Sektic Texts

Though there are many films and video games that speak or give reference to the Selkies, there are numerous, if not a vast amount of literature and prose dedicated to the tale of the Selkie.

As stated in a review of one book called "Seal Child" by Sylvia Peck, it touches on:

"From the coasts of Scotland and northern New England come legends of seals who live among us, in human form. They are called selkies, these people of the sea. While they are here, they do not tell what they are. The stories come later: the white seal maid whose hands are always colder than the hands of ordinary women; the great gray selkie whose purse bulges with sunken gold. The process of transformation, itself, is mysterious. In some versions, grown selkies appear on moonlit rocks, where they shed their sealskins to sing and dance. Such a selkie can be captured, if her sealskin is captured. But she must be guarded always, and the briny skin locked away in a trunk. For a selkie wife, stolen from the sea, may at any moment steal back her skin and be off. To restore her seal shape, she has only to drape that sealskin back over her shoulders. What I have done in Seal Child is to suggest a different manner of transformation. In my variant, selkies make their first change at will. To return, they have only to dive back into seawater. Such transformation is simpler but absolute. Those who choose it remain seals forever. The choice is theirs" (Sylvia).

This modernization of the selkies make a fond children's story where the pictures and the enchanting narrative translates an adult idea and tale into something a child can understand and enjoy.

Another is "The Folk Keeper" which shows in a review by Publisher's Weekly:

"Billingsley (Well Wished) imagines a fascinating subterranean world and infuses a strong feminist theme into this poetically wrought tale featuring a 15-year-old orphan. Corinna Stonewall, who earned her name for her stubbornness, is at odds with a hierarchical society filled with lords and ladies. Rather than succumb to her fate of becoming a servant girl, she reinvents herself as a boy named Corin and secures a position as "Folk Keeper." Her job is dangerous: she must protect the mainland village of Rhysbridge against the harmful pranks of the Folk, devilish underground creatures who thrive in darkness. But Corinna feels freer in her dank cellar quarters than in the outside world. Then one day, a mysterious dying man arrives who seems to see past her disguise and hires her to work at the island estate he shares with his wife, Lady Alicia. Drawing on storytelling traditions and yet creating a completely original labyrinthine underworld, the author sends Corinna on a spiritual as well as physical journey. The tale unfolds through Corinna's Folk Record, her most prized possession, which chronicles the activities of the dark-dwelling creatures. While fending off the fiercer breed of Folk threatening Lady Alicia's seaside manor, the heroine makes discoveries about her past, the special powers she possesses and her strange attraction to the sea. The plot thickens as Corinna struggles to keep her gender and special powers a secret and fights her growing feelings for a kindred spirit: Lady Alicia's son, Finian. Strong visual imagery manages both to orient readers and yet to leave them with an odd feeling of disorientation ("The walls were heavy draperies, stone folded upon stone, lustrous with damp"). In this way, Billingsley brilliantly creates a reading experience that parallels Corinna's own experience. The author's ear for language, her use of classic motifs and her stalwart heroine make this novel an evocative, unforgettable read" (Book).

 This book borrow's its strong thematic devices and lore form the selktic legends. In fact, she brings an entire world of selkies, something unimaginable, into the world of the book. This book, a young adult's book, gives entire immersion to those unknowing of the selkie legends and give them the ability to access
Citation
Book Reviews, Bestselling Books & Publishing Business News | Publishers Weekly. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. <http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/home/index.html>.

"Sylvia Peck's Home Page." GuyArts Ltd. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. <http://guyarts.com/sylviapeckcom/>.

Selkie Sexuality

Within the legends of the Selkie, there are tales of mysticism, entrapment, and allure. But how far does this allure go? These legends not only tell of what happened to the drowned or the dead in the sea, but it can also go as far as explaining the confines of human sexuality and dependency.

For females selkies, it goes into a dual situation. On the first hand, the woman becomes the idol of a man, for legends of the Selkie state that women of these kind make wonderful wives. With that, the man would then steal the skin of the selkie and hide it, so that she can never leave and would have to bear his children as well as raising the family. Though there is love within these tales, the aggressive and undermining context still remains, where the woman has become trapped by the man, unable to make a choice of her own, no matter how much she wanted to go back to the sea. Even with love, she is being forced to stay and do what he wanted: to bear children and take care of everyone. Though sexist towards women, the tale takes a different route whenever she does find her skin. As a break of freedom, she swiftly abandons her children and leaves them to his stead, with fierce yearn for the sea again. Although variations tell that she returns every other year to see her children, this counteracts the male-dominated aspect of the legend. Comparitive to modern society, the female has the power to leave the children to the male, something not commonly seen today as men often leave the child with their mother.

As for the male-side, it becomes more of a sexual nature than an emotional one. As stated:

"The male members among the selkie folk were thought to have had many trysts with human females, married and unmarried. A selkie man in human form was a handsome creature with almost magical seductive powers over mortal women. These selkie-men had no qualms in shedding their skins, hiding them carefully, and heading inland, seeking illicit intercourse with an "unsatisfied woman". Selkie men sometimes beget children on mortal women, as in the folk song 'The Selkie of Sule Skerry'. After a period of seven years, the selkie returned to the woman to claim his son, but with tragic consequences (Selkie)." 

This is sexist towards men, where sex is the main objective for the male variant of any species. But this sexism is only true in human society. The selkie only wanted sex and offspring; this is true in all of nature, where the male of any species live for the process of procreation. This is exactly what the male selkie represents, the force of nature's desires and needs. The tale of a man free of restriction of social stigmata and protocol entices the psychology of human sexuality, since for the male, there is no consequence upon his actions. This is where the legend becomes sexist towards women as well, showing male dominance. In these legends where there is a male selkie, it was always the male who had power, the alluring ability and seductive powers. They were the ones who had to relinquish women of their "burdens", cause them to bear him children, and he comes to take them away after a certain amount of time (Towney).

Within both of the variations, there are differieng sexist remarks. However, the legend itself is vastly male-dominated. Though the female selkie is beatiful and graceful, she becomes overtaken by a man with desires. When the woman becomes "unsatisfied" or widowed by the sea's wrath, it is the male selkie to take her pain away. The males in the legend play as villain and hero, both gender-differentials creating a bitter-sweet tale. Because in both tales, the man always gets what he wants, such as nature's will to get what it desires. Though there are redeeming qualities for the females, it is all for naught, since they ultimately suffer losses.

Citation
 Townie, Sigurd. "The Origin of the Selkie-folk." Orkneyjar - The Heritage of the Orkney Islands. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. <http://www.orkneyjar.com/index.html>.

"The Selkie Folk.” The Selkie Folk. Web. 19 Nov. 2010. <http://thecelts.fortunecity.com/selkie.html>.

How did Selkies come to be?

(Art by yaamas)

There are many legends that differentiate on where did the Selktic people come from. For such an old legend, one would think that there would be a bit of consistency within the legend, but this is where the wonders of the tale starts. Selkies derive their enigmatic aura and mysticism from the unknown origin of Selkies.

One of the first possibilities within the tale comes from when the tale becomes written within the 18th or 19th Century, where people believed that the selkies were those who were condemned to live as animals until the Judgment Day of Biblical lore, where they can then become humans (Townie). This was an interesting aspect to the legend, in that it gives the tale a different connotation, though it severely alters the original lore. In this variation, it states that people become the Selkies for a sin they have done that is punishable by condemnation.

A variation states that these people won't even return to their human form, where their crimes are punishable with them to live out as Selkies for the rest of their lives. 

Another origin states that Selkies are those who died in sea, the lost souls of the drowned. This becomes more as a haunted tale, for one night out of the year the Selkies are able to walk back to the land as the human form they once were (Selkie). This shows the aetheral aspect of the ocean, where the sea can take away without mercy, but the sea is also able to circumvent the death it causes. The death of those who drowned- children lost to the sea or husbands who died while fishing/sailing- are two aspects of lives that are the most changing in any family. This theory of origin could be a way to assuage griefs of death, where a connection towards nature can possibly bandage the wound.

Citation
Townie, Sigurd. "The Origin of the Selkie-folk." Orkneyjar - The Heritage of the Orkney Islands. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. <http://www.orkneyjar.com/index.html>.

"The Selkie Folk." Hilanders Lair. Web. 19 Nov. 2010. <http://thecelts.fortunecity.com/selkie.html>.

Selkies in Modern Culture

Though as ancient as they are in legend, the tale of the Selkie inspired many derivatives in modern culture. These can vary from being true to the Celtic overtones, a full intergration of the past to the present, or a mention of the fate Selkies have in their lives within the context of these people.

(Art by nyxzeta. Character and Series owned by Tessa Stone)

One graphic novel "Hanna is Not a Boy's Name" has one of the main characters as a Selkie hybrid. Shark-like teeth and a very snappy attitude, he was born from a Selkie mother who had her seal skin taken and hidden by a man. Taken from the site itself:

"The first thing you may notice about Veser is that he has ungodly huge eyes. Second thing may be his horrible rows of gnashing shark teeth, and thirdly may be that he’s an annoying teenage twat. These are all accurate and wonderful observations. Veser is nineteen, but he acts way younger than that, though how much of it is a mask is somewhat debatable. Its hard to tell whether or not he decides to say inappropriate things because he thinks it is funny or because he sincerely lacks the social tact. Most speculate it is both... He tends to react violently to things as a poor line of self defense, punching and kicking and picking fights when he is in a bad mood. Though in turn, when in a good mood Veser is extremely friendly, usually being quite close so he can hug, drape over you, or friendly-punch you in the arm if the moment calls for it. Veser is very much a slave to all of his emotions."

Just as Veser himself is a slave to his emotions, Selkies are a slave to the sea, emotionally and physically.

Another influence the Selktic tales have taken upon modern society also goes into the gaming world. In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, there is an aquatic race of people called Selkaths, where the writers of the game may have derived it from the Selkie legends.

(Art and Characters owned by Square Enix)
In another video game, Selkies has taken its role as a part of a major character, or one of them at least. In Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Though the characters themselves do not operate closely to the Selkie legends told, they have ties similar to the legend. In game, they are considered known for their ravishing looks and natural ability for atheleticism, adding to their general charisma. Additionally, they had a legend that they came form the sea, where one quote states: "They say Selkies came from the sea, and to the sea we will someday return" (Square).

These few examples are merely a fraction of how the Selktic legend influenced modern art, games, and literature, where many novels and films dedicate themselves to the legend.

Citation
Square Enix. "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles." Www.square-enix.com. Web. 19 Nov. 2010. <http://na.square-enix.com/games/ffcc/>.

Stone, Tessa. "Hanna's Not a Boy's Name." Yep. Web. 19 Nov. 2010. <http://hanna.aftertorque.com/>.

Interests in Selkies

The Scottish, Irish, and even Icelandic legends of the selkies are those of an amazing level. In these legends, there is a sense of mysticism of a person whose existence is the bidding of the sea, where these people shed their seal skin and are forever bound to their captors until they are able to take their skin and return to the sea. The interest points are the overall respect the natives have to the sea, since they make the sea an overall driving force within these lores. The power of nature itself cannot be overturned, nor could they be overrun. This can be personified in the allure the selkies have towards the sea.

Another aspect of the selkies that brought intruige is how forlorn and tragic the tale seems. These people are supposedly magnificent in beauty and grace, practically irresistable to any human. This attraction causes the person to entrap the selkie, making them forever bound to the human. Even when the love for the human is strong, there will always be the sense of emptiness found within the selkie's heart, for they can never be one with the sea.

(Image courtesy of selkiesound)