One aspect to this book that I love, is O'Donnell's flowery writing style. To a child this gave the book an air of authenticity, (which keep in mind, my copy did not have this stylish cover to the left, but rather had a completely plain one.)
For example, what is a werwolf one may ask?
"...when asked to describe a werwolf, or what is generally believed to be a werwolf, one can only say that a werwolf is an anomaly-sometimes man, sometimes woman (or in the guise of man or woman); sometimes adult, sometimes child (or in the guise of such)-that, under certain conditions, possesses the property of metamorphosing into a wolf, the change being either temporary or permanent."Another wonderful quote from the introduction:
"Humanity, they say, has ever been the same; and any fresh idea-no matter how bizarre or monstrous, so long as it is monstrous enough-has always met with support and won credence."
Perhaps a good quote to bear in mind for my entire project!
Some initial ideas I've been getting about 'werwolfery:' (as O'Donnell puts it.)
There is interest in people transforming into animals, as it is very easy and interesting for a person to imagine what it would be like to become an animal. It is appealing to think of changing one's form into a seemingly more ideal body, and certainly a more novel one. A person transformed into an animal would lose all responsibility and ties, and be 'free' as an animal is. When the concept of lycanthropy is used for persecution or other negative connotations, it is implying the afflicted person cannot control themselves. In polite society one must not be like an animal, and control their impulses and emotions. The afflicted person is seen as perverse and wild, though somewhat blameless due to a curse. Their animal-like freedom is cut short by society's rules. It is probably appealing to imagine being able to go crazy and act like a wild person with no direct responsibility. It is perhaps the reason that in western culture, werewolves are almost always men, who have more impulse control problems than women as a whole. Also, the fantasy is designed with men in mind, and they would rather identify with the werewolf than imagine a woman with the same problem. (Perhaps impossible for men of the past to imagine a woman having any desires at all.)
I love the idea of "werwolfery" as a metaphor for the unexplainable transformations that sometimes happen to people we know (or think we know). On "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," there was a series of episodes related to puberty, awakening sexuality, and becoming a werewolf--the idea is that the recognizable, socially acceptable self suddenly becomes animalistic, out of control, and dominating.
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