Document Type
Oral Presentation
Faculty Mentor
Megan Mac Gregor
Keywords
folklore, history, climatology, New England, weather
Abstract
The English language folktales collected from coastal New England in the 19th and 20th centuries display a prominence of weather magic motifs compared with folktales from other regions of the United States. This paper aims to explain the success of the weather magic theme in New England folklore collections and to serve as a starting point for scholarly discourse on the subject, which has hitherto been sparse. This study utilizes climate research, both scholarly and popular collections of folktales, local travel guides, and colonial and labor histories. Through a combination of historical analysis, comparative study, and textual analysis, it offers insight into the historical and climatological contexts for the success of the weather magic theme. The findings indicate that immigrants brought the relevant motifs into coastal New England from England, Scotland, and Ireland. Although migrants from those nations settled in other parts of the United States, New England’s particular climate and prominent seafaring industry kept these stories relevant. The paper argues for a significant possibility of bias on the part of the folklore collectors and authors who canonized these motifs into the region’s folklore, especially regarding their own regional identities and nautical occupations. This study may serve as a starting point for scholarly discourse on weather magic motifs in folklore and the collections of English language stories from coastal New England.
Witches on the Wind: Weather Magic in New England Folktales
The English language folktales collected from coastal New England in the 19th and 20th centuries display a prominence of weather magic motifs compared with folktales from other regions of the United States. This paper aims to explain the success of the weather magic theme in New England folklore collections and to serve as a starting point for scholarly discourse on the subject, which has hitherto been sparse. This study utilizes climate research, both scholarly and popular collections of folktales, local travel guides, and colonial and labor histories. Through a combination of historical analysis, comparative study, and textual analysis, it offers insight into the historical and climatological contexts for the success of the weather magic theme. The findings indicate that immigrants brought the relevant motifs into coastal New England from England, Scotland, and Ireland. Although migrants from those nations settled in other parts of the United States, New England’s particular climate and prominent seafaring industry kept these stories relevant. The paper argues for a significant possibility of bias on the part of the folklore collectors and authors who canonized these motifs into the region’s folklore, especially regarding their own regional identities and nautical occupations. This study may serve as a starting point for scholarly discourse on weather magic motifs in folklore and the collections of English language stories from coastal New England.
