Danielle Bailey
Lenihan, Eddie & Carolyn Eve Green. Meeting the Other Crowd: The Fairy Stories of Hidden Ireland. New York: Penguin, 2004
In “Meeting the Other Crowd,” Eddie Lenihan uses a collection of Irish short stories about fairies, told by assorted traditional oral story tellers, to take an in depth look at how the people in Ireland view the cultural beliefs of fairies, ghosts and what they call, the “Good People.” Proceeding each piece is a quote that reinforces the views of the story and following is a summary of the views of fairies given in the piece and how it is accepted into the culture. Although the collection is used to record the oral traditions of Ireland and give a detailed account of how Irish people have formed their beliefs for centuries, the reoccurring theme in many of the stories is of women being the smarter of the sexes when dealing with the traps and tricks of the other crowd. As a whole the pieces give a deeper look at the stories that have shaped the Irish culture for centuries and is helps collect an overall view of how women are portrayed in the folklore that has been an important part of Irish history.
Krull, Kathleen. A Pot O’ Gold: A Treasury of Irish Stories, Poetry, Folklore, and (of Course) Blarney. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2004
The children’s stories in Kathleen Krull’s “A Pot O’ Gold” are a collection of popular Irish folklore that includes many of the reinforced views of women in the traditions of Ireland. Using bright pictures and a mixture of stories, poems, songs, recipes and “courses,” Krull is able to give a broad view of the ideals used to instill cultural values in Irish children. Although this is a children’s book the stories are a great introduction to the oral traditions of Ireland. As an introduction to Irish folklore the pieces have given me a wide range of examples of stories of women and like the Lenihan piece offers a similar view of crafty knowledge and other worldly beauty that the women in Irish literature posses.
Bitel, Lisa M. “Do not Marry the Fat Short One: The early Irish Wisdom on Women.” Journal of Women’s History. Vol. 6, 7: pg. 137
Lisa Bitel’s “Do not marry the fat short one,” uses extensive examples of how women were viewed as “not male” (not quit human,) versus how the women in Irish folklore are portrayed as mystically beautiful and powerful. Bitel uses legal documents from 700 A.D. to illustrate how peasant women were viewed as property for marriage purposes, and how women were formed to fit into a male world. The piece addresses readers of The Journal of Women’s History, which would be a source for individuals interested in history and/or Women. This piece gives me a base of how women were viewed outside of the literature of the time, as well as an assertation of the views portrayed in the folklore that has continued since then.
Ceoghegan, Sioga. “The Legacy of the Irish Goddess.” The Beltane Papers. 2004: pg. 16
In “The legacy of the Irish Goddess,” Sioga Ceoghegan weighs heavily on the instances of mythical visions of beautiful and powerful women in Irish folklore. Ceoghegan points out many well known female figures (such as Queen Maedb) in fairy tales to show how they use their intrigue to lure unsuspecting males. As an entry from “The Beltane Papers” this piece would have been viewed by individuals seeking information about Irish literature. I feel the ideas of Irish women that come form them being viewed as luring unsuspecting males could be elaborated to show how this has caused women to be seen as cunning and sneaking and also reinforces the culture of beauty as a scale to judge a woman’s worth.
McCarthy, Imelda Colgan. “Out of Myth into History: A Hope for Irish Women in the 1990s.” Journal of Feminist Family Therapy. Vol.4: pg. 37
In “Out of Myth into History,” Imelda McCarthy gives an overall idea of how women are viewed today and how they are striving to change those views in Ireland for the future. McCarthy uses examples such as the current female president of Ireland to show the progress of women from peasants to current day. As a piece from thee Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, this would be read by primarily those who are seeking information of feminist views in current day Ireland. This source would give me a current base of how women in Ireland view themselves and what part of that has come from the culture that has shaped their history.