This was a lecture with a lot of wolves in it; their depictions in different mythologies and other such like, (with some emphasis on the Red Riding Hood trope) and how the role of the wolf varies between them. Among the mentioned were the Berserkir of Norse mythos, or warriors that could entrance themselves into an alleviated state of mind before battle, giving them more power and a temporary strength boost, yet often came at the price of complete lack of control on the berserkr’s part. It is also depicted frequently that Berserkir would wear the pelt of a wolf (or sometimes a bear) when fighting, embodying the wolf with connotations of strength and mindless violence, but also giving them status.
JIM 646 , pg 10 Jan 2013 by Valerio Schiti
The berserker also featured in Lady Sif’s first arc of Marvel’s Journey Into Mystery (646- 650) where she transformed herself into an extremely powerful warrior with the berserker incantation in order to better protect Asgardia. However, this also came with the adverse side effects, such as Sif wanting to beat people with the butt of her sword as soon as they look at her. Taking the whole arc symbolically, we could argue that this has a Red Riding Hood feel to it; the wolf is the berseker spell, the inner demon that must be overcame and controlled by the red caped girl, lest it consume her entirely. In this cheerful incarnation of the narrative however, the girl in red is victorious, able to beat back the wolf and regain control of her life without being rescued by any “hunter” (although, she does make some new friends who enjoy beating up monster with her). I suppose in this analogy the wolf’s deception (killing grandma) would be that she never really had a spell on her in the first place and all that beautiful raw power came from her anyway, but the illusion of a demon seems no less a demon when you’re fighting it.
Journey into Mystery #649 Cover by Jeff Dekal
So maybe that’s a bit of a far-fetched connection… but wolves have played an extremely large part in Norse mythology, (actual mythology, not Marvel this time.) One of the largest would be, of course Fenrir, the son of Loki and Angrboða, who was born with prophesies of destruction thrust upon him, and stolen from his parents to be held captive by the Aesir. Once the Aesir saw how big he had become, they had the most skilful dwarves make him fetters and (after breaking through two of them) finally caged him, where he would stand howling until Ragnarok. The prophesy stated that Fenrir would be the slayer of Odin, king of the gods and father of all. In this tale, the wolf is portrayed as exceptionally cunning, (he refuses to try the fetter until Tyr places his hand into his mouth as insurance.) However he is also headstrong, and easily goaded into testing his strength, which is insurmountably vast. Also he is depicted as an end to the cycle: the Gods are created by Odin, and Odin is ended by him, which is also an indicator of great power, this along with the readiness of the Aesir to cage him shows that a great deal of fear is held for the wolf, but it is not the fear that one has for a mindless beast, it is the fear one would have for a well-respected killer.
Loki’s Children (1906) by Lorenz Frølich
Other wolves appearing in Norse mythology would be Sköll and Hati, whose jobs it is to chase the sun and moon across the sky respectively. This is again connoting fear of the power of the wolf, that he can do so much to influence the sky itself. However there is also the undercurrent of cunning natures; the wolves seem to chase the star and moon almost as a cat toys with its food before eating it, as they inevitably will at Ragnarok showcasing them as apathetic, deadly creatures, with a total disregard for life.
Finally is the involvement of Narfi, another of Loki’s sons, born of Sigyn. During the lokasenna, in an attempt to imprison/ punish his father, the Aesir turn Narfi into a wolf, and he in turn tears his brother Váli asunder, Váli’s entrails are then turned to steel and used to bind his father to a rock until Ragnarok. In this description the wolf is described again like the berserkr, mindlessly consuming his own brother without any recognition of familial bonds in a display of monstrous violence. Perhaps it could be argued that Narfi was rather turned into a berserkr than a literal wolf, which could make more sense, but nevertheless the wolf returns as a symbol of mindless destruction. This is more of a quality I would associate with humans personally, as surely a wolf would rather kill to eat, and unless rabid or intimidated, would not engage a human.
But it seems to be a recurring idea wherever you go that wolves are associated with death of some kind, another example would be “the Grimm” from Harry Potter, which is an omen only seen by those about to snuff it.
Sources:
“Viking Answer Lady”, Berserkergang
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/berserke.shtml (24/11/2013)
Sturlson, S (1916). Prose Edda. New York: THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN FOUNDATION p43 (XXXIV) and p82(LI)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe10.htm
Immonen, K (2013). Journey into Mystery # 646. New York: Dan Buckley. p1- 22.
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