Wednesday, 19 March 2014

The Triple Goddess

Poul Anderson, The Corridors Of Time (London, 1968).

Speaking of Stone Age dolmens, Storm Darroway says:

"'They adored the Triune Goddess, they who brought those burial rites here, Her of whom the Norns were only a pallid memory, Maiden, Mother and Hellqueen. It was an evil bargain that traded Her for the Father of Thunders...She will come again...'" (p. 23)

Here is another parallel with Neil Gaiman. The Triple Goddess, in various forms, is a major theme in The Sandman:

Morpheus consults the Fates;
the Fates try to warn Rose Walker of coming events;
Rose researches the Triple Goddess in TV sitcoms;
by granting Orpheus' wish for death, Morpheus takes family blood;  
therefore, the Furies attack him in the Dreaming;
after preparing his succession, Morpheus enters the realm of his older sister, Death.

If they can make the transition from prose to graphic fiction, then fans of Anderson's fantasies might appreciate The Sandman.

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