The werewolf is a monstrosity that has
stalked and hunted its way through folklore and tales across the globe. The
first mentions of a man transforming into a wolf appeared in ancient Greek and
Roman mythology. The original myth begins with the story of a man named Lycaon,
whose name bears a strong similarity to the term lycan used to describe men who
may transform into a werewolf. Although there are a number of versions of the
story from different authors, the general story comes out to be that Lycaon
disrespected Zeus by committing heinous acts, and as punishment was turned in
to the form of a wolf. The acts Lycaon differ in the varied tales, but they generally
involve Lycaon killing and either eating, serving, or offering the flesh of his
son Nyctimus. Cohen's first thesis gains some immediate traction based on the
example of this story. The werewolf was created to be a cultural warning for
those who mistreated their children, turned to cannibalism, or committed
murder. Looking at this list of crimes the figure of the wolf seems incredibly
fitting, as during this cultural period wolves were a serious threat, a terror
to small villages, as they would often attack and devour humans, especially the
weaker and less wary children.
In the ages that have passed since those
ancient times, the werewolf has continued to develop and spread as a monstrous
figure, continuing to be a major monster present in our current culture. The
characteristics of the werewolf that has developed in popular culture stands
out to me as clearly fitting in line with Cohen's second thesis. Some of the
incredible monstrous features commonly attributed to the modern werewolf are
extraordinary strength and speed, incredible healing capabilities, the ability to blend in by appearing human most of the time, and unnaturally long life. The combination of
these features makes the werewolf truly impossible to eliminate, which is why
this monster has persevered and maintained a presence in so many different
cultures for so many years. They are difficult to catch, even more challenging
to kill, and incredibly adept at escaping and regenerating from even the most
serious of injuries very quickly. They can hide in the wilderness or hide among
us, and there is no way to tell how many of them could still be out there, how
many new people are infected and join their ranks every day.
The werewolf clearly provides an excellent case study for Cohen's theses, and give them some even stronger backing and depth. We can see how the monstrous figure arose directly from the fear within a culture, and its ability to always escape, always hide just beyond the margin, has enabled it to prey on the fears of cultures for thousands of years. And this hunt shows no sign of ending.
Cohen’s theses provide a good ground with which to analyze the monster stories of the past, such as the werewolf, but with the way pop culture has developed in the last few years it feels a little outdated when dissecting modern monster stories, especially when dealing with werewolves and vampires. Some of the more popular literature and cinema these days have revolved around stories of monsters, vampires, and werewolves, with the big name that comes to mind being the Twilight series. In almost seemingly complete opposition to the way Cohen breaks down the common themes of monster stories pop culture has fetishized what use to be parts of nightmares. Given they do retain some traits as you have described, regeneration, strength, speed, but the overall monstrosity of the character has nearly disappeared. It is with great pain and embarrassment that I must say I’ve seen a few of the Twilight movies; it has given me some insight as to how the monsters have changed. The werewolves look “majestic” and non-threatening when in animal form, vampires sparkle, and instead of running away with fear the women somehow become romantically involved with monsters that once threatened our very way of life.
ReplyDeleteIt’d be interesting to see an analysis of how the different interpretations of the stories of werewolves and other monsters have changed over the course of their very long written history from the objects of our nightmares to the fetishization of said creatures in pop culture. To know where and when this shift happened, and what or who exactly caused this cultural shift that I assume is at its root, would be a very interesting topic.