“Fate of the Sons of Usnach”, by Lady Gregory, was written for the people of Ireland. Lady Gregory took it upon herself to write the Cuchulain stories as the people of Ireland knew it and not how the scholars of the time would write it. Her rewriting of the Deirdre story may have been for the people, but it was not without its political motives. At this point in time there was a need for the Revival of the Irish people and Lady Gregory along with W.B. Yeats wanted to unite the people of Ireland with the Cuchulain stories. The main focus is on the “Fate of the Sons of Usnach” or simply called the Deirdre story. The way that Lady Gregory writes the Deirdre story is by composing it so that it is written in the way that the people of Ireland would
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Added into the political mix, though, is religious overtones that can be picked up throughout the Deirdre story. Lady Gregory may have purposely placed religious overtones in this story just like she had with her political motives. Her placement of religious overtones can be seen by looking at the role of religion in Lady Gregory’s life and writing, the use of the number three throughout the story, and the comparison of the life of Deirdre and some of the stories and a character from the Bible. In Lady Gregory’s life, she has been accused of proselytizing (Guinness 38). Proselytizing simply means trying to turn ones religion or beliefs to something else. According to the research done by Selina Guinness from Merton College, Oxford, George Moore was the one who accused Lady Gregory of proselytizing in her writing of the Vale and he later recanted that statement. Lady Gregory’s Mother was a protestant and Moore was aiming more towards her than at Lady Gregory …show more content…
Throughout the story there is a repetition of the number three; everything comes in threes. The number three in a religious perspective is the Trinity. The Trinity is the representation of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The big comparison in the Deirdre story is when a question is asked, the answer usually comes in threes and with a denial or lie after each one. For instance, when Deirdre and her foster mother, Levercham, are sitting in their home and the hunter calls out three times, each time Deirdre asks after the noise, it is met with a lie from Levercham (Gregory 451-2). In the Bible, this is seen with the denial of Peter in the book of Mark. Basically the story goes that Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him three times. Peter, though claiming he never would, does deny Jesus three times (Mark 14:66-72). The aspect of asking for things in threes and being denied each time is seen throughout the Deirdre story and comparable to the Biblical story of Peter. On the other side of the aspect of the trinity, there are the character of the three brothers, Naoise, Ainnle, and Ardan. The sons of Usnach could be used as a representation of the trinity. Some of the characteristics of the brothers are that they are noble and good. Everyone loves them and it is only because of jealousy that King Conchubar comes to dislike
Added into the political mix, though, is religious overtones that can be picked up throughout the Deirdre story. Lady Gregory may have purposely placed religious overtones in this story just like she had with her political motives. Her placement of religious overtones can be seen by looking at the role of religion in Lady Gregory’s life and writing, the use of the number three throughout the story, and the comparison of the life of Deirdre and some of the stories and a character from the Bible. In Lady Gregory’s life, she has been accused of proselytizing (Guinness 38). Proselytizing simply means trying to turn ones religion or beliefs to something else. According to the research done by Selina Guinness from Merton College, Oxford, George Moore was the one who accused Lady Gregory of proselytizing in her writing of the Vale and he later recanted that statement. Lady Gregory’s Mother was a protestant and Moore was aiming more towards her than at Lady Gregory …show more content…
Throughout the story there is a repetition of the number three; everything comes in threes. The number three in a religious perspective is the Trinity. The Trinity is the representation of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The big comparison in the Deirdre story is when a question is asked, the answer usually comes in threes and with a denial or lie after each one. For instance, when Deirdre and her foster mother, Levercham, are sitting in their home and the hunter calls out three times, each time Deirdre asks after the noise, it is met with a lie from Levercham (Gregory 451-2). In the Bible, this is seen with the denial of Peter in the book of Mark. Basically the story goes that Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him three times. Peter, though claiming he never would, does deny Jesus three times (Mark 14:66-72). The aspect of asking for things in threes and being denied each time is seen throughout the Deirdre story and comparable to the Biblical story of Peter. On the other side of the aspect of the trinity, there are the character of the three brothers, Naoise, Ainnle, and Ardan. The sons of Usnach could be used as a representation of the trinity. Some of the characteristics of the brothers are that they are noble and good. Everyone loves them and it is only because of jealousy that King Conchubar comes to dislike