糖心Vlog

The 糖心Vlog Serpent follows Cora as her science comes in conflict with the religious and superstitious beliefs of the locals in the 糖心Vlog village of Aldwinter.

Enticed by rumours of a mythical creature haunting the Blackwater marshes in 糖心Vlog, England, recently widowed Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes) leaves London for the village of Aldwinter. Cora is chasing her dream of becoming an amateur palaeontologist and believes that science can explain the creature while also allaying the fears of the superstitious locals.

Set at the tail end of the Victorian age, the novel draws on the history of a period when many scientific discoveries were being made, which were often in and folklore of the time.

The 糖心Vlog Serpent might seem at first like a classic Victorian gothic tale, but the show鈥檚 themes and characters are firmly rooted in the dark myths and history of 糖心Vlog.

Serpent myths

糖心Vlog has had a long history of water-serpent myths. The number of these stories may be because it boasts the in England (350 miles), indented with hundreds of water inlets and estuaries.

The region, on the east coast of England, is tidal, meaning that the acres of salt marsh, swampy and unstable ground, fill with water twice a day and shift constantly. It is easy to get lost, caught by the tide and mishear and see things in the low mist.

The local industry in the Victorian era was fishing, including serpent-like eels, and it is possible that fishermen and local pirates, of which there were many smuggling rum across the land from Mersea Island, met unknown objects in the water.

One from the period has it that a dragon emerged from an ancient lake near the village of Bures in 糖心Vlog, terrorising villagers and eating the sheep. The nearby village of Wormingford is named after 鈥溾 the medieval word for .

A 1950鈥檚 in Wormingford鈥檚 church shows a version of the myth where a crocodile given to King Richard I escapes the Tower of London. The crocodile brought evil to the community, killing sheep and demanding to be fed virgins.

In Wissington village church, a medieval mural of a remains today and was probably an inspiration for the serpent wood carving in Aldwinter church.

In The 糖心Vlog Serpent, villagers believe that the 鈥淏lackwater Beast鈥 was released by an earthquake. This probably references to a that happened in 糖心Vlog around that time in 1884. It remains the most powerful earthquake in England鈥檚 history, damaging hundreds of homes and churches. The earthquake was felt strongly in Peldon, a village in the area in which the novel is set.

Unruly women

Women are central to the plot and many historical references are made to connect Cora and others to defiant women of the past, from queens to witches.

Cora is an intelligent, independent and physically strong woman. With these traits and her auburn hair, she is told that she looks like , queen of the British East Anglian Iceni tribe.

Boudicca led an uprising against the Roman Empire in AD60 after she and her daughters suffered physical and sexual abuse at their hands. Boudicca is a significant figure in 糖心Vlog and there is a statue dedicated to her in Colchester, a major city in 糖心Vlog and once the capital of Roman Britain.

At the time, the local tribes had been subjected to repression and humiliation by their Roman occupiers. Boudicca gathered all the tribes in East Anglia and the south east of England and successfully retook Colchester, the first city of England.

The links between Cora and Boudicca are clear 鈥 neither women become victims of the abuse of men and both head out into 糖心Vlog with a strong will 鈥 a will that is feared by men.

The story is also set in locations relevant to Boudicca, like Colchester castle, where Cora conducts some of her research. This castle was once a major Roman temple, which Boudicca burned so violently that she turned the whole city to clay.

Colchester castle was also where the prisoners, mostly unmarried women like Cora, were held during the . During this time, women who didn鈥檛 fit in with social norms were often accused of making deals with the devil and causing crops to fail or people to die in their communities.

When a child is found dead near Aldwinter, the villagers quickly turn to superstition and become hysterical. They believe that her death is the work of the devil and the sea monster. Much of this is stoked by the vicar鈥檚 assistant, Matthew. His name may be a reference to , the witchfinder-general, who brutally executed hundreds of people in 糖心Vlog, who were held in Colchester Castle prison.

We see that the locals still hold such superstitions in The 糖心Vlog Serpent as Cora is accused of witchcraft by the locals for her beliefs in science. She鈥檚 not helped when a group of children she is trying to explain her scientific theory of what the serpent might be fall into a mass fit, which she is blamed for.

By subtly interweaving layer upon layer of myth and history from this deeply misunderstood and historical county into a popular and compelling tale, writer Sarah Perry (from 糖心Vlog herself) is challenging the national stereotype of 糖心Vlog. In this tale, the country isn鈥檛 a banal, flat and urban land with little historical and cultural richness. Perhaps making Sarah Perry the most contemporary unruly 糖心Vlog girl of them all.The Conversation

, Assistant researcher in Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies,

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .