You can not be given the name Moira, grow up never meeting another one, and not think of Ireland. Whenever I meet people from Ireland or Scotland I am cheerfully told that this is a common name over there. Over there. Not here. I have one of the most Celtic names a person could have: Moira Kirstin Boyd and to my knowledge I am not of Celtic descent. I am going to begin with the etymology of 'Moira'. I want to do this to illustrate how pervasive its meaning is in our culture. I also do it for those that are reading this that approach me with a half-assed history lesson on the meaning of my name thinking I didn't know, after 53 years, what the meaning of my very own name means.
'Moira' means 'fate'. The collective term for Moira is Moirae and The Moirae (sometimes written Moirai), were three sisters in Greek mythology that determined the fate of a life spent on earth. These sisters were Klotho, (the spinner), Lakhesis (portioner of lots), and Atropos (she who cannot be turned). In art, Klotho is often seen carrying a book or scroll, Lakhesis a staff, and Atropos a pair of scissors. They worked collectively and their purpose was to determine each life's destiny including when it was that each life should end. The symbolic attributes of the book, staff and scissors are that each life is entered into a grand book, a staff is used to point to the stars, and the scissors cut a life off. Together they are The Moirae and they are not to be confused with The Furies. Those were three other woman who concerned themselves with punishment.
We forget just how present Greek mythology is in our current collective consciousness and I hope to, in this essay, focus on its impact in literature and music. Sometimes you will see the meaning of 'Moira' to be ascribed to 'bitterness' but I think this is a mis-notion ascribed to the oft recorded description of The Moirae as being ugly old women; other times I have seen it written that they were mean. When we take into consideration our modern perception of, and words used, to describe women in power it doesn't take much effort to see how The Moirae might receive a bad wrap in some respects. One can't help but imagine an ugly old woman holding a pair of scissors with the job of determining life, and not think, "bitter bitch", but that was her job.
In literature characters given the name Moira, often serve the purpose of causing the protagonists' life to change in some way. If the book is about a character named Moira then often the book is about how that person's (Moira's) life unfolds (what the stars granted). Moira, from my experience is never given to a literary character arbitrarily. In Julien Green's book, Moira, the protagonist (who is not Moira) struggles with religion (good and bad), has opportunities before him but ruins his life by murdering a character named Moira. He murders her because he believes, having slept with her, that she was morally suspect. Of course we know that the murderer is suspect, but it is Moira that dies. And it is her death that teaches the protagonist a lesson. Or really, more specifically, the reader learns a lesson. In this book it should also be pointed out that she (Moira) is introduced into the story only in the last few pages, yet the book is titled, Moira.
Moira is used in literature to place a constant reminder to the reader that life is a struggle of good and bad, of right and wrong. The Moirae are ever present for we cannot escape death or our destiny. Literature, to paraphrase Northrup Frye, allows us as readers to experience the very worst and learn from these events without having to do these things ourselves. Moira, in literature, is often the embodiment of the lesson to be learned; hence a fate; a chance to understand how fate works and unfolds. More importantly, are we mastering our own destiny's or are there unseen forces that guide us? Moira is an ancient reminder in literature. She acts as the impetus between one destiny or another
In Kevin Costner's 1987 film, No Way Out, at the beginning of the film there is a message left on an answering machine for a character that we are only shown as dead. (This dead Moira was the best friend of the lead heroine in the film who was busy having an affair with another character). The message is the vehicle from which we learn her name: Moira. It is also the vehicle that propels Kevin, upon hearing the message, to spend the remainder of the film literally outrunning his potential destiny. In this case Moira is the catalyst behind Kevins' character unfolding for the rest of the film. She forces him to find the real bad guy in the film but she does it all the while keeping him a nano second away from having his whole life tumble in on itself. He is literally forced to stay one step ahead of his own destiny. The tension in the film arises from: will he find the real killer of Moira before anyone suspects him? It is a cat and mouse against himself. The real killer doesn't even know he exists. Again, we see The Moirae. Kevin is forced to fix his own destiny before fate notices. Life cut off (Moira's death), forces a life to be lived and fought for. Unseen forces (Gene Hackman's character/murderer) plant obstacles left and right to be dealt with: destiny.
In The Handmaid's Tale, we enter a futuristic society in which women are subjugated, and the ruling elite find themselves infertile (I am paraphrasing and shrinking), and fertile women are hired to conceive for the ruling class. It is the character of Moira who propels this story along, and who longs for the days when things were different. In this case Moira is seen as the salvation for all womankind. She is also a protagonist against her own self. She is the undesirable fertile woman sent to serve the elite infertile. She embodies the past (in a procreative sense), with the present future, and it is this future that must end in order for a real future to take place. In this case Moira embodies all three of The Moirae. She gives birth to life, despite not being able to control her own, she has some control over the lives of others (the infertile) and her character is responsible for the preservation, and the continuance of, life.
I first learned of Amalia Rodrigues through a documentary of her life that I saw late one night on television. What struck me about her music, not speaking Portuguese, was how sad it sounded. I knew immediately that it was a music that was lamenting something and when I heard it described as Fado, I was positive it had something to do with The Moirae. Fado, is a type of melancholy folk song, but Fado literally means Fate. Below is the late Amalia singing Estranha Forma de Vida (roughly translates to Strange Life) and following that is Mariza singing Meu Fado (My Fate). Mariza is from Mozambique and has revived the Fado for younger generations. As you can see, especially from the Mariza recording, there is something inherently sad about this music.
We forget just how present Greek mythology is in our current collective consciousness and I hope to, in this essay, focus on its impact in literature and music. Sometimes you will see the meaning of 'Moira' to be ascribed to 'bitterness' but I think this is a mis-notion ascribed to the oft recorded description of The Moirae as being ugly old women; other times I have seen it written that they were mean. When we take into consideration our modern perception of, and words used, to describe women in power it doesn't take much effort to see how The Moirae might receive a bad wrap in some respects. One can't help but imagine an ugly old woman holding a pair of scissors with the job of determining life, and not think, "bitter bitch", but that was her job.
In literature characters given the name Moira, often serve the purpose of causing the protagonists' life to change in some way. If the book is about a character named Moira then often the book is about how that person's (Moira's) life unfolds (what the stars granted). Moira, from my experience is never given to a literary character arbitrarily. In Julien Green's book, Moira, the protagonist (who is not Moira) struggles with religion (good and bad), has opportunities before him but ruins his life by murdering a character named Moira. He murders her because he believes, having slept with her, that she was morally suspect. Of course we know that the murderer is suspect, but it is Moira that dies. And it is her death that teaches the protagonist a lesson. Or really, more specifically, the reader learns a lesson. In this book it should also be pointed out that she (Moira) is introduced into the story only in the last few pages, yet the book is titled, Moira.
Moira is used in literature to place a constant reminder to the reader that life is a struggle of good and bad, of right and wrong. The Moirae are ever present for we cannot escape death or our destiny. Literature, to paraphrase Northrup Frye, allows us as readers to experience the very worst and learn from these events without having to do these things ourselves. Moira, in literature, is often the embodiment of the lesson to be learned; hence a fate; a chance to understand how fate works and unfolds. More importantly, are we mastering our own destiny's or are there unseen forces that guide us? Moira is an ancient reminder in literature. She acts as the impetus between one destiny or another
In Kevin Costner's 1987 film, No Way Out, at the beginning of the film there is a message left on an answering machine for a character that we are only shown as dead. (This dead Moira was the best friend of the lead heroine in the film who was busy having an affair with another character). The message is the vehicle from which we learn her name: Moira. It is also the vehicle that propels Kevin, upon hearing the message, to spend the remainder of the film literally outrunning his potential destiny. In this case Moira is the catalyst behind Kevins' character unfolding for the rest of the film. She forces him to find the real bad guy in the film but she does it all the while keeping him a nano second away from having his whole life tumble in on itself. He is literally forced to stay one step ahead of his own destiny. The tension in the film arises from: will he find the real killer of Moira before anyone suspects him? It is a cat and mouse against himself. The real killer doesn't even know he exists. Again, we see The Moirae. Kevin is forced to fix his own destiny before fate notices. Life cut off (Moira's death), forces a life to be lived and fought for. Unseen forces (Gene Hackman's character/murderer) plant obstacles left and right to be dealt with: destiny.
In The Handmaid's Tale, we enter a futuristic society in which women are subjugated, and the ruling elite find themselves infertile (I am paraphrasing and shrinking), and fertile women are hired to conceive for the ruling class. It is the character of Moira who propels this story along, and who longs for the days when things were different. In this case Moira is seen as the salvation for all womankind. She is also a protagonist against her own self. She is the undesirable fertile woman sent to serve the elite infertile. She embodies the past (in a procreative sense), with the present future, and it is this future that must end in order for a real future to take place. In this case Moira embodies all three of The Moirae. She gives birth to life, despite not being able to control her own, she has some control over the lives of others (the infertile) and her character is responsible for the preservation, and the continuance of, life.
I first learned of Amalia Rodrigues through a documentary of her life that I saw late one night on television. What struck me about her music, not speaking Portuguese, was how sad it sounded. I knew immediately that it was a music that was lamenting something and when I heard it described as Fado, I was positive it had something to do with The Moirae. Fado, is a type of melancholy folk song, but Fado literally means Fate. Below is the late Amalia singing Estranha Forma de Vida (roughly translates to Strange Life) and following that is Mariza singing Meu Fado (My Fate). Mariza is from Mozambique and has revived the Fado for younger generations. As you can see, especially from the Mariza recording, there is something inherently sad about this music.
Greek mythology, unlike what I used to think, is a universal concept and not limited to those of
Greek descent. It is a imbued into everything including our most ancient professions, like medicine and psychology which are riddled with the language of mythology. Terms such as Narcissist, or Achilles Tendon are all references to bygone days, but are still in our present vernacular.
In the United States we have what is referred to as, The Blues, which came out of the deep South and can be directly linked to the aftermath of slavery. While the definition of the blues might simply be a deep melancholia or sadness it can easily be said then when one is in such a state, part of that state, is to wonder why you are there in the first place. What unseen force put you there?
When I was wee I lived in the Inwood section of Manhattan. And when I was wee Inwood was Irish. If you went there today you would never have guessed because now it is primarily Dominican but Seaman Avenue is still a holdout for many long time residents. The remainders crossed the bridge and went to live in The Bronx, many near Riverdale.
I try to think of the various reasons I feel such a close affinity with the Irish. It is so many things that it is difficult to sort out. Partly, because like anyone else, I like to hear my name called out loud and in my experience, except for my immediate family, only the Irish seems to be able to even pronounced my name. And believe me it is so astonishing to me how many can't that when I hear it said correctly I practically fall over from surprise. My own father didn't pronounce my name right. He pronounced it Mora. It is pronounced MOY RA. It's having lived on Prince Edwards Island which is crawling with the Irish and those of Scottish descent. It's that when I went on to higher education I fell in love with Irish literature. Its that some of the most fun I've had drinking has been in Irish bars. It's the fact that seeing a man in a kilt causes an indescribable feeling to swell within me. It's that I once loved Daniel Murnahan who hailed from Dublin and finally it has to do with The Dirge.
A dirge is an Irish piece of music that is slow and mournful. It is a lament and the word itself comes from the Latin 'to direct'. In its former use it was performed to usher out the dead into the afterlife. In its more modern meaning it is used to describe something that is sad, mournful and full of agony. Sounds like the The Blues, doesn't it? It is interesting to me that its earlier meaning derives from 'to direct'. Who is directing? What is being directed? The attendees at a funeral? The deceased, no longer able to self-direct?Or perhaps one of The Moirae, has directed and seen to, the ending of a life.
I am no authority on Irish music but the one thing that I've always found curious is that most of the people I have met in my life don't seem to make a connection between Irish music and storytelling. I know most of those that read this might argue that any and all songs are a form of storytelling and this is true but folksongs and traditional music tell a story that a song by Madonna does not. It's a part of their oral tradition and the more traditional songs tell the stories of those that suffered from monumental events such as the Potato Famine or The Plague. Ireland has a rich history. One of the things too many people are not aware of, is the fact that the Irish were considered, like people of African descent, less than human. At one point the Irish were not even thought of as White. The other problematic issue is that many people think that being Irish is akin to being drunk and while many an Irish bar is to be found does anyone ever wonder who Molly Malone (name given to numerous Irish pubs) might have been?
If we knew history a bit more then we really could see that we were all very similar. Every culture has an eye opening moment in their history that can be linked in similarity to another culture's history. Music and literature, for me, are universal teachers of shared commonalities. You don't have to be Irish to have been moved deeply by Angela's Ashes for it was a story about poverty and disempowerment.
I once read a review of the work of Joni Mitchell in which the reviewer stated that amongst her friends she found that happy people found Joni Mitchell depressing but for those that were sad they found her music comforting. Such it is for me when I listen to music that is sung with a tear in the voice. For me, my ear is always drawn to music, like a good book, that has a lesson hidden away. One doesn't need to speak Portuguese to understand that worldwide we all have moments of profound melancholia. One need only listen to the pace of the melody to know the singer is suffering. There is comfort in such collective sorrow for when one is suffering it helps to know that we are not alone in our grief.
Below is Sinead O'Connor singing Molly Malone and it you don't get the chills listening to this then your dead. And since you're dead we'll all be singing a dirge, a fado, and some blues in your honour but we'll be cursing The Moirae for your passing.
Can't say where I'm going next but there will be a next, as I'm going.
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