The dark and supernatural seducer of myth and folklore tells us a lot about a culture's tendencies and viewpoint when it comes to sex, marriage and forming a society. It also explains at least partially how that group of people view and treat women. Almost every culture in every time period has or has had a 'daemon lover' myth but the moral behind these stories varies greatly. Today, it can be found reflected in the huge body of paranormal romance. In the 1920s, if found its reflection first in films such as the 1922 'Nosferatu' and then followed the progress of the film industry - the daemon lover becoming more suave, sophisticated and appealing with each incarnation. Before the daemon lover ever touched the silver screen, he (and it almost always is a 'he') starred in literature and, in particular, in the gothic novel. This week Jules and Madeleine dig into the archetype - why is the presence of such a character so prevalent? Why has his image gone through so many permutations? And what exactly does his presence in speculative fiction say about our mindset today?
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 123: From the Deep - Mystery, Suspense and Sea Monsters in Historical Fantasy
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 122: Baby Doom - The Stork Visits in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 121: If We Were Villains - What Shakespeare has to say to a Modern Audience
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 120: Bards, Troubadours and Skalds - The Musician Archetype in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 119: Love Conquers All - Power Couples who destroyed the Story
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 118: You Fancy Me Mad - Renfield, Lear & Ophelia: Madness in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 117: Dinosaurs and Mega Cryptids - Man-made Monsters in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 116: Cliches are Cliche for a Reason - Why Tropes aren't bad, but Some Tropes need to Die
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 115: Clothes Make the Man - Cross-dressing in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 114: Queer Eye for the Straight Story - Reading Speculative Fiction through a Queer Filter
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 113: Decoy Ducks & Red Herrings - Sayings, Urban Legends and Aphorisms
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 112: Spies, Traitors & Turncoats - Informants in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 111: Larger than Life - The Fictional World of Giants
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 110: Saying What You Really Mean - The Importance of Theme in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 109: Into the East - Fantasy Settings Tolkien Never Used
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 108: It Must be the Weather - How Nature Reflects Art in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 107: The Balance of Power - Sexism and Sexual Harassment in the Publishing Industry
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 106: Kali-ma, Inanna & Anath - The Creator-Destroyer in Myth and Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 105: The Book Hangover - Fictional Worlds that won't Let You Go
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 104: Bones, Boyd and Cottle - The Physician Archetype in Speculative fICTION
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Voice of Mushfik
Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Just So Stories
Anne of Green Gables
Fresh Air
Myths and Legends