Transformation ao3 PL DOM Flashcards
(13 cards)
context wolves
-intense hunting, increased deforestation, and state-sponsored campaigns
-‘none of those noisome, and pestilent Beastes were left in the coastes of England and Wales’ and the wolf was effectively ‘extinct by the end of the fifteenth century.’
-Edward Topsell as ‘kept in the Tower of London to be seene by the Prince and people brought out of other countries’
-‘brought over from beyond the seas, for greedynesse of gaine and to make money, for gasing and gaping, stating, and standing to see them, beginning a straunge beast, rare, and seldom seene in England’ (Caius, 1570)
Context: Biblical Literature
-seen to endorse physical transformations as divine punishments for wickedness and disobedience.
-‘steadfastly refused to accept the physical reality of the werewolf and it became the doctrine of the Church that werewolves do not exist.’
-if a man is transformed into a beast (and thereby divorced of his rational nature), he is not responsible for any sinful act he commits
Context: The Whole Treatise of the Cases of Conscience (Perkins, 1606)
-‘Beastiall or Beastlike Melancholie’, a ‘disease in the braine whereby a man thinkes himself to be a beast of this or that kind, and carries himselfe accordingly’
-‘some are of the opinion that his humane shape was taken from him, and that he was transformed into a beast’
-for there is no such transportation of soules into bodies, either of men or beasts.’
Context: Classical Literature
-in classical literature, the metamorphoses ‘usually occurred because people exhibited the characteristics of an animal to an extreme degree’
-only made manifest the bestial nature that had been within’ (Sailsbury).
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Context: Witchcraft & Demonology
-‘agreed that shape-shifting was achieved through demonic agencies and pacts with the Devil’;
-‘they disagreed among themselves over the precise mechanisms by which such a metamorphosis was accomplished.’
- Brett D. Hirsch (2005)- dom
-Bodin: physical transformation was an ‘absolute certain, true, and undoubted thing.’
-Wiet: ‘lycanthropy was the result of the demonic exacerbation of mental illness.’
-Scot (1584) “verie absurdities’ holding ‘that the transformations, which these witchmongers do so rave and rage unpon is a disease proceeding parrlie from melancholie”
Context: Witchcraft to Medicine
-Holland: ‘the transformation of men and women into wolves and cats to be clean contrary against nature, and the product of Satanical delusions in those who abound in melancholy.’
-‘Men-wolves are the product of a natural super-abundance of Melancholie, which made some think themselves Pitchers, and some horses, and some one kind or beast or other.’
-English readers could afford to be more sceptical than their Continental counterparts when it came to werewolves
-Robert Burton -“madness is … more violent than melancholy
Context: Melancholy
-Bayfield: ‘Wolf-madness is a disease’, he recounts a patient; ‘a certain young man with a wild and strange look who set about barking and howling.’
Webster’s Inspirations
In 1612, while Webster was writing The Duchess of Malfi, ten of the nineteen accused witches were sentenced to death at the assizes in Lancashire (Pendle Witch Trials).
Satan’s Transformations
-Cherub: Satan disguises himself as a lesser angel (a cherub) to gain access to the gates of Heaven and Eden without arousing suspicion.
-Cormorant: In Book IV, Satan takes the form of a cormorant, a sea bird, to perch on the Tree of Life and observe Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
-Lion and Tiger: As part of his prowling in Eden, Satan takes on forms of a lion and a tiger, symbolising his predatory nature and threat to innocence.
-Toad: Satan transforms into a toad to whisper corrupting thoughts into Eve’s ear while she is sleeping.
Serpent: Most famously, Satan takes the form of a serpent in Book IX to tempt Eve into eating the forbidden fruit.
Prelapsarian to Postlapsarian
Natural World
Prelapsarian: The world is depicted as harmonious, abundant, and perfectly ordered. Adam and Eve live in an untainted paradise where nature flourishes effortlessly.
Postlapsarian: After the Fall, nature becomes hostile—thorns and thistles appear, animals become violent, and seasons introduce hardship (extreme heat and cold), signifying a shift from divine order to disorder.
Prelapsarian to Postlapsarian
Human Condition
Prelapsarian: Adam and Eve live in innocence, experiencing pure love, untainted joy, and direct communion with God.
Postlapsarian: They feel shame, guilt, and fear for the first time. Their love becomes tainted by blame, lust, and discord, as seen in their immediate quarrel after eating the forbidden fruit.
Prelapsarian to Postlapsarian
Knowledge and Awareness:
Prelapsarian: Their knowledge is pure and aligned with divine wisdom. They understand their place in God’s creation.
Postlapsarian: The forbidden fruit grants them a distorted sense of knowledge—self-awareness that brings shame. They cover themselves with fig leaves, realising their nakedness, symbolising a loss of innocence.
Prelapsarian to Postlapsarian
Relationship with God
Prelapsarian: Adam and Eve enjoy direct, loving communication with God, who walks in the Garden.
Postlapsarian: They hide in fear and experience separation from God. Divine justice follows, and they are judged and ultimately expelled from Eden.
