[Some spoilers included.]
"Ethna the Bride" is a short story written by Lady Jane Francesca Wilde. As far as I can tell, it was published in 1888 in Ireland.
The story involves the concept of fairies coveting our women... as well as making off with them. Ethna is a beautiful bride who is married to a young lord. Despite already being married, a powerful fairy known as Finvarra casts a spell on her which causes her to have extremely pleasant and hypnotic dreams. A few days after this happens, she disappears completely.
The lord realizes that he will have to outwit the fairy in order to get his wife back. It's either that or never see her again. The interesting thing here is that the lord was actually friends with Finvarra and even gave him and his fellow fairies offerings to keep the relations good. It didn't matter though. Finvarra easily breaks the bond of friendship in order to take the woman he wants so badly.
I won't spoil the ending, but I do want to say that this is a good example of how selfish some fairies can be, especially in Irish folklore. They can be remarkably greedy and will betray humans to get what they want. Another thing that I found interesting was that Ethna was not unhappy in the care of Finvarra. The fairy male was very charming and kept her sedate with the enchanting music heard within the fairy kingdom. She would have likely stayed there forever (and happily so) without any intervention from the young lord.
It's a good story, and I do recommend it. I'm rather surprised it took me so long to find this one. It's an easy read and gets straight to the point. I think it's pretty easy to find nowadays too, and you might even locate a free copy of it on the internet. Enjoy.
This blog was written on January 28, 2023.
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Finvarra felt entitled for a very simple reason: He wanted what he wanted and telling him "no" would offend him. Such is the primal whimsy of the fairies. Interesting that the human female was controlled by bliss. She was robbed of even her will to escape. Sad that Finvarra betrayed his friend. Then again, a human should not be the one with such a treasure, even when that treasure is a human itself.
ReplyDeleteFriendship with fairies is a bit fake since they are still applying a series of logic and rules to the concept.
DeleteFunny how fairy folk are always portrayed as completely selfish, as well as having an attraction to human women. It all rings true, "all cultures have those myths" haha. The young lord made the common mistake of thinking friendship means the same to fairy folk as it does to us.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Fairies really aren't all that different from culture to culture. I think the Irish were just more honest and open about it.
DeleteFairies will do terrible things to get what they desire. They do not concern themselves with what humans think. Women fall easy prey to them, and often come to love their captors.
ReplyDeleteThey act a like like most humans... or are the humans acting a lot like them?
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