Rhodes

Irish Folk Traditions as they Relate to Marina Carrs By the Bog of Cats Kelly Rhodes

Ireland has a history rich with folk tradition. It shifted with the introduction of Christianity in the mid first century, but even as they became Christians, the people of Ireland have remained exceptionally superstitious, especially in less urbanized areas, such as the small town portrayed in By the Bog of Cats. Folk traditions and beliefs figure heavily into the way this world exists. Throughout the play there are mentions of the role of Christianity and its importance to the characters, especially to Mrs. Kilbride in Act 2. As a foil to this, there is the mystical figure of the Catwoman and a number of accusations of witchcraft and black arts. The play begins and ends with the presence of a ghostly figure, as well as references to swans, which have a deep connection to Irish folk traditions. Irish traditions are also depicted in the wedding scene, which incorporates a number of superstitions and beliefs. Finally, the song figures heavily into Celtic traditions as well as into the world of the play.

Christianity gained prevalence in Ireland with Saint Patrick in the first century. Before this, it was a pagan nation. Throughout Irish Christianity, there is a blending of these two systems of belief, the most widely recognized integration being the Celtic cross. Originating with Saint Patrick, it is a Christian symbol that is a cross with a circle around the center. It was used to make the transition to Christianity easier to understand for the pagan people. The circle represents the sun, as well as the Son, Jesus. There is also the cross of Saint Brigit which is made of straw and is said to have been created for the purpose of teaching poor pagans about

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Christianity. Saint Brigit is commonly confused with a Celtic pagan goddess named Brigid, and it is possible that the two beings are one and the same. Within By the Bog of Cats, there are a number of references to the Christianity and Christian values by the characters, most notably by the characters who are in their sixties- Xavier Cassidy and Mrs. Kilbride. In Act 1 Scene 6, Xavier brings up the idea of Christian compassion. It is his reasoning for bringing food and money to Big Josies caravan when Hester was young. This idea of Christian compassion exists as a stark contrast to Big Josie who spent nights outside her auld caravan on the bog and the fields covered over in stars and her half covered in an excuse for a dress and her croonin towards Orion in a language I never heard before or since. (Carr, 294) Big Josie and Hester stand out even more than usual when the people of the town are portrayed as Christian, as Xavier is trying to do in this scene. Mrs. Kilbride is also clearly very devoted to a Christian way of life. She criticizes the Catwoman for her strange ways, and Father Willow for associating with her. Elsie is clearly a religious woman, with an abidin love for Our Lord. (Carr, 310) Regardless of whether or not the story she tells during her wedding speech is true, she clearly has very strong feelings concerning the appropriate role of Christianity in ones life. As much as Big Josie and Hester are painted as representing the pagan way of life in contrast to the Christianity of the rest of the town, the Catwoman is truly the embodiment of mystical and pagan traditions. She is the one who communicates with ghosts and who has visions of the future. The clash between these pagan beliefs and Christian beliefs appears very strongly in Act 2, when Mrs. Kilbride criticizes the Catwoman, but also in the scene we see the traditional blending of the two ideologies in the interaction between the Catwoman and Father Willow. While Mrs. Kilbride makes it very clear that the Catwoman is just about as un-Christian as one

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can get, she also tells us that Father Willow spends all his time with the Catwoman in her dirty little hovel. (Carr, 307) In the creation of this image, Marina Carr truly weaves together the pagan and Christian traditions that define Irish culture.

At different times, Big Josie, Hester, and the Catwoman are all accused of or portrayed as having some sort of interaction with witchcraft or black arts or some other mystical force. In folklore, witches draw their power from evil spirits and [their] own malignant will. (Torrance, 146) It seems that the mystical connection that the characters have is one more rooted in the lore of the Faeries. Irish folklore has a lot to say about the Faeries, and the point at which the lore intersects most with the play is when the issue of being able to see the Faeries is raised. They are an invisible race that causes misfortune for those who do not respect them and grant good fortune to those they favor. It is also said that those who gain the favor of the Faeries are able to see them. This draws a parallel to By the Bog of Cats in that only some of the characters can see ghosts. The Catwoman especially has a deep connection with some other world, which is easily seen as the world of the Faeries. Despite the fact that she is blind, she sees visions. Because the Faeries exist in an alternate plane of sorts, blindness in the material world does not imply blindness into theirs.

Despite Josephs ghost noting to Hester that Deaths a big country, (Carr, 318) Irish folklore suggests that ghosts exist in a reality somewhere between life and death. Marina Carrs ghosts seem to not quite follow Irish traditions in this respect. Ghosts remain in this in-between state due to some earthly longing or affection, or some duty unfulfilled, or anger against the living. (Yeats, 128) During Act 2, Joseph makes it clear to the Catwoman that he retains an

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earthly longing for life. He feels like there is too much that he hasnt done. He also died suddenly, making it even more likely for him to become a haunting ghost. In Act 3, when Hester has killed Josie and is about to die herself, she tells Carthage that she and Josie will haunt him. To threaten to haunt someone is a common threat, and is especially fitting in the situation where Hester and Josie have both died fairly unexpectedly and Hester retains anger at Carthage, blaming him in part for what happened to Josie.

The play opens and closes with the presence and a reference to swans, respectively. In the very beginning, Hester drags the body of the black swan across the ice to bury her. In the very last line of the play, Monica points out that Hesters heart is lyin there on top of her chest like some dark feathered bird. (Carr, 341) Swans are very present in Irish folklore. One of the more well-known stories concerning swans is the story of the children of King Lir. It is said that the childrens step mother turned them into swans out of jealously for their fathers love for them. The swan children retained their human voices and enchanted those who lived around the lake where they were bound with their songs. One could easily draw a parallel between the Children of Lir and Big Josie, both of whom had voices that people adored. It is also believed that the souls of people who died were held within swans. If this is the case with Big Josie and the black swan, Hester and the swan are even more deeply connected than Hester knows. The other popular folklore concerning swans is the stories of the swan maidens. These are women who are swans during the day and then at night shed their swan skin to bathe in a lake in human form. It is said that if the swan feathers were stolen by a man while the maiden bathed, she would become his wife. The man needed only to make sure that she never found her feathers, otherwise she would put them back on and escape. In reading By the Bog of Cats, it is

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possible to see Hester as a swan maiden of sorts. Her identity is tied to the black swan. It is not a perfect connection to the stories, but it should be noted nonetheless.

Irish weddings have a huge amount of tradition and superstition around them. They represent a significant life transition for the bride and groom, and are the sort of ceremonies that attract the Faeries and other mischievous or even evil spirits. There are a number of things that are said to bring about good luck for the couple, as well as things to be avoided that would cause bad luck. It is considered bad luck for the bride or groom to sing at their own wedding. This would suggest a reason to have someone like Big Josie to come to the ceremony to sing. Monica tells Hester that the people of the town were afraid not to have [Josie] there. (Carr, 323) Big Josies presence and songs would mean an easy escape from this spot of bad luck at any given celebration. While it is now customary for Irish brides to wear white, the tradition used to be for them to wear blue. It was a color of innocence. During Act 2, when Mrs. Kilbride shows up in her white dress, she asks: How was I supposed to know the brided be wearin white as well? (Carr, 309) In the context of the place, this is a humorous line adding to the absurdity of Mrs. Kilbrides choice of clothing for the event, but it has potential to be a reference to this tradition. There are a number of traditions involving money in weddings. It is customary for a groom to hand his bride a wedding coin after they exchange rings. It is also said to bring financial luck to the couple if the bride places a sixpence in one of her shoes. While these traditions are not specifically observed in Carthage and Carolines wedding, there is plenty of talk of money and Josie is given a pound for her handbag by Xavier. When this happens,

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Carthage points out that Mrs. Kilbride had apparently offered to hold onto his Communion money for him and had never returned it. Adding to the complicated mother-son relationship that exists between the two of them, this could be interpreted as the wedding coin that was given. It was, in fact, around the time of Carthages communion that Mrs. Kilbride suggests his father passed away and she began to have a dependence on him that was a bit more than motherly. We are not told the specifics of the day of the wedding, other than the fact that it is winter time, but we do know that because of Xavier, the wedding date changed around from what it was originally meant to be. This may not be significant, but there are a number of superstitions surrounding the day of a wedding. For example, it is bad luck to be married on a Saturday. It is considered particularly lucky to be married on the last day of the year. As the couple wakes on the first day of the New Year it will also be the first day of their life together. (www.irishcelticjewels.com) We dont know if this is the case for Carthage and Caroline, but given the events of the day, it is pretty safe to assume that it isnt. An interesting correlation is that in Irish tradition, it is bad luck to come upon a funeral procession on a wedding day. While there is no actual official funeral procession in the play, the entire day is a funeral procession of sorts, especially given that Hester is warned from the very beginning that she will die that night. Carthages arrival at Hesters caravan after she has killed Josie is, in a way, his running into a funeral procession. It is not a line of black cars, but rather a slightly mad woman stumbling about with the body of her dead daughter in her arms. The word honeymoon translates to mi na meala in Gaelic, literally meaning month of honey. Traditionally, the newly married bride and groom spend a month together without anyone else, drinking honeyed wine. (www.irishcelticjewels.com) The implication of Carthages daughter being with him and Caroline on their honeymoon goes against the traditional Irish

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understanding of the event. While the details of the Irish honeymoon have changed to be shorter than a month and not necessarily involve honeyed wine beyond the ceremony, the idea of the bride and groom being alone in some type of seclusion has endured.

Storytelling has a very important place in Irish history. Until the English occupation of Ireland, Gaelic was the main language spoken. The English did everything in their power to erase this language, but it has been retained in small ways throughout the country. However, for a long time there was no written component of Gaelic. It was only a spoken language, so instead of writing important things down, they were spread by word of mouth. This tradition made the role of the storyteller very important. This is how so many of the superstitions and traditions have persisted to modern days, especially in less urban areas where the spread of technology has not had as much of an effect. These oral traditions lead to the Irish being known for their gift of gab. Any important or amusing stories were shared by word of mouth. This also led to the Irish having a very strong collective memory. Stories were an integral part of the formation of their culture. To aide in the survival of these stories, songs developed. It is easier to remember something when it is set to music. Through this, the bard became the most important man to the Irish. Big Josie is easily the bard of the Bog of Cats. She spreads her stories through the songs that she sings. She was brought into every gathering of any significance in the town. Her presence enforces the Irish oral traditions that are still very strong throughout Ireland. Even without Big Josie, the importance of stories and songs remain in the world of By the Bog of Cats. The Catwoman, Hester, Monica, Xavier, and Joseph Swanes ghost all have a moment where they tell stories about Big Josie. Hester and Carthage tell stories about their

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relationship and past together. Mrs. Kilbride tells stories about Carthage as a child. And Big Josies songs have endured in the world well beyond her disappearance. Josephs ghost sings them, as does Josie, despite never having known Big Josie. The songs have been passed down to her through Hester, preserving the storytelling tradition.

The history and culture of Ireland is rich with tradition, superstition, and stories. Within By the Bog of Cats, Marina Carr addresses a number of them, most notably the folklore that surrounds swans in Ireland and the importance of stories and songs to the Irish way of life. Her characters clearly live in a world shaped by superstition. They invite people to events because its bad luck not to have them. They observe traditions, and when one among them does not, it is pointed out.

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References

"Commemoration of St. Brigid of Ireland." All Saints Parish. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct 2011. <http://www.allsaintsbrookline.org/celtic_saints/brigid.html>. "Irish Weddings." Irish Weddings. Irish Celtic Jewels, 2011. Web. 29 Oct 2011. <http://www.irishcelticjewels.com/irish_weddings.htm>. "Saint Patrick." BBC Religions. BBC, 21-08-2009. Web. 29 Oct 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/saints/patrick_1.shtml>. Armstrong, Edward A. The Folklore of Birds. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1959. Print. Carr, Marina. Marina Carr: Plays. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1999. Print. Curtin, Jeremiah. Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1917. Print. Jacobs, Joseph. More Celtic Fairy Tales. London: David Nutt, 1894. 1-10. Web. <http://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/childrenoflir.htm>. Kennedy, Patrick. Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts. Bronx, New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc., 1969. Print Kuehl, Nikki. "Celtic Mythology: Fairies: Tuatha De Danann." Gods, Heroes, and Myth. N.p., 26-09-2011. Web. 29 Oct 2011. <http://www.gods-heros-myth.com/tuatha.html>. Yeats, W. B. Irish Fairy and Folk Tales. Paternoster Square, London: The Walter Scott Publishing Co., 1914. Print.