Urban Fantasy: Reinventing Women in Threes
For this week's reading, I chose to read Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane. The novel took a while for me to get hooked, as every page was a new concept out of left field. However, I enjoyed the story once it picked up, and how it played on a piece of mythology I haven't seen in a while: women in threes. In multiple types of mythologies and religions, there exists a trio of powerful women - the Moirai, the Graeae, the Norns, the three Morrígna, and many more. Some portray them all as old women, others show them as the maiden, the mother, and the crone. In Gaiman's case, he chose the latter of the two, the three appearing as the mysterious and intriguing Hempstock women.
From their introduction, it was rather obvious that there was something supernatural about the Hempstocks. It was either that, or assume that they were all crazy. From Lettie's omniscient knowledge of everyone's money dreams, to the three of them discussing the suicide letter despite never having read it, themes of the women in three had been appearing from the start. I found it almost comforting that their all-knowingness gave the Hempstocks a sense of calm and level head when figuring out how to deal with the crazy situations that occurred in the novel - a nice contrast to the boy, who was experiencing everything for the first time. I also have to mention Gran's badass moment near the end of the novel, where she appears all aglow and just orders the "hunger birds" to leave. Badass older women are one of my favorite tropes.
It was incredibly refreshing to have read this representation of the three women. Oftentimes, they are shown as crazy old ladies, or untouchable goddesses with perfection beyond belief. Gaiman chose to humanize them in the Ocean at the End of the Lane; he shows it through their kindness and care towards the lonely boy. Lettie befriends him and ultimately saves his life, the mother weeps for both children, holding them close at the end of the novel, and Gran basically treats him as if he were her own grandchild. It was a beautiful contrast to the awful things that the boy was experiencing - a good show of the silver lining in the darkest of times.
From their introduction, it was rather obvious that there was something supernatural about the Hempstocks. It was either that, or assume that they were all crazy. From Lettie's omniscient knowledge of everyone's money dreams, to the three of them discussing the suicide letter despite never having read it, themes of the women in three had been appearing from the start. I found it almost comforting that their all-knowingness gave the Hempstocks a sense of calm and level head when figuring out how to deal with the crazy situations that occurred in the novel - a nice contrast to the boy, who was experiencing everything for the first time. I also have to mention Gran's badass moment near the end of the novel, where she appears all aglow and just orders the "hunger birds" to leave. Badass older women are one of my favorite tropes.
It was incredibly refreshing to have read this representation of the three women. Oftentimes, they are shown as crazy old ladies, or untouchable goddesses with perfection beyond belief. Gaiman chose to humanize them in the Ocean at the End of the Lane; he shows it through their kindness and care towards the lonely boy. Lettie befriends him and ultimately saves his life, the mother weeps for both children, holding them close at the end of the novel, and Gran basically treats him as if he were her own grandchild. It was a beautiful contrast to the awful things that the boy was experiencing - a good show of the silver lining in the darkest of times.
I enjoyed this about the novel as well. Gaiman humanised myth and mythical characters in a refreshing and powerful way throughout the story. I felt that the Hempstocks were a lot like the three fates as well. They’re a great blend of a lot of ideas.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed Gaiman's use of the triple goddess. I always found this concept to be one of the more fascinating in mythology for how encompassing it was and yet prominently set in the background. Gaiman shows that these three women have always retain so much power yet they chose to live out their days tending to their farm in the English countryside. It makes me wonder the type of message Gaiman is getting at with that fact. The all powerful triple goddess chooses to ignore a life of power, leisure, or otherwise and keep to a productive but ultimately small life in the countryside.
DeleteAs someone who doesn't quite understand themes in novels until I am finished, I didn't notice this take on Women in Threes until I read your blog post. It's made me far more interested in the three and I am now tempted to reread the story and see if I notice more takes on this troupe.
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