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Nationalist Adaptations of the Cuchulain Myth Martha J University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations Spring 2019 The aW rped One: Nationalist Adaptations of the Cuchulain Myth Martha J. Lee Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Lee, M. J.(2019). The Warped One: Nationalist Adaptations of the Cuchulain Myth. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5278 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Warped One: Nationalist Adaptations of the Cuchulain Myth By Martha J. Lee Bachelor of Business Administration University of Georgia, 1995 Master of Arts Georgia Southern University, 2003 ________________________________________________________ Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina 2019 Accepted by: Ed Madden, Major Professor Scott Gwara, Committee Member Thomas Rice, Committee Member Yvonne Ivory, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Martha J. Lee, 2019 All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION This dissertation and degree belong as much or more to my family as to me. They sacrificed so much while I traveled and studied; they supported me, loved and believed in me, fed me, and made sure I had the time and energy to complete the work. My cousins Monk and Carolyn Phifer gave me a home as well as love and support, so that I could complete my course work in Columbia. To my husband Bob and my daughters, Erica and Kelsey, thank you for everything. Thank you for not making me feel guilty for all the time I had to spend away from you; thank you for allowing me to talk to you endlessly about Cuchulain and all things Irish; thank you for never giving up and for not letting me give up on my dreams. Bob, your belief in me makes me feel like I have wings. Kelsey, you always have my back and you never give up on me; you are my Rory, my best pal, and I adore you. Constance, thank you for letting me talk your ear off and for willingly offering revision advice and friendship. June, from the first day of Dr. Sanders’ Irish Literature class all the way up to the day I defend this dissertation, you have been by my side, cheering me on, holding me up, and challenging me to always reach higher and further and to never ever give up. You are so much more than a best friend, and I would not be here without you. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation could not exist without so many of the professors who guided me along the way. I have been fortunate to learn from so many distinguished scholars during this process. I was especially fortunate that Dr. Madden supported my desire to supplement my course work though seminars in Ireland with Notre Dame and the Yeats Summer School. Those experiences in addition to the rigorous classes at the University of South Carolina provided a rich and profound education. Don Doyle pointed me toward nationalist research that became invaluable to this process. Tom Rice and Scott Gwara have been endlessly patient and helpful with their guidance, advice, and knowledge. Yvonne Ivory graciously, even enthusiastically, agreed to step in and complete my committee at nearly the last minute. The countless colleagues and friends who have loaned me hands, shoulders, advice, and support cannot be discounted. My heartfelt appreciation goes out especially to Ellen Scheible, Kathy Albertson, Drew Keane, and too many others to name. Ed Madden has been here for every step along the way. His classes on Irish literature sparked many of the ideas in this work, and his willingness to offer guidance and intellectual challenges have made all of this possible. The final acknowledgment must go to the professor who was there first and who helped turn a casual interest into an intellectual passion and the work for my whole career. Fred Sanders was my first true mentor in graduate school and always will have my deepest thanks and affection. iv ABSTRACT In this dissertation, I trace the use of the mythic Irish hero Cuchulain by early Irish nationalists. From 1878 to 1939, Standish James O’Grady, Lady Augusta Gregory, and William Butler Yeats employed this figure for specific political and cultural agendas. Cuchulain makes a fitting symbol for the “poet warrior” stereotype that was purposely and incidentally cultivated during the cultural nationalist phase of the Irish Literary Revival, when writers were beginning to explore the Cuchulain myth to demonstrate cultural and linguistic ideals. Nationalists found in Cuchulain a symbol that could tie the cultural to the political and the political to the martial. O’Grady’s motive for writing about the hero was to demonstrate cultural appreciation, but Gregory saw political possibilities as she tactically employed Cuchulain as a challenge to British scholars who were dismissive of Irish cultural heritage. Yeats’s Cuchulain poems and plays span his entire career and mirror his own fluctuating feelings about the Irish Nationalist discourse. This study will add to our understanding of the mythological images in Irish literature, culture, and politics, particularly that of Cuchulain. I examine the texts primarily through postcolonial and nationalist lenses to address the political and social agendas of the authors. As members of the Anglo-Irish class, my three primary authors had different and complicated ideas about Irish identity, which I connect to the postcolonial theory of Declan Kiberd, Gregory Castle, and David Lloyd, who explore the hybrid and complicated forms of Irish and Anglo-Irish identity. I also apply Joep Leerssen’s concepts in imagology, the study of national stereotypes and how they emerge v in order to demonstrate the relation of nationalist agendas to the use of cultural figures. While not a definitive study of all accounts of the Cuchulain myth, this dissertation adds to a growing body of research. Concentrating solely on the use of mythic characters as cultural and political symbols, this study builds on the scholarship of Maria Tymoczko and Ann Dooley and others who examine the cultural and political motives inherent in translation. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication ..................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ iv Abstract ........................................................................................................................... v List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................... ix Chapter I Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Chapter II Where Myth Touches History: Standish O’Grady’s Cuchulain...................... 29 Confused Aims .................................................................................................. 31 Confused Methods and Genres ........................................................................... 51 O’Grady’s Legacy ............................................................................................. 58 Chapter III Lady Gregory’s Mission: “For one reason or another” ................................. 61 Gregory’s Early Activism .................................................................................. 67 Gregory’s Purpose and Influence ....................................................................... 75 Sad, Lovely Deirdre ........................................................................................... 83 Angry, Amorous Maeve ................................................................................... 103 Chapter IV W. B. Yeats and Cuchulain: “One myth for every man” ............................ 113 Art, Politics, and the Nation ............................................................................. 117 “The Death of Cuchulain” or “Cuchulain’s Fight with the Sea”........................ 130 On Baile’s Strand ............................................................................................ 135 The Green Helmet: An Heroic Farce ............................................................... 150 At the Hawk’s Well .......................................................................................... 161 The Only Jealousy of Emer .............................................................................. 170 vii The Death of Cuchulain ................................................................................... 177 Chapter V Conclusion ................................................................................................ 187 Works Cited ................................................................................................................ 200 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Coming........................................................................................ The Coming of Cuculain Cu ........................................................................................................ Cuculain: An Epic CP ........................................ History of Ireland: Critical and Philosophical, vol. 1 (1881) HI 1 .................................................
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