The Werewolf: Past and Future

dc.contributor.authorStebbins, Maegan Annen
dc.contributor.committeechairKnapp, Shoshana Milgramen
dc.contributor.committeememberSwenson, Karenen
dc.contributor.committeememberGraham, Peter W.en
dc.contributor.departmentEnglishen
dc.date.accessioned2017-06-01T08:00:13Zen
dc.date.available2017-06-01T08:00:13Zen
dc.date.issued2017-05-31en
dc.description.abstractSince before recorded history, werewolves have captivated human imagination. Simultaneously, they represent our deepest fears as well as our desire to connect with our primal ancestry. Today, werewolves are portrayed negatively, associated with violence, cruelty, cannibalism, and general malevolence. However, in ages past, legends depicted them not as monsters, but as a range of neutral to benevolent individuals, such as traveling companions, guardians, and knights. The robust legacy of the werewolf spans from prehistory, through ancient Greece and Rome, to the Middle Ages, into the Early Modern period, and finally into present-day popular culture. Over the ages, the view of the werewolf has become distorted. Media treatment of werewolves is associated with inferior writing, lacking in thought, depth, and meaning. Werewolves as characters or creatures are now generally seen as single-minded and one-dimensional, and they want nothing more than to kill, devour, and possibly violate humans. Hollywood depictions have resulted in the destruction of the true meanings behind werewolf legends that fascinated and terrified humans for so many ages. If these negative trends were reversed, perhaps entertainment might not only discover again some of the true meanings behind the werewolf myth, but also take the first steps toward reversing negative portrayals of wolves themselves, which humans have, for eons, wrongfully stigmatized and portrayed as evil, resulting in wolves receiving crueler treatment than virtually any other animal. To revive the many questions posed by lycanthropy, entertainment must show respect to the rich history of the legend — and rediscover the benevolent werewolf.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralSince before recorded history, werewolves have captivated human imagination. Simultaneously, they represent our deepest fears as well as our desire to connect with our primal ancestry. Today, werewolves are portrayed negatively, associated with violence, cruelty, cannibalism, and general malevolence. However, in ages past, legends depicted them not as monsters, but as a range of neutral to benevolent individuals, such as traveling companions, guardians, and knights. The robust legacy of the werewolf spans from prehistory, through ancient Greece and Rome, to the Middle Ages, into the Early Modern period, and finally into present-day popular culture. Over the ages, the view of the werewolf has become distorted. Media treatment of werewolves is associated with inferior writing, lacking in thought, depth, and meaning. Werewolves as characters or creatures are now generally seen as single-minded and one-dimensional, and they want nothing more than to kill, devour, and possibly violate humans. Hollywood depictions have resulted in the destruction of the true meanings behind werewolf legends that fascinated and terrified humans for so many ages. If these negative trends were reversed, perhaps entertainment might not only discover again some of the true meanings behind the werewolf myth, but also take the first steps toward reversing negative portrayals of wolves themselves, which humans have, for eons, wrongfully stigmatized and portrayed as evil, resulting in wolves receiving crueler treatment than virtually any other animal. To revive the many questions posed by lycanthropy, entertainment must show respect to the rich history of the legend – and rediscover the benevolent werewolf.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Artsen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:11536en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/77877en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectwerewolfen
dc.subjectwerewolvesen
dc.subjectlycanthropeen
dc.subjectlycanthropesen
dc.subjectlycanthropyen
dc.subjectwolf manen
dc.subjectwolf-manen
dc.subjectwolf-menen
dc.subjectwolfmanen
dc.subjecthistoryen
dc.subjecthumanitiesen
dc.subjectcultureen
dc.subjectcultural studiesen
dc.subjectmythen
dc.subjectmythologyen
dc.subjectfolkloreen
dc.subjectlegenden
dc.subjectlegendsen
dc.subjectfantasyen
dc.subjectmedievalen
dc.subjectpopular cultureen
dc.subjectwolfen
dc.subjectwolvesen
dc.titleThe Werewolf: Past and Futureen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineEnglishen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

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