While Liz Weir was visiting my class on June 6th,
there was a very large purplish horsefly
buzzing all around the room. I
immediately thought of Etain, the beautiful woman who was turned into a purple
or scarlet fly by the jealous wife of Etain’s lover. I always think of that story when I see a
horsefly, but to see one during a storytelling session made me think, “Oh! That’s
Etain asking to be told!”
I’ve wanted to tell the story for a long time – it’s very
beautiful and romantic. It’s also long
and complicated and I’m pretty sure I don’t understand it. First of all, what
kind of fly was she? When I first read
the story, it just said “fly”. So, I
imagined a large horsefly like the one in the room when Liz was telling. It evokes for me Jeff Goldblum stepping naked
into the chamber that will change him forever.
But most images of Etain show either a butterfly or a dragonfly, both of
which do seem like a better fit for a beautiful woman.
It would take a lot of research to get it ready to tell, but
I think I ‘m going to take it on. One of my students this summer, Haley Maffia,
told a lovely fairytale version of it and I was even more inspired. Haley, of
course, imagined Etain as a large purple butterfly.
Click on “Play Audio for Etain” button at this link http://www.babynamesofireland.com/etain
to hear the pronunciation a gloss of the story.
The image at the top comes from http://wordslikewine.deviantart.com/art/Etain-5663594
The image at the bottom comes from http://www.carrowkeel.com/art/prints/etain.html
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