[This blog completely spoils the story.]
The story opens up talking about how the fairies like all things that are good and beautiful and value the idea of giving more than being stingy, but the way it does this seems more like making conservativism sound miserly. And I agree that it can be like that sometime, but in this story, it seems more like the fairies are being incredibly selfish about it.
Fairies in Irish lore tend to try and test people by seeing if they will give them things for free. If they don't get what they think they deserve then they tend to consider the person depriving them of the things to be evil.
In the case of "The Farmer Punished," the farmer kept hearing the voices of what sounded like a mother and child outside of his house. The child was thirsty and so the mother promised him that the farmer would spill the milk and that he could drink it. For this reason, the farmer made sure that no milk was spilt.
Again, the child is heard another day saying that he was hungry, and the mother said that the farmer was going to bake some pies, and that he could have one. So the farmer made sure that no pies would be made that day.
The boy then claimed that he would soon roll over and die, and then the mother said that he would not have to die because the farmer's son was about to die in a war. The meaning here was that the farmer's son would get to die in fairy son's stead.
The farmer here was complacent because there was no war at the time, but when he went to see his son, he was preparing his weapons. Apparently there had been a war on the horizon, and the farmer's son wanted to join up and fight for his king.
Wanting to thwart the fairies, he sealed his son up in a stone house to prevent him from leaving, but the fairies helped the boy leave anyhow over night. The next day the fairy mother was heard saying that the boy had gone to war and died and now there was a grave made in his honor, referring to the house of stones that the farmer had built. Indeed, his son's body was delivered to him soon after and the farmer ended up dying in grief and quite looked down upon for standing up to the fairies as he did.
In the case of "The Farmer Punished," I absolutely side with the farmer. He wasn't really being miserly. He was trying to defy evil forces, and the fairies were being evil. The fairies here were manipulative and cruel here and ultimately able to best him with their powers. They were selfish and ultimately self righteous in their revenge.
I do recommend this one! It clearly explains the mindset of the fairies and shows how awful it is to deal with them. Well written!
This blog was written on September 15, 2023.
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A further indication that fairies are indeed demons. They have a strong sense of right and wrong but without a conscience. They are sociopathic, and murder when they think they have a right to. Their petty cruelty is eerily calculated.
ReplyDeleteThey make the rules and then execute them... and then call it moral.
DeleteFairies always have an agenda and it's never with a human's best interests in mind. It's always a tragedy to come into contact with the fairy folk. Sad that the farmer had no way to deal with the evil force.
ReplyDeleteWe'd be better without them.
DeleteGiving should be done out of the kindness of one's heart. When it is expected, then it becomes an obligation. People think they should reap what they have not sown.
ReplyDeleteYes. Fairies are demons and demons are creatures of rules rather then conscience. They do not relate to the human inclination to do good unto others whether it is right or wrong. Unlike them, we can break the rules for the better.
DeleteI still don't think fairies should be the arbiters of morality.
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