Path of the Faëries

Should I be forced to choose one from among hundreds of enchanting mythological creatures my choice would be fairies.

I’m – always have been – deeply fascinated by fairies (or faëries, an old-fashioned spelling I really like). I find especially the British fairy folklore very interesting whether talking about ancient, Celtic-inspired and Arthurian myths or the later Elizabethan version popularized by William Shakespeare. In my case the Arthurian legends are yet to be explored but the overview seems wonderful. I’m more familiar with the Shakespearean version, especially the one presented in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a play I truly adore. I think that piece of art is the very reason I began this text in the first place – the nights are getting brighter and warmer here in the north and that always makes me think about Puck, Titania and all those poor mortals.

Since I’m writing about fairies I feel forced to say something about J.R.R. Tolkien; he’s works after all are the ones that made me fall in love with elves and fairies in the first place. In my opinion the elves in The Lord of the Rings are quite different from the ones presented for instance in The Book of Lost Tales vol. I & II.  The elves in The Book of Lost Tales are a diminutive race, merely a shadow of the mighty folk they once were whereas in The Lord of the Rings they’re still a great and graceful yet fading people. Every once in a while I find myself 

nearly panicking when I realize how much there is to learn about elves in Tolkienian mythology only – not to even mention all the stuff I should read about British folklore in general! I’ll never be able to learn as much as I’d love to (especially since I’ve got some actual studying to do, too).

Why am I even writing this? There are others who have expressed the otherworldly beauty of faëries the way they deserve:

A king there was in days of old:

ere Men yet walked upon the mould
his power was reared in caverns' shade,
his hand was over glen and glade.
Of leaves his crown, his mantle green,
his silver lances long and keen;
the starlight in his shield was caught,
ere moon was made or sun was wrought.

                             J.R.R. Tolkien: The Lay of Leithian

PUCK
Fairy king, attend, and mark:
I do hear the morning lark.

OBERON
Then, my queen, in silence sad,
Trip we after the night's shade:
We the globe can compass soon,
Swifter than the wandering moon.

TITANIA

Come, my lord, and in our flight
Tell me how it came this night
That I sleeping here was found
With these mortals on the ground.

                             William Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Svalbard

I’ve always been fascinated by H.C. Andersen’s story Snow Queen – the story is enchanting and the Snow Queen herself is a very puzzling character. One Saturday morning in January I was searching information about the story (I don’t even quite remember what it was I wanted to know) when I ran into an article according to which Snow Queen lived in Svalbard; this is what Andersen himself claimed. I googled Svalbard to see some pictures and half an hour later I booked flights. That’s where I was earlier this week, in a settlement called Longyearbyen, 78°13’ parallel north.

At the moment I’m slightly too confused to say anything about the days I spent there. The place was simply surreal, very plain and barren but uncommonly beautiful and dreamlike. Perhaps I’ll write more about that later, now I’m still trying to organize my thoughts about that otherworldly place.

A couple of things most on my mind right now:

1) Nature. It’s unbelievable. The temperature was -7°C and the sun was ridiculously bright. The light blue Greenland Sea seemed magical being surrounded by white mountains; the plane’s windows were covered in ice crystals when we were landing; the landscapes made me run out of words the first minute I saw them and still do. And no, I didn't see polar bears. It was still worth it.

2) Norwegians are nice. One thing that makes travelling alone so cool is that it’s much easier to start conversations with strangers. I chatted with a really nice Norwegian family (and the wonderful thing is that they kept on being nice after they heard I was Finnish which is quite surprising after the hockey game on Monday). Also, one night when I went to the lobby of the hostel I was staying in to have a cup of tea the kind receptionist told me I could have it for free if I didn’t tell anyone. How nice is that? Then again at Oslo airport I was trying to get rid of my Norwegian coins and went to a café. However, I had one crown too little and the wonderful waitress took the missing coin from their tip box. I really hope we here in Finland will be able to give travelers and tourists as nice experiences as the ones I got in Norway. I want to believe it’s possible if we just step up and stop being so grumpy.

3) Safety. In Svalbard people really respect each other’s space and property. In a place like that it’s easy to trust which is something I really value.

4) Library. It’s probably odd that I spent some time in Longyearbyen Library since I don’t know Norwegian (written Norwegian is surprisingly understandable if you speak Swedish, though). As I’ve brought up several times I love books and feel at home when I’m surrounded by them. To me visiting the library was more than natural. The Norwegian editions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s and C.S. Lewis’ books seem very beautiful.