WEREWOLVES

Wolf Man 1. What symbols do you see associated with werewolves? 2. Why are we afraid of werewolves? 3. What are the dichotomies being set up here?

Symbols  Gun  Wolfsbain  Silver Bullet  Silver is to werewolf as garlic is to Vampires  Pentagram  Satanic emblem that pointed to the werewolf’s next victim  Movies cemented these ideas for us, and simplified for us the characteristics that made up werewolves

Fears  Sexual themes are common, sexual jealousy, uncontainable sexuality  Seductive femme fatale  Cannibalism  “The beast within every man”

So how do we go from this… To this… ??

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER AFTER YOU READ… An Introduction to the argument of Lycanthropy

Questions Intro to Lycanthropy 1. What was the significance of the Malleus Maleficarum? 2. What was the view of Satan and his power according to the authors of the Malleus? 3. What was Reginald Scot’s view of Satan and his power? (include a discussion of human form vs. spirit form) 4. What was King James’ take on the role/power of Satan?  What was his view of werewolves? 5. Who was John Darrel? 6. How did Deacon and Walker explain werewolves?

Malleus Maleficarum  Treaty on the prosecution of witches  Written 1486  Purpose  Explain his views on witchcraft, refute arguments that witchcraft does not exist, convince people to follow his procedures for prosecuting them  Contributed to the witch hunt craze  Demons, witches, werewolves, lots about Satan

THE DAMNABLE LIFE AND DEATH OF STUBBE PEETER

Questions 1. What was this testimonial about? 2. What is the purpose of the author’s testimonial? Why is he writing it? 3. How was it believed that Stubbe Peeter became a werewolf? 4. How was Stubbe caught? What was Stubbe’s punishment? Punishment for daughter and lover? 5. How much of this story do you believe? What don’t you believe? Why?

CASE STUDIES

Evaluating Jean Grenier, a French Werewolf  We will use this form to evaluate this case of were- wolfery  You will treat this as a factual document, and will evaluate the symptoms, possible causes, and the treatment/results of treatment.  The purpose of this will be to isolate the cause of this young man’s illness/delusion, and to see if it fits in with the description of our prototypical lycanthropic disorder victim.

Questions 1. Profile: What are the general characteristics of the boy? Age, build, family history, etc. 2. Symptoms: Please identify the subjects various symptoms. What behaviors does he exhibit? What delusions does he have? 3. Possible Causes: Please speculate on the possible causes behind this subject’s disorder. Use details from the text to support your diagnosis. 4. The Court’s Diagnosis and Treatment: How did the court diagnose and treat this subject. What were the results of this treatment? 5. Final Conclusions: Does the subject fit the profile of a lycanthrope? What issues do you have with this account? How does this case study compare with the case you examined earlier (similarities / differences)? 6. For Fun: Draw a picture of the subject based on the description given by the text.**

Case Studies  Reading case 1, complete the case study work sheet  We will do case 1 together, and you will complete cases 2 and 3 on your own during class

Case Studies 1. Discuss the background and physical/personal characteristics of the person: (Male, 89 years old, janitor, etc.) Please be very detailed here. 2. Discuss the symptoms and behaviors. 3. Discuss the treatment and doctors assertions. 4. Interpret: Look at all of the evidence and try to identify a cause or causes for the subject’s malady. Why are they behaving the way they do? What outside factors may play a role in the disease? Any other insights or ideas you may have. Can you find a possible cause or factor that the doctors cannot?

Reflection 1. Why does it seem that mentally insane people (like our cases), or people with troubled family lives, think they are possessed by the devil or transforming into werewolves? 2. How does our society handle individuals like them? 3. Is lycanthropy real?

THE LAY OF THE WEREWOLF Marie de France

Discussion Questions 1. According to the narrator, what is the single aim/purpose of the werewolf? 2. Who in this story, is the most monstrous? Explain why? 3. How does Bisclavaret change to and from werewolf form? 4. How does Bisclavaret differ from the description of werewolves that we are given at the beginning of the story and the unit? 5. What are the lessons to be learned by this story? Give at least three.