October - in this part of the world, the month of official Autumn colors, foods, and the celebration of Halloween.
I thought it fitting to theme the Clown for this month in the vein of Halloween spirit, and acknowledging that that 'spirit' is so many different things to different people, I went with something that alluded to a number of things, albeit sedately grusome, on the whole.
The mythology of Bluebeard is rich with various interpretations, one of my favorites being from the archetypal 'Animal Groom' and its psychological dangers played out. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D addresses this figure in her dissection - pun intended - of the tale featured in 'Women Who Run with the Wolves; Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype', 1996.
For those who are not familiar with the iconic villain Bluebeard, his presence is a gory one. Having been the suspected literary result of numerous historical murderers, such as the serial-killer nobleman Gilles de Rais and the ancient Breton King Conomer, his antagonist role charms young women into marriage, only to trick them into discovering his secret chamber for butchering his wives, wherein the story's heroine is nearly killed herself.
But there is a trick in escaping and defeating the infamous blue-beard mage...
Incidentally, the blue beard is a symbol of the character's association to magic, the 'Otherworld', or having fallen from grace, so to speak, in his practices.
So, myth and the style of 'All Soul's Night', celebrating those passed on, honoring the dead, and so forth, is alluded to here.
And then there are those who like a plain, spooky holiday on Halloween, featuring haunted houses, hayrides, and various decor or entertainment themed with dungeons, dismembered bodies, scary scenarios, murderous captors and the like. If that be your taste for this time, I've included a candy bag full of something (certainly not candy) seeping darkly onto the floor...Perhaps a sampling of Bluebeard's unwitting wives...I'll leave that up to you.
Trick or treat?
Happy Halloween!
-M
I thought it fitting to theme the Clown for this month in the vein of Halloween spirit, and acknowledging that that 'spirit' is so many different things to different people, I went with something that alluded to a number of things, albeit sedately grusome, on the whole.
The mythology of Bluebeard is rich with various interpretations, one of my favorites being from the archetypal 'Animal Groom' and its psychological dangers played out. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D addresses this figure in her dissection - pun intended - of the tale featured in 'Women Who Run with the Wolves; Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype', 1996.
For those who are not familiar with the iconic villain Bluebeard, his presence is a gory one. Having been the suspected literary result of numerous historical murderers, such as the serial-killer nobleman Gilles de Rais and the ancient Breton King Conomer, his antagonist role charms young women into marriage, only to trick them into discovering his secret chamber for butchering his wives, wherein the story's heroine is nearly killed herself.
But there is a trick in escaping and defeating the infamous blue-beard mage...
Incidentally, the blue beard is a symbol of the character's association to magic, the 'Otherworld', or having fallen from grace, so to speak, in his practices.
So, myth and the style of 'All Soul's Night', celebrating those passed on, honoring the dead, and so forth, is alluded to here.
And then there are those who like a plain, spooky holiday on Halloween, featuring haunted houses, hayrides, and various decor or entertainment themed with dungeons, dismembered bodies, scary scenarios, murderous captors and the like. If that be your taste for this time, I've included a candy bag full of something (certainly not candy) seeping darkly onto the floor...Perhaps a sampling of Bluebeard's unwitting wives...I'll leave that up to you.
Trick or treat?
Happy Halloween!
-M
