The Black Bull of Norroway Again

Just climbing a glass hill. No big deal.

Greetings, readers. This week, I wanted to revisit one of the fairy tales we've already looked at. The Black Bull of Norroway is a pretty great story, so I can't just leave it alone. If you want to read the fairy tale, follow the link. Then continue reading here and we'll break it down.

The last time I looked at this story, I didn't even think about the mother. When her daughters all leave to go find their fortune, she doesn't try to stop them or see what their plans are. She just makes them some food and lets them go. Now, I'm not saying she shouldn't have let them go, but she didn't even try to give them advice or anything. It's odd. I guess we can assume this lady already had these conversations with her daughters before they left. Probably.

I am still curious about the first two sisters. It occurs to me that they could have married two of the Black Bull's brothers, although if they had we probably would have heard about it when our protagonist visited those castles. Or maybe they became ladies of another house and became the mothers or stepmothers in other fairy tales. There really is no telling.

As for our protagonist, it's a shame she can't follow directions, but she more than makes up for it. I mean, have you tried to sit absolutely still for a long time? My only experience with that is when there's a dog asleep on me, not when the bull I love is doing battle, but it's really hard not to move at all. It still bamboozles me that the price of her moving is seven years of service to a smith, washing bloodstains out of some clothes, and then three successive nights of bribery and crying. That seems a little over the top just for crossing her legs.

Now, I realize I haven't looked at the title character at all. What's the deal with the Black Bull? It seems like he's a human who was under a spell, which he then broke by defeating the Old One, whoever that is. That more or less makes sense, but I'm not sure why he went and picked up this random girl first. Did he have to have a true love before he defeated the Old One? Did he not find out where to go or how to defeat the Old One until after he picked up our protagonist? And while we're asking questions we can't answer, what's with the witch washerwoman at the beginning of the story? Can she set everyone on the right path for finding their fortune? Because, if so, I need to find her.

The moral of this story is to follow directions, even if they're ridiculous. Alternatively, if you're going to be enchanted into a bull, make sure the lady you bring along with you is incredibly devoted to you so you don't wind up marrying the wrong girl.