philosophy of swans

I'm sure you're asking, "Why swans?" "It's a pretty bird. Whoop-dee-doo." "How can a BIRD have PHILOSOPHY?"

The swan is a symbol. It is no longer just a white bird. It depicts innocence, beauty, gracefulness, love, and gentleness. (Though I don't understand the last...swans can be almost as mean as geese.)


Before I start pondering swans as symbols of our culture, I'd like you to read a story. It's not one I wrote, sadly. I was reminded when I read The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott. Her novel was based on a Hans Christen Anderson story, which in turn was based on one of the Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, which happens to be one of my favorite Grimm fairy tales (though if hard-pressed, I'd say almost every one of them was my favorite, and I've read all of them). If you'd like to read it, go here to read it. I typed it out and stuck it in a separate blog post so that this one wouldn't be ridiculously long with both a short story AND a philosophical bent.

First off, how many of you have actually seen a swan in the wild? Ok, sure, they're pretty. But SERIOUSLY? These birds can be as bad as geese! They bite, chase, and aren't afraid to use their wings as weapons. This seems more like a role model for a "innocent in appearance but unafraid to kick butt" (excuse me) type character, not purity and innocence.

So why do we associate swans with purity and innocence? Well, how often do you see someone turned into a BLACK swan? Think about it for a second. Whenever a good guy is turned into a swan by a bad guy (The Swan Kingdom, The Swan Princess, Swan Lake, to name a few), they become WHITE swans. Not black. So apparently it's the white that is the key. But aren't doves white too? (I'll go ahead and answer that.) Yes, they are. But doves don't look nearly as majestic as swans. Plus, swans are bigger.

So, now apparently the question is, "Why white?" Why should purity be represented by dignity? After all, a bride wears white to signify her purity. (Granted, this is in Western culture - in the Middle East, brides wear red. But that's another story for another day when I've actually had a chance to research said cultural difference.) I'll list some reasons that I think white is used...if you think differently, or have additions, feel free to add them!

>White is clean. That first snowfall looks so crisp and beautiful, pristine in its glittery white coldness. Yellow snow just doesn't have the same clean feel to it. (That may be because of what CAUSES yellow snow, but muddy snow doesn't have the same effect either.)

>White is pure. Think about the color for a second. When you have blue, and a little smudge of red and mix it together, it's still blue, just a slightly different shade. If I take that same little smudge of red and mix it with the white, I now have pink. No more white.

>White is clean. I know I've said this already, but colors show up differently when placed against white. They look more drastic, far more different than when placed in an environment. The cleanliness makes it easy to see when a white shirt gets the barest stain, or when a white lamb rolls around in the mud.

The cleanliness and purity of white make it an ideal color to represent purity and innocence (which could be loosely described as the cleanliness of the mind and spirit). While generally purity is represented in symbolism by a white rose, it's rather difficult to move around and seek a way to return to human form if you're a rose. Hence the swan.

Or at least, that's what I think. I could be totally off my rocker, but that's OK. At least I admit it's a possibility.

-enna