Sir Orfeo is a retelling of the Orpheus legend, which is one of my favorite Greek myths of all time - emphasis on the retelling of the story, because it isn't the same as the original myth. To be fair, ancient Greek myths were so heavily regionalized and re-purposed (depending on who was in charge at the time) that it's hard to find just one to be considered canon, so maybe Sir Orfeo isn't as far off-base as I think it is. Honestly, who knows?
The first thing that popped into my head about Sir Orfeo is that, aside from the Breton influence there, it almost seems to be a convergence of two myths rather than just Orpheus's tale. The abduction of Herodis into the "underworld" has much more in common with the legend of Persephone and Hades than it does in the so-called "standard" Orpheus myth, where [SPOILER]: Herodis (Eurydice) is killed by a snakebite, and Orfeo/Orpheus descends to rescue her.
This story was a change, because there wasn't really any violence or political intrigue. It wasn't quite... boring, but it also wasn't as bombastic as, say, the Knight of the Cart or the Knight's Tale.
Not present in the story: rippling muscles.
Also not present: pretty much any action at all.
The one thing that irritated me about Sir Orfeo is that there isn't a reason given as to why Herodis is abducted. It just seems like the king of the underworld showed up in a dream and kind of told her he was gonna grab her for no good reason. Am I missing something?
Overall, I really liked this story, if only because I enjoy the Orpheus legend and all its various forms, even Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending which follows the legend but... in a really abstract way? What even happened there? Anyway, Sir Orfeo is an interesting take on a very archetypal myth.
I think I took it for granted why Herodis was kidnapped just because fairies were involved. Like Mitchell-Buck said Tuesday, "Because fairies." What I would say? "Cuz fairies lol." Seriously, be it Celtic, English, French, Breton, Finnish, or Scandinavian, the motivations of fey/tricksters in stories seems to be "we did it for teh lulz." I even read a story where Loki, the trickster god (not the dark, sexy, brooding Marvel version), beat a dwarf with a rock and stole his gold just cuz. Is it a good narrative excuse? Arguably. Does it get the plot flowing really quick? Yes.
ReplyDeleteI think this is why the ending was changed, too. When you hear a story about fairies, you don't expect people to die. When you here a story involving Greek gods, you sit down and think, "Well this won't end well..." So it all comes down to expectations.
I also didn't spend too much time questioning why Herodis was kidnapped once I learned that faeries were involved. Like Brian already pointed out, it is just in their nature to be tricky little devils! Although, for a moment while reading I did begin to question why Herodis was allowed to leave the garden in the first place after dreaming of her fate or why she would willingly choose to return there, but then I quickly answered my own questions with "because faeries." I realized that even if she has not returned to the garden, the faeries would have still found a way to obtain her (they always do) and that their magic changes the rules. Thus, it made perfect sense why she simply disappeared or was randomly chosen... because faeries.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I also noticed the lack of action or violence in this story and definitely wasn't a fan. Although I liked the addition of the faeries, I didn't like the happy ending or that Orfeo successfully brings back Herodis. The Orpheus story made much more of an impact on me as opposed to Orfeo. The latter just felt flat and I feel like this is due to the lack of action that you've described.
You raised a good point about the lack of violence. I didn’t notice it the first time I read it, but looking back it is slightly strange. Almost all of the other stories we have read have had some type of action or fighting in it, and without it Sir Orfeo just seemed kind of bland. The difference between Sir Orfeo and Orpheus and Eurydice was refreshing though, even if it could have been changed just a bit more.
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