"Love" or Abduction??

Osborne, Hannah. "Pittsburgh Sex Slave Tanya Kach: I Was in Love With My Abuser Thomas Hose." International Business Times RSS. N.p., 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 06 May 2015. <http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/tanya-kach-sex-slave-thomas-hose-abduction-409860>.                        

Tanya Kach claimed to have been in "love" with her high school security guard Thomas Hose. She ran away with him, not knowing that she was getting herself into a horrible "abduction". After running away, she was considered missing and was held captive as a sex slave for 10 years with a different identity and a different life.
This relates to the Selkie myth as both females are abducted and claim to be in love until they finally sea the truth. They are held captive and are forced to accustom themselves to their new lives. They are first sad, but then blinded to be in love, or are "blindedly in love" and grow a family together or in Kach's case, she becomes one with her new identity and to her new family. However they still mourn and miss their true home, but lie to themselves for the better of others (Kach thought she was in "love", and thought that all of her sacrifices were for the better of their relationship), until they find they key that will return them back to their place. For the selkie it would be their seal skin, but in Kach's case it would be someone who is willing to believe and help her to escape to freedom.

A Romantic Fantasy

Ondine

Ondine: Il Segreto Del Mare. Dir. Neil Jordan. Perf. Colin Farrel, Alison Barry, Alicja Bachleda. Magnolia Pictures, 2009. DVD.

This Irish movie tells a story about a simple fisherman, Syracuse, who accidentally catches a beautiful and mysterious woman in his trawler's nets. The woman seems to be dead, but then she comes alive before Syracuse's eyes. He thinks he may have been seeing things. However, with the help of his ailing, yet irrepressible daughter, Annie, he comes to believe that the fantastical might be possible and that the woman might be a myth come true. Later within the movie she claims the name Ondine. He ends up falling in love with her strange mystic and she ends end secretly falling for him. Throughout the movie she doesn't want anybody to see her because she is hiding from a violent figure from her past. Then, after a terrible car crash and the return of this dark and violent figure from Ondine's past, hope eventually prevails and a new beginning is presented to Syracuse, Ondine and Annie.

This movie reveals all the myths of the Selkie as the daughter tries to incorporate all of the Ondine's mysterious actions and likes to those of what selkies do. The daughter also does research by checking out all available novels about selkies that she even gets her father wondering on whether what his daughter is speaking of is true or not.

"The Art Piece"

"A Masterpiece"

"Selkie by Dan Mills." Fine Art America. Fine Art America, 14 May 2007. Web. 06 May 2015. <http://fineartamerica.com/featured/selkie-dan-mills.html>.


This is a painting by Dan Mills gives the human mind a full image of how the selkie might look and where they are told to be found. First thing I see is a female taking off the skin of a seal. From this I immediately think that she is of course a selkie, showing both her true identity as a seal and her secret form as a human female. The skin may be partially on or off, to purposely show her two different form and just in case she hints off that she may want to be caught, knowing she could also easily slip away into the water. In the background I see a group of seals, probably hanging around, playing or probably just waiting on the female to put on her skin so that they may leave together. This image helps put a picture to local myths in Scotland about their location and possible appearances.

Selkie Poems

"Songs and Poetry." - Selkies' Skins Official Site. Teresa Garcia's Serial Stories, n.d. Web. 05 May 2015. <http://teresagarciaserials.weebly.com/songs-and-poetry.html>.

Selkie Husband's Tears

Seven tears for my selkie love
Seven tears to call you home
Even if the nine waves us part
If ye live, return ye to this heart.



In this poem, it speaks of what a human female would do to summon upon a selkie-man.

A Selkie's Lament 

by Kirstine "Kirsty" Makay

Sitting by the shore
The water kisses my ankles.
It's the wrong water.

I long to feel it,
That cold arctic sea.

The wind lifts my hair...
When it should tweak whiskers...
And what fur I have, I hide.

It's wrong, all wrong.
This fresh water teases.
It coddles.
It's not mine.

Where are the gulls' cries,
The salt tang and spray?
How many months longer
Till I swim free?

Once I've won my skin,
Once I've claimed my soul...
What then? 

In the end of this poem we notice that it may be a female that has gotten her seal coat taken and she is stuck in her human form, mourning and missing her true life as a seal. She knows that her being in human form is not how she is suppose to be and that her true calling is in the "cold Arctic Sea" with the rest of her people. Alhough, in the need, I sense some contradiction in herself because she knows she doesn't belong on the land, but she is also so far away from home that she wouldn't know where to swim to even if she finds her coat.
Both of these poems tell the parts of how the original selkie myth went such as: the human females having to shed seven tears to summon their selkie-man, and how the females are the ones that get their selkie coats taken and end up mounring over not being able to go back home.

"The Swan Maiden"

Holfberg, Herman. "SurLaLune Fairy Tales: Tales Similar To Swan Maidens."SurLaLune Fairy Tales: Tales Similar To Swan Maidens. SurLaLune, n.d. Web. 01 May 2015. <http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/swanmaiden/stories/sweden.html>.

In the Swan Maiden, the story tells of how a young peasant who liked to spend his time hunting, encounters the site of seeing three swans take off their feathers and turn into three beautiful maidens. He sees them go into the lake and swim for a little and then put on their feathers again and flew away. The young peasant ended up falling in love with the youngest maiden, that he always had her in his mind and even lost attractions towards "his favorite pleasure." His mother, worried of seeing the difference in her son asks what was wrong and he tells her of his encounter. His mother then declares "that there was no longer any happiness in this life for him if he could not possess the fair swan maiden." He is then given the task that to keep her he must go wait for where he last say the swan maidens and keep a close eye on where the youngest places her feathers, and then he must steal them so that she may stay with him forever. He late fulfills the task, takes the swan maidens feathers and hides it then goes back to catch his swan maiden. He catches her feeling sad for losing her feathers and he takes her home. They later ended up getting married and seven years later, the young hunter shows his swan maiden her feathers and places them in her hands, which she instantly puts on and flies away. The peasant later dies of depression for losing his wife.

The Swan Maiden and Selkie relate to each other as a female creature of some type both can take off the skins or coat and turn into beautiful woman. Their coats are taken by men and they are trapped in human form until they may regain their "coat", but once they do receive or find their "coat" they immediately turn back into their true form and head back to where they are from.

The Selkie Myth



 

"The Selkie Bride." The Selkie Bride. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2015.

<http://www.weingartdesign.com/TMaS/Stories/tmas1-SelkieBride.html>

"Orkneyjar - The Selkie Folk of Orkney Folklore." Orkneyjar - The Selkie Folk of Orkney Folklore. Orkneyjar, n.d. Web. 01 May 2015.

<http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/selkiefolk/index.html>

The myth is that seals near the Orkney Island of Scotland are actually mythical creatures known as Selkies, that can take off their skins and turn into humans on shore. They take off their skins near rocks as they play or lay on the rocks enjoying the sun touching their skins and their time on shore. Female selkies are told to be the most exquisitely beautiful looking woman, but as for "a selkie-man in human form was said to be a handsome creature, with almost magical seductive powers over mortal women." Of course in order for them to transform back into seal form they will need their skins. If taken they are doomed to stay in human form until their skin is recovered. It is mostly for female Selkies that their skins are taken and they are forced to marry or stay with their capture until they can hopefully get their skin again. However, in some cases they fall in love with their capture and grow to have a family.


On the other hand, the selkie-men have no problem with having to stash their skins carefully. Instead the unsatisfied females have to call upon them with a specific rite. On high tide, they are to go onshore, and shed seven tears. "The selkie-man would then come ashore and, after removing his magical sealskin, seek out unlawful love."


An original Scottish folklore known as "The Selkie Bride" may be found on the link below if you'd like an example.