Fear the Wolf
by Mike GodeskyFrom the three little pigs to Little Red Riding Hood, the civilized person’s fear of the natural world has long been represented in legend and story by a single animal–the wolf. And nowhere is this fear more apparent than in the ever popular Halloween figure of the werewolf. In such stories, the anthropomorphised version of the animal finally manages to break through the mysterious border between nature and civilization. But the question remains, why the wolf?
Considering the long relationship between dogs and humans dating back even to prehistoric times, it seems odd that man’s fear of the natural world should find its representation in the form of a wolf. It is no exaggeration to say that canines, the only species with which humans have ever had a truly symbiotic relationship, are man’s best friend. Furthermore, it is exceedingly rare for a wild wolf to attack a human. As J.D.C. Linell, et al. write in their report The fear of wolves: a review of wolf attacks on humans (PDF):
Despite the cases that we have presented here, it must be remembered that wolf attacks are, and have always been, a relatively rare and unusual event. We have covered North America and Eurasia over a period of 400 years. During this period billions of people have died from other causes than wolf attacks. It is clear that people do not appear as regular items of wolf prey. The episodes where wolves do prey on people are widely scattered through history. In areas where they have occurred (e.g. India, Finland, France) it is interesting that local people have regarded the events as being due to an evil spirit. This indicates that predatory wolf attacks were not regarded as normal behaviour for wolves. Attacking and preying on humans is much more a part of the “normal” behaviour of other large carnivores (bears, cougars, tigers) than that of wolves. The risks of being attacked by a wolf are not zero, but are clearly so low that they are virtually impossible to quantify, especially when compared to the other background risks associated with living.
So how did the wolf become nature’s bogeyman, especially given the list of possible representatives including animals that actually have posed a serious danger to humans and our evolutionary ancestors?
The answer may lie in the aforementioned closeness between humans and canines. Dogs, especially wild dogs such as wolves, present us with a link to our prehistoric past. Thus, the wolf is a symbol of humanity’s shadow. Especially to the civilized man who has often struggled to break free of his animal nature, the wolf is a chaotic figure that represents the beast within.
Consider once again the werewolf. Though werewolves are almost always depicted as highly destructive creatures, the danger in these tales are not usually based on the risk of being killed by a werewolf. Rather, the danger is in becoming a werewolf oneself. Thus, the werewolf figure is very much like that of Mr. Hyde or the Incredible Hulk. It is the fear of losing control and succumbing to destructive animal instincts.
The “big bad wolf” is not really based on a fear of nature. It is based on a fear of humanity itself inside a Hobbesian state of nature characterized by the war of all against all. Ultimately, it is the shadowy woods of the mind where the werewolf lurks.
Of course, as Jung points out, the shadow is that part of yourself that you deem “bad,” the part of yourself that you reject. It rules you most when you remain unconscious of it. The goal is to make your reconciliation with it. So if the wolf is the shadow of our wild past….
Comment by Jason Godesky — 31 October 2006 @ 7:42 PM
The wolf has symbolized wickedness and wildness for Europeans since Medieval times. The catastrophic famine and black plague of the 14th century left a massive amount of unburied corpses, causing wolf populations to surge. Given the fragile state of society, wolves struck terror in the eyes of a weakened civilization. Proliferation of fear of the wild was accomplished through fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood and The 3 Little Pigs that incorporated a wolf as the primary villain.
The wolf came to represent not only evil outside the walls of culture in the forest, but also the natural sin present in all humans. This disdain for wildness and the wolf became so entrenched in European culture that massive slaughter and extermination of wolves was accepted in Europe and many years later in North America as well.
Comment by pteridium — 31 October 2006 @ 11:28 PM
[quote]This disdain for wildness and the wolf became so entrenched in European culture that massive slaughter and extermination of wolves was accepted in Europe and many years later in North America as well. [/quote]
And continues well into the present day….
[url]http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/wolf/alaska.html[/url]
Comment by jhereg — 1 November 2006 @ 8:07 AM
That reminds me of a recording of “Peter and the Wolf” that my daughter has. In this “kinder, gentler” version, the wolf is taken to the zoo instead of being killed by the hunters.
I wonder which is worse, killing our animal nature or just locking it up.
Comment by Vicky — 1 November 2006 @ 2:35 PM
The interesting thing about our fear and hatred of the wolf is that our driving it to the brink of extinction has actually been bad for agriculture. Wolves often preyed on animals such as deer and elk, and with the wolf almost disappearing, deer populations in the Midwest surged. “Hunting season” for deer is such a big deal in these parts because the enlarged deer populations often eat farmers’ crops in the fields.
Comment by venuspluto67 — 1 November 2006 @ 11:46 PM
Also, I think big cats are really the only species that it’s appropriate for humans to be truly afraid of. Bears go out of their way to avoid humans. The big cats are true hunters and have no fear, either singly or in packs, of other mammals, including humans. Alligators and crocodiles are pretty formidable but don’t like to venture very far from the water bodies in which they live.
Comment by venuspluto67 — 1 November 2006 @ 11:50 PM
I like wolves … then again, I also like the incredible hulk.
Comment by Din — 2 November 2006 @ 1:06 AM
1. Loved the Pic of Bigby and Snow from Fables. Great Comic, i highly recommend it.
2. Mike, are you aware of the old heathen/norse code of laws, where criminals were labeled X-wolf? Such as fire-wolf for an arsonist, etc. The “offical” pronouncements made statements such as “he is cast out, let him be a wolf!” and such. pretty interesting stuff, I’ll see if I can find some sources for that.
Comment by Rory — 2 November 2006 @ 3:08 PM
The norse certainly had a fascination with wolves. Fenrir being an excellent example, shortly followed by Odin’s wolves: Geri & Freki.
[quote]Such as fire-wolf for an arsonist, etc. The “offical” pronouncements made statements such as “he is cast out, let him be a wolf!” and such[/quote]
Sounds vaguely familiar to me, but I’ll be damned if I can place it….
Comment by jhereg — 2 November 2006 @ 3:33 PM
Hmm, this is interesting:
[quote]It would be easy to assume that outlaws were called warg simply because their offences were of an especially savage kind, and that they were likened to wolves, wild, bestial, and uncivilised, as a result. Anglo-Norman law, for example, stated that the outlaw would ‘be held to be a wolf and . . . be proclaimed ‘wolf’s-head” [7]. Interestingly, the Frankish Lex Salica uses the phrase wargus sit (’he shall be a warg’) of a despoiler of buried corpses [8]. But warg is not a straightforward word. It is derived from an Indo-European *wergh-, ’strangle’, via Germanic *wargaz. It is suggested that the use of warg and its variants in Germanic legal codes, as a condemnation, ‘originally was a magico-legal pronouncement which transformed the criminal into a werwolf worthy of strangulation’ [9]. The Indo-European antiquity of this notion is demonstrated in Hittite texts which include the phrase zi-ik-wa UR.BAR.RA ki-sa-at, ‘thou art become a wolf’; and the name LU.MES hurkilas, denoting demon-like entities who are set to capture a wolf and strangle a serpent - hurkilas being derived from the same root as warg [10]. The warg, in this analysis, is a strangler, but one who himself requires strangulation.[/quote]
[url]http://www.primitivism.com/hellhounds.htm[/url]
Comment by jhereg — 2 November 2006 @ 3:37 PM
Well this is interesting. What say you of people over romanticizing wolves? Have we come full circle?
Very few people in our society have family farms in areas where there is wolf predation. But these people often view wolves in the more traditional eurocentric light.
All the people in my circles are really “disneyfied” or “animal planetized” and think wolves are harmless furballs, that wisely only prey on the old and the sick to take care of the herd. Wolves have kind of a new age cult following.
I’ve talked to few alaskan trappers that trap and shoot wolves while still admiring them. They have some interesting observations that don’t always jibe with the views espoused on animal planet.
I think wolves are to dogs as domestic civilized people are to wild people.
I am thinking maybe my shadow is a bit savage, but I still want to get in touch with it anyway.
Wolves don’t often eat people because they are smart. But they are savage. They aren’t dogs. They way they kill isn’t pretty, often they eat their prey while its still alive. Unlike big cats that kill by strangulation.
I have a skull of a young wolf that a trapper gave me, it was killed by its own kind when it was caught in a trap.
Comment by Ted Heistman — 3 November 2006 @ 11:24 AM
Edit:
That should read I have talked to “a”
few alaskan trappers that trap and shoot wolves and still admire them.
Actually all the trappers I talked top admire wolves. I have just only talked to a few trappers.
Comment by Ted Heistman — 3 November 2006 @ 11:27 AM
I have a draft I’m working on that picks up that theme, I just haven’t had a chance to finish it yet.
Comment by Jason Godesky — 3 November 2006 @ 11:28 AM
BTW, I think the incredible hulk is based on the archetype of the berseker that is still in our cultural memory, or collective unconcious.
You know how David banner would come down from the rage and be really tired? That is the same thing that happened to the berserkers.
Comment by Ted Heistman — 3 November 2006 @ 11:30 AM
Jason,
I’m looking forward to it. I have been playing around with that theme on my blog as well.
Comment by Ted Heistman — 3 November 2006 @ 11:33 AM
[quote]What say you of people over romanticizing wolves?[/quote]
Well, first off, I would say that any attempt to make wolves solely into cute little fluffballs is probably not going to be very successful at integrating the shadow into the persona, which would be the point.
I’m not saying that wolves [b]can’t[/b] be cute little fluffballs, but that’s certainly not [b]all[/b] that they are. So, there’s this sense that we’ve kind of forgotten how to relate to “other” as a whole entity, and instead continue to pursue reductionist agendas. This must be reversed.
Now, about how this relates to shadow-selves:
The integration of shadow-selves is pretty much going to require hard work. It’s not a choice of ‘either/or’; you need to find a way to make the relationship [b]work[/b]. Overly romanticizing the manifestation of your shadow doesn’t accomplish this any better than ignoring it.
Comment by jhereg — 6 November 2006 @ 12:42 PM
Well that makes sense.
Comment by Ted Heistman — 7 November 2006 @ 12:35 PM