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A review by clairetrellahill
In Search of the Swan Maiden: A Narrative on Folklore and Gender by Barbara Fass Leavy
informative
reflective
4.0
⭐️BOOK REVIEW: In Search of the Swan Maiden⭐️
I first heard IN SEARCH OF THE SWAN MAIDEN referenced on the WHAT THE FORCE podcast (@ wtforcemedia ) run by Marie Claire Gould. I’m not sure what episode it was but I’m nearly positive it was one where Missy (@ fangirling_0nly on Twitter) appeared. Very grateful for this reference as it was a really great read with tons of good info on folklore and interpreting it through a gender lens.
Some of the book was very academic and a little hard to read, but most of it was a very interesting breakdown of the swan maiden trope in folklore and its main permutations. A TON of folklore stories were referenced, specifically a lot of Native American folklore that I had never heard before so that was very fascinating. I found the author’s analysis of swan maidens, animal brides and grooms, demon lovers, and Cupid and psyche variants to be very insightful and also interesting when asking who is telling the story, who is it for, what character is most active within it. Oftentimes the author surprised me on her analysis of whether a folktale was really woman-focused or not by where the swan maiden ended up, whether she has rejected the supernatural and come back to the world of reality or escaped a husband that would seek to trap her.
All in all this was super useful for stories I probably won’t be able to write for years but definitely worthwhile to start thinking about them. Would recommend! 4 stars.
I first heard IN SEARCH OF THE SWAN MAIDEN referenced on the WHAT THE FORCE podcast (@ wtforcemedia ) run by Marie Claire Gould. I’m not sure what episode it was but I’m nearly positive it was one where Missy (@ fangirling_0nly on Twitter) appeared. Very grateful for this reference as it was a really great read with tons of good info on folklore and interpreting it through a gender lens.
Some of the book was very academic and a little hard to read, but most of it was a very interesting breakdown of the swan maiden trope in folklore and its main permutations. A TON of folklore stories were referenced, specifically a lot of Native American folklore that I had never heard before so that was very fascinating. I found the author’s analysis of swan maidens, animal brides and grooms, demon lovers, and Cupid and psyche variants to be very insightful and also interesting when asking who is telling the story, who is it for, what character is most active within it. Oftentimes the author surprised me on her analysis of whether a folktale was really woman-focused or not by where the swan maiden ended up, whether she has rejected the supernatural and come back to the world of reality or escaped a husband that would seek to trap her.
All in all this was super useful for stories I probably won’t be able to write for years but definitely worthwhile to start thinking about them. Would recommend! 4 stars.