Emily Tucker- "Seeking the Mythical" as seen in the ballet La Sylphide

     The main theme of this class has been the hero's journey, specifically the journey to find something greater or mythical, usually within oneself. As seen in Campbell's hero's journey, this is most often accomplished by a hero leaving the known world and entering an unknown, spiritual world.

    As we've discussed these common themes, I couldn't help but think about one of the oldest surviving ballets, La Sylphide. In the ballet, James (a Scotsman) is found sleeping the morning of his wedding day when he is awoken by a Sylphide (a fairy-like creature). Throughout the entire ballet, James is characterized as a dreamer. He believes in the supernatural and mythical, whereas his fiancé, Effie, is very down-to-earth. This is why he's the only one who can see the Sylphide at the wedding, while she's invisible to everyone else. In the middle of the wedding, James sees the Sylphide and chases after her into the forest, leaving Effie and the wedding behind. In the forest, James is led to the home of the sylphs where they dance around him. Because the sylphs are magical, they can't be touched, else they die. Having fallen in love with the Sylphide, James acquires a magic scarf from Madge (a fortune-telling witch), so that he can be with the Sylphide and touch her without her dying. However, the scarf turns out to be poisonous and the Sylphide loses her wings, goes blind, and eventually dies. James is heartbroken, but can't return back to Effie, because she married Gurn (James's cousin and rival who genuinely loved Effie the whole time) when James went missing in the forest. In the end, James is left unconscious as the Sylphide is carried up into the trees by her sister sylphs. 

    While it's not the happiest of stories or ballets, I think it shows some common themes of mythology and spiritual revelations that we've been discussing. Unlike everyone else in the village, James was a dreamer and believed in the mythical, making him the hero of the story. It also places a great emphasis on the spirituality of the forest, nature, and trees. James had to leave his village and enter the depths of the forest to find the sylphs. This is parallel to the movie we watched (Cold Fever) where Hirata left Japan to go to Iceland where he was surrounded by much more nature and uninhabited land compared to the cities and infrastructure of Japan. It's in nature and solitude that we are able to fully immerse ourselves in the mythical, separated from distractions and our known reality. 

    My main question for discussion would be if we all have an inner yearning for something greater than this world, like James did? Do we all unconsciously seek after the mythical? Are we born with an innate desire to experience something greater than the material world? And furthermore, does seeking out and experiencing the supernatural, change us for the better and make us the hero of our own story? And lastly, can these things be found through nature, and separation from distraction in our own lives?


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