Using this information, he crafts a bow and a quiver of arrows fashioned out of the plant and convinces a blind god – his brother, Höðr – to shoot him with said arrow. Loki, while wearing the disguise of an elderly woman, overheard Frigg on her quest, and thus found out Baldr’s foil. Except for a small plant called mistletoe, which Frigg believed to be too young to swear the oath. Fearing for her son’s safety and wellbeing Frigg went all across the nine realms and got everything to swear an oath never to harm her son. Stories tell of him being able to transform himself into various animals and other people, partially as to further some plan of his.Īs an example, there is a story about the Norse god of purity – named Baldr or Baldur – who once had a prophetic dream about being murdered. Loki is known to be one of the figures most adept at magic, specifically illusions, in the Norse mythos. Although in many versions and retellings he is not strictly a god as much as he was a Titan from Jotunnheim, it takes little away from his nature as a trickster. Loki, from the Norse parthenon of gods, is probably the most common form of a trickster. I’ll add their background as well as explain how they are tricksters. Here are a few common tricksters many people will be familiar with. Rather than have any kind of morality, as we would call it, a trickster impulsively does things and spares little to no thought at all on whether what they’re doing is good or nefarious.Īlthough many tricksters are thought of to be able to change their appearance and gender at will, possibly tricksters could be thought of as genderless, most tricksters are presented as male. The trickster figure commonly had magical powers, didn’t conform well to any kind of authority and did things because they wanted to – rather than help or hinder anyone. A study of Behn's work through a biographical and historical lens aids in understanding her focus, and helps to clearly identify Behn herself, as well as her characters, as trickster figures.Throughout countless myths and fantasy stories, there is always a prominent character that is known – even if not referred directly, as a trickster. While many of Behn's characters can be seen to exemplify change, in the end the change is rarely permanent: Behn is well aware of this reality.īehn's heroines use subterfuge and trickery to achieve their desires. Finally, the dualistic nature of the trickster requires that their chaos be balanced by a return to the normal order. Tricksters often appear masked, or altered in some way: Behn's characters often wear masks or costumes to disguise their true identity. Their dualistic nature is found in her poetry, most notably in "To the Fair Clarinda." Her female characters in The Rover represent the range ofwomen who populated the society fo the English Restoration, from noblewoman to prostitute to servant, each faced with a situation and behavior that is unexpected. Trickster characteristics echo throughout Behn's work. Her work, which seems to delight in sexuality, identifies her as one of the few lady libertines. Her strong, sexually aware characters represent women like herselfwho take their future into their own hands while remaining aware of the limitations faced by their gender. In her own life choices Behn herself stepped outside the expectations society had for a woman and took charge of her own future and happiness. Perhaps the best representations of female trickster figures in early modem literature are found in the works of English playwright, novelist, and poet Aphra Behn (1640-1689). This study focuses on trickster figures and characteristics as represented in selected works of Aphra Behn. Two areas where women excel as Tricksters are in persuasive or language tricks and in sexual tricks Sexual tricks can take a variety of forms, and include bed tricks, gender reversal, and creating confusion using sex or gender. Trickster heroines can be found throughout fairy tales and folk tales, in the stories of girls and women who use their wits to achieve their desires or to keep themselves safe. Most frequently connected to Native American tales in contemporary literature, the archetype can be found in the mythology and folk tales of nearly every time and culture. One popular archetype is the trickster figure. Archetypes have long been used by oral historians to help their audience connect quickly and easily to their characters.
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