Saturday, August 17, 2013

Where the Wolfthings are.



Sometimes,on Theology Dragons, you will find articles on empiricism, postmodernism, the history of the Middle Ages. Sometimes, I'm going to explore the angst of our modern society and the need for us to to return to Christ-like standards in creativity. Sometimes on this site, you will find blog posts that are actually mature and thoughtful.

This is not one of the blog posts. This one is on werewolves.

Okay so werewolves are not really a mature topic. They have less theological depth to them then say fairies or vampires. Far less underlying philosophical concepts to explore. But I like werewolves, so you all are going have to suffer me a bit while I rant about them. I mean, you can't get much more awesome then a guy who can actually turn into a wolf! Only thing better then a werewolf is a dragon, and as we have previously established on this blog, dragons are awesome.

Now just because werewolves are not as philosophically deep as fairies or vampires doesn't mean they don't have depth to them. Oh they do. See we've brought up various fantastic races and symbolism before. Vampires are a symbol of sin, Fairies are a symbol of the enigmatic mystery and the Modern Wizard is a symbol of technology and progress. So what are the underlying themes with werewolves?

Alright I've heard it said by a lot of modern literary critics that the werewolf is a symbol of the 'beast within'. Now this sounds really pretty but has anyone stopped to think what the 'beast within' is? That terms sounds nice but it really doesn't describe anything. The werewolf is a human who turns into a wolf, of course it symbolizes the beast within! But what does that even mean?

Well it can be a lot of things. In fact a lot of the differences between various werewolves in fiction can be attributed to different methods authors use to interpret 'the beast within'. It can be used to portray unrestrained sin. In this case the werewolf is not that different from a vampire, both are used to portray an overwhelming carnal blood-lust that humans cannot control no matter how 'good' their original intentions. That's the sort of werewolf you see in those old 1950's horror films. The other main interpretation of 'the beast within' is to represent humans love for nature and wildlife. Since the werewolf is a man who can turn into a wolf, it represents the connection that humans can have with the Lord's Creation. This sort of werewolf is a symbol of man as steward of the earth. It shows in a subtle sort of way his dominance over the rest of the creation the Lord has made.

So those are some of my thoughts on that subject. Werewolves are a interesting topic to deal with, and can either be used to represent sin.. or man's Lordship of creation.

1 comment:

  1. My hubby pointed out once that vampires are the decay of the soul, zombies are the decay of the body, and werewolves are the decay of the mind.

    I love werewolves, too. :-)

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