Exploring the Relationship Between Narration and Illustration Through the Creation of Illustrations Based on European Folktales Rachel Sellers Regis University
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Regis University ePublications at Regis University All Regis University Theses Spring 2014 From Linguistic Cues to Concrete Visuals: Exploring the Relationship Between Narration and Illustration Through the Creation of Illustrations Based On European Folktales Rachel Sellers Regis University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.regis.edu/theses Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Sellers, Rachel, "From Linguistic Cues to Concrete Visuals: Exploring the Relationship Between Narration and Illustration Through the Creation of Illustrations Based On European Folktales" (2014). All Regis University Theses. 608. https://epublications.regis.edu/theses/608 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by ePublications at Regis University. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Regis University Theses by an authorized administrator of ePublications at Regis University. 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FROM LINGUISTIC CUES TO CONCRETE VISUALS: EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NARRATION AND ILLUSTRATION THROUGH THE CREATION OF ILLUSTRATIONS BASED ON EUROPEAN FOLKTALES A thesis submitted to Regis College The Honors Program In partial fulfillment of the requirements For Graduation with Honors by Rachel Sellers May 2014 1 Thesis written by Rachel Sellers Approved by Thesis Advisor Thesis Reader or Co-Advisor Accepted by Director, University Honors Program 11 Table of Contents Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................iv Introduction: From Text to Ideas........................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Tam L in............................................................................................................ 9 Chapter Two: The Six Swans...............................................................................................17 Chapter Three: The Seal’s Skin........................................................................................... 25 Chapter Four: East of the Sun and West of the Moon........................................................34 Chapter Five: The Death of Koshchei the Deathless..........................................................42 Conclusion: From Linguistic Cues to Concrete Visuals.................................................... 51 Works Cited...........................................................................................................................56 Figures.................................................................................................................................... 58 Appendices.............................................................................................................................72 Appendix A: “Tam Lin” by Robert Burns...................................................................... 73 Appendix B: “The Six Swans” ......................................................................................... 79 Appendix C: “The Seal’s Skin” ....................................................................................... 86 Appendix D: “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” ................................................. 87 Appendix E: “The Death of Koshchei the Deathless” ................................................. 101 iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Barb Coleman for all of her assistance with this thesis and for all that she has taught me during my four years at Regis. She constantly provided constructive criticism about my thesis and pushed my thinking about my writing and my interpretation of the stories that I worked with. I would also like to thank Professor Tony Ortega for his critiques concerning my artwork—the artwork that I produced for this thesis would not be nearly as good as it is without his feedback. In addition to my fantastic thesis committee, I would like to give my heartfelt appreciation to Judy Gardner for her valuable feedback on my artwork and all of her help with printing my work and introducing me to a world of printing surfaces outside of paper. I would also like to thank Dr. Tom Bowie for all of his help during my time in the honors program and his assurance that everything would work out, even during my long dark nights of the soul. Outside of all the wonderful people at Regis, I would like to thank my fantastic family: my mom Kim, my dad Chuck, and my sister Naomi. They have been incredibly loving and supportive during my time at Regis, helping me overcome the challenges of the past four years and celebrating the achievements. I especially want to thank them for their patience and support that helped make this thesis possible. I love you guys! Finally, I would like to thank my heavenly Father, whose grace has enabled me to be who I am and where I am today. iv Introduction: From Text to Ideas From the time that I learned that I would have to complete a thesis as part of the honors program and as a final capstone project for my visual art major I knew that I wanted to work on a thesis that centered on the fantastic. I considered many ideas over the years that ranged from the significance of fantasy literature in popular culture to a series of paintings that would comprise a short bestiary, but it was not until I sat down and created a web of the different aspects of the fantastic that I was finally able to narrow down my focus to folklore. I chose to illustrate folktales from across Europe because I have always been fascinated with stories that revolve around mystical creatures and beings from the Bannik, a bath house spirit from Slavic mythology, to the Scottish Glaistig. More specifically, I wanted to explore the relationship between the human mundane and these fantastic beings that range from being outright malevolent to benign. In order to narrow down my story choices, I considered common themes that occur throughout folklore and settled on supernatural transformation. While this was my initial criteria for pickingstories, I also came to realize that another common theme connected the stories: determination. When the supernatural and mundane clash in folklore, determination (or luck) often plays a large part in the outcome of the story. In “Tam Lin” Janet’s will drives the action in the story; in “The Six Swans” the conditions that must be followed to return the princes to their natural state require staunch determination because 1 of their extremity; the tension in “The Seal' Skin” is a result of a man’s determination to have a selkie bride and the selkie’s determination to return home; the heroine in “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” wins her husband only by determined pursuit; and Ivan in “The Death of Koshchei the Deathless” only succeeds because of his determination and the assistance from those around him;. I chose to incorporate “Tam Lin” into my thesis partly because it has been one of my favorite ballads from the time I was first introduced to it, but also because I believe that it typifies one of the most fascinating themes in folklore: overcoming seemingly impossible tasks in pursuit of a goal. Janet’s will is ultimately the only thing that comes between Tam and damnation—if she falters as the Faerie Queen transforms Tam in Janet’s arms, he will be lost to Hell forever. In Robert Burns' 1771 ballad version of the song, Tam warns Janet that the faeries will turn him into an “esk [asp] and an adder”; “a bear sae grim” and “a lion bold”; and finally a “red het gaud o iron”. Between describing each of these transformations, Tam assures Janet that she should: “hold [him] fast and fear [him] not” because he is her baby's father, and he will “do to [her] nae harm”. Despite Tam’s repeated reassurance about his harmlessness, holding on to someone who was transforming into a variety of dangerous animals and a red-hot piece of iron would require determination. “The Six Swans” interested me because the supernatural transformation in the story is brought about by a (presumably human) witch rather than a supernatural being. Like Janet in “Tam Lin” the heroine of the story must overcome the supernatural through 2 determination. When the heroine finds her brothers after they have been turned into swans and asks then how she can “free” them, they reply by telling her that “the conditions are too hard.