me?
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(Image from Comfreak on Pixabay)
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I’ve been in love with wolves for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been enchanted by them, the way they are, their howls, and what they stand for when the negativity is taken away. My first school project was about them, and the first story I ever wrote also focussed on them. In every book I wrote, I had the same wolf character recycled until I wrote a story I wanted to stay with. For many years the character was known as Fenrir, straight out of Norse mythology; and his story was loosely in keeping with the original tale while also mixed in with a recurring waking dream I’d had since as far back as I can remember – a wolf-god and a young woman of powerful magical abilities, which became the story between Aengal and Vaenal.
I’ve possibly driven my parents to wit’s end every time there’s been a documentary about wild animals on over the years, and I’m continually repeating my frustration that wolves are seldom shown. It was never, then a few years ago they did seem to get the occasional token moment of screen-time, and I think there’s been two, maybe three documentaries specifically about them since. One of those was a short time-lapse film that showed the transformation to Yellowstone since their re-release to the sight, and the effect they have on the habitat. I mean, their presence in the grand scheme of things changed the course of the river, how can you not love them?
As a child, I loved the Jungle Book with Mowgli growing up within a pack of wolves, and the tale of Romulus and Remus being taken and raised by a she-wolf. There is also the she-wolf Asena, which is sort of cool….but also mostly disturbing. Then I found ‘The Sight’ by David Clement-Davies and ‘Princess Mononoke’ by Studio Ghibli which portrayed the wolves as having some level of compassion to humans, and their rage against humans makes sense within the story.
As I grew older, it became a more an involved process to make wolves much more prominent than just my affection for the wolves, and to give more representation for them (“They’re just seriously misunderstood creatures”). In almost every story, wolves are always shown as the bad guys; shown as deceitful or sinful, or pure lustfully evil beasts with an insatiable hunger – The Big Bad Wolf from Aesop’s fables and Grimm’s fairytales.
This is possibly something started by the Biblical references to wolves being seen as threatening and sinful, and it definitely doesn’t help that Fenrir in the Norse mythology was basically the harbinger of the end of the world, with offspring kin Skol and Hati the devourers of the sun and the moon.
But why weren’t any of the other predatory animals dragged into the muck? Why is a lion seen as loyal, brave and courageous, but not the wolf which has a whole host of endearing qualities to rival the lion?
I once asked an ex if he’d ever seen or heard a wolf in the wild as he was from Poland, to which he shuddered and told me how violent and dangerous they were – and yes, they are wild, unpredictable and dangerous, especially when not treated with respect to their nature. The ocean is more fickle and deadly, yet people still dive in and often without a thought – he was implying that a wolf would purposefully leave the depths of the forest to come and hunt you for dinner. It didn’t go down well when I suggested a camping trip, that’s for sure.
Thankfully wolves are starting to get their moment in the light in media, most prominently the direwolves in A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin, and with artists such as Anne Stokes and Lisa Parker creating some truly fantastic images amongst others.
Hopefully one day in the not so distant future, wolves will be in their rightful place next to many of the fantastic, magical and positive creatures. Also, hopefully, I’ll get to one of the wolf conservation sites here in the UK and finally see one in the fur.
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Wolves in Mythology
Famous Wolves in History {coming soon}
The Wolf and the Mage
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