Mostly birth quibbles.

From: alex_at_dcs.gla.ac.uk
Date: Thu, 9 Mar 95 21:27:43 GMT


Martin "Sorry he started these Cute Quotes, now" Crim files a late application to join the Pedantry Club (which I've cc'd to Joerg, Nick, Sandy, and myself in triplicate):
> "Smart" Alex, replying to Klaus Ole Kristiansen:
> >"Heterodox Openheaded fiend!" "Heresiarch Sad Lonely Bastard!"
> Interesting word choice. Other translators may disagree,
> however, given the Mostali attitude toward sex (don't even THINK
> about it) and marriage (what?).

I used that word for its colloquial connotations, naturally, for the benefit of my allegedly human readers. A more accurate translation would have been "practisioner of illicit and perverse acts relating to the reproductive organs, and maintenance tools". Or it would have been, except that the putative "conversation" never took place, oecumenical conferences being a human vice.

> [that birth doesn't fit the Campbellian Heroquest form]
> may have more to do with Campbell's own biases and his
> attempt to shoehorn every myth into a single structure.

Indeed. So why compound the error by further shoehorning childbirth (or as you're covertly generalising it to, pregnacy as a whole) into the already cramped container?

To say that there are myths about childbirth is one thing; why should it be a Hero myth, in particular?

> My thesis is that heroquest is an attempt to steal the power
> represented in birth.

This sounds like completely different theory from the original. I take it you don't mean the Power of Birth is the McGuffin in the generic heroquest, so I don't think that some of them involve stealing is material. Conversely, if heroquest works by "re-enacting" birth, you'd expect it to genuinely similar in form to the generic HQ.

> Birth is dramatic and universal.

If anything, too universal. There's little elective element to childbirth (especially the "mini-HQ"), beyond the original instance of Doing the Nasty. While not exactly "mundane", giving birth is an inevitable part of life (from the community's point of view), and not just something undertaken by Heroes.

A thought that occurs is that Birth may be better Monomythised as a Stage on the Life Heroquest (which forms a much neater, more explicit cycle, at least), but why offer a hostage to Shooting Down Pet Theories fortune?

On a less jocularly ad hominemistic note:

Peter Metcalfe (from the Dara Happan "Baitor of Flame") is moved to respond to a remarkably innocent remark about Digests vs. reflecting lists by having me executed in effigy for, he imagines, stupidity and treachery.

I should perhaps find out whether Peter intended this to be persuant to the point in hand (which it wasn't), or amusing (ditto), or merely offensive (third time lucky), but in any case, I'm inclined to wonder, primary school teacher like (hi MOB!) "Does he act like this at home?".

Fully expecting a followup from the keen ironist himself complaining about being "insulted",
Alex.


End of Glorantha Digest V1 #207


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