A Comparison
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0Just to be clear, none of the bullet points in the strip actually happened.
I’m not saying that Väinämöinen, hero of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, is a sissy. I’m just saying that compared to the heroes of other cultures, he may look a little…dainty.
I am kidding, of course. My sincere apologies to Finland, you know I love you guys and your national epic.
Väinämöinen, the eternal bard, has cropped up in the strip before, as has the smith, Ilmarinen. He is, to say the least, a different kind of hero. While the strip may paint him in a comical light, he’s really quite interesting. Unlike most other heroes, his quest isn’t merely to kill a bunch of monsters or set some political wrong to rights. Rather, the majority of the Kalevala is about the trials he suffers in search of companionship. His quest is, in many ways, much more human than the stories of his fictional peers. Heracles, despite the superhuman strength, does suffer from his own failings and his own human trials, but there’s something we can relate to very easily in Väinämöinen. All he wants is to be loved.
Of course, the trials of Väinämöinen are, by no means, simple ones. He is constantly traveling, running into some nasty situations here and there, being stuck at sea, getting into deals with sketchy witches, and there is some fighting. The character himself, however, is drawn more toward the magical, toward singing, and toward wisdom.
There is a little confusion about Väinämöinen, however. He seems to have been a god of sorts for the Finnish people before the Kalevala was compiled from oral stories and written down in the 1800’s by Elias Lonnrot. With the writing of the tale, however, he became something different. Not quite a man, not quite a god, and with some interesting parallels to the figure of Jesus in the Bible, particularly in his claim that he shall return to the land of Finland at some unspecified date after he departs the world at the end of the story.
Either way, it’s still a very interesting read with some lovely language use, though many editions can be difficult to follow if you’re not paying attention. This ain’t Harry Potter.
Väinämöinen is an intriguing figure and he is a uniquely Finnish creation. The emphasis on magic and singing in the stories sets him apart from other heroes and it is his wisdom, his wit, and his magic that secure his victories. As with other great heroes (like Heracles), he is also deeply flawed. The end of his adventure isn’t exactly a happy one, but it is poignant and powerful, nonetheless.
I realize that schools today (here in the US) don’t necessarily have time to teach world mythology or poetry beyond a few tidbits here and there, but it has long struck me as a little sad that many people in the US and Europe are completely unaware of the existence of this book. The stories of Heracles or Jason and the Argonauts are wonderful, to be sure, and we owe a great deal to the Greeks (in literature, government, and philosophy), but their tales are, in many ways, inherently familiar to us. They are the basis for many of the modern stories we tell today. Reading the Kalevala, on the other hand, or even just familiarizing oneself with the basic plot, is a different experience entirely. It is, in many ways, a European book, it features many of the literary devices we are familiar with but the characters and the atmosphere are unique and beautiful. They are at once familiar and alien.
There’s something terribly pleasing about that.
Hopefully, some time in the future, we will come to appreciate the mythologies of the world more and to view the literature that surrounds them as valuable to the minds of students. I remember being in English classes for four long years and the times I felt most interested were those in which we discussed mythology. Maybe I’m completely off here, but it seemed my peers also brightened up a bit during those lectures.
Maybe the spirit of old Väinämöinen, the eternal bard, could lift children from their boredom-induced comas and breathe a little life into the class room.
If anyone could, I think it’d be him.
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What’s interesting is how much Väinämöinen changes in both strips he was in. He goes from being hard-ass/tough love Väinämöinen, to caring, just-wants-someone-to-hold Väinämöinen. I think that despite his hard outer appearance, he has a soft heart.
I actually wondered if that would be confusing to people. Both strips are essentially comparisons of Vainamoinen’s character in the Kalevala, but compared to the boy wizard, ol’ Vainamoinen is a total badass. I think it still works haha
I’m just not sure which iteration to use in future strips, if he makes a return! :O
I think if he makes a return, he should encompass both personae.
He’d be a typical tsundere XD
“It… it’s not like I care about you or anything… you imbecile.”
In other note, I kinda feel sorry for Heracles for butchering his family, since it wasn’t TECHNICALLY his fault. It was the furies.
It’s also funny how even though both he and Orion had the similar quests of hunting down every beast in the world, Orion was being killed by the gods for it, but not Heracles. :|a
I think it would be great to see him in a dating setting, turning on his touchy-feely side, then turn around and backhand the waiter for overcooking the steak, or something of that nature haha
I mean, Gilgamesh was all about the quest for companionship– godboy meets beastboy, they fall in love, godboy looses beastboy, godboy dares to blaspheme against the gods in the quest for immortality, godboy hears a long story about Noah, the end.
I always have fun playing the Bard in tabletop RPGs, or something equivalent. The character always plays quite differently and requires a special mindset to be useful to the team. I have to say I’m intrigued, and I’m going to look into finding the Kalevala.
I think it might be interesting to explore the Väinämöinen who is so much smarter than everyone around him his life is a series of facepalms.
Speaking of Väinämöinen, I recommend this: http://podcastle.org/2010/07/14/podcastle-113-vainamoinen-and-the-singing-fish/
Also really pretty much everything on PodCastle, but this is relevant
I remember learning about Greek mythology in middle school. It was interesting, but they decided to omit the parts they deemed “obscene” like Aphrodite’s birth and such. They didn’t even go near the Egyptian myths.
In the previous comic you wrote in the tags “vainomoinen”, and in this one “vainamoinen”.
It was hard to find the old comic.
I actually went and read the Kalevala after the first strip arc. So good.
In a happy moment of synchronicity, I first heard of and read it like two days before that arc
I think I would like to read your interpretation of the whole Aino incident. Bullying the marriage promise from her brother and everything.
maaan, mythological singles ads.
Jilted housewife looking to get back at unfaithful husband. Electrician or otherwise lightningproof suiter prefered.
Handsome, well-liked gent seeks woman for meaningful relationship after rebirth when the world ends. will not kiss under mistletoe on christmas.
Hmm. I’m gonna be reading the next instalment in this urban fantasy series I follow next, but maybe I oughta try reading the Kalevala after. Should be some good translations available here (I’m Swedish) after all.
Mythology is indeed a very fascinating (though sometimes deeply confusing) subject.
Well.. should be getting to bed now.
Keep making awesome comics K,
I haven’t found one I didn’t like yet
Huh.
I don’t get the familiar-yet-alien feeling from Kalevala, possibly because I’m Finnish myself – so this has inspired me to take a closer look at the Jason and the Argonauts, and see if that does it for me. Thanks.
If I remember correctly, though, the way Väinämöinen leaves and swears to return is Lönnrot’s idea.
Hey man — I love the comic and read it regularly, and today’s definitely made me laugh. Just one small nitpicky thing — it’s Edmund Spenser, with two S’s. Taking a class on “The Faerie Queene” will drill that into you…
Keep up the good work!
What edition would you suggest?
A -giant- sea monster rises near the end of Kalevala and Väinämöinen grabs it by its ear and it cries in submission and pleads mercy. I think that makes any sissy points null.
This isn’t exactly accurate portrayal of the levels of badass stuff he does, including forgetting that he didn’t need to be the strongest or bestest warrior, many of his battles he used other means such as making the ground under his opponent’s feet into swamp.
We love you too and your wonderful comics.