Book Club Reader's Guide
Introduction
The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog is part autobiography, part description of landscape, part analysis of myth and literature. It could be called travel literature, spiritual autobiography, mythic geography-because it is, in part, each of those. In its richly intertwined chapters, this book informs the reader not only about Ireland, but about the way myth and poetry can enhance our understanding of life.
The following questions can help frame a book group or classroom discussion of the book. They are designed to encourage you to consider the book's insights in light of your own ethnic, intellectual and spiritual concerns and are not, of course, intended to limit your discussion.
Chapter One:
This chapter introduces the concept of the “sacred center,” an invisible but important value around which the rest of life circles. The chapter also introduces the motif of the immigrant's return and the role of “home” in our souls.
•What was the central value that the ancient Irish envisioned?
•Does this value seem important today?
•What is your own center? Do you have more than one important value around which
you organize your life? Do these values support or oppose each other?
•If you are not Native American, how long ago did your family arrive on this
continent? What were the circumstances of their arrival? What connection do you
feel to the land of your ancestors?
•What do you know of the land of your ancestors? What calls to you about it? What, if
anything, do you dislike about your heritage?
•Have you ever visited the land of your ancestors? If so, what surprised you? What
pleased you? What made you feel uncomfortable?
Chapter Two:
In this chapter, we are introduced to the oldest Irish goddess, the creative hag called the Cailleach, and to the way Irish mythology is connected to the landscape. In addition, we learn about the small town where the author first lived in Ireland and about the apparently-barren but actually fertile land around it.
•What were your reactions to the image of the strong but aged hag?
•What positive and negative associations do you have with aged or aging women?
•What fears do you experience when you think about age? Does the image of the
powerful hag assist you in facing your own inevitable aging?
•The author describes periods of being in “sacred time.” Have you ever had an
experience of being beyond time in that way?
•How do you normally deal with time? What words do you use to describe your
relationship to it? What does this tell you?
Chapter Three:
This chapter, from which the book derives its title, introduces one of the most controversial areas of Irish spirituality, the so-called “fairy faith.” It describes the leading figure among the fairies, their queen, and defines the relationship of those Otherworldly beings to our world. The old Celtic feast of Samhain (Halloween) is described as the most potent time of year for these fairy forces.
•Have you ever experienced a sense of mystery in the natural world that could
correspond with the “fairy faith”?
•How do you feel when you hear others talk of mystical experiences?
•What hesitations do you have about sharing our own mystical experiences with
others?
•What did you already know about the relationship of Halloween to the ancient Celtic
feast of the dead?
Chapter Four:
Storytelling, intoxication, and the relationship of ruler to land are among the topics covered in this chapter. The central figure is the fiery queen Medb, but other mythic figures (the Mórrígan and the fair Étain) are also described.
•Are there figures from mythology or fairy tales (or even from fiction, television or the
movies) with whom you feel uncomfortable? Do they have anything in common with
each other?
•When you feel uncomfortable with a figure, how do you deal with that discomfort?
•In this chapter, the author describes finding a way to understand a figure she had not
previously found appealing. Using one of the figures you have described, can you
imagine overcoming your distaste?
•What role has storytelling played in your life?
•How did you feel about the description of the relationship of goddess, king and poet?
Chapter Five:
The northern province of Ulster, much of which forms today's Northern Ireland, is the setting for this chapter, whose subject is the difficulty the author faced in entering a region associated with war. Several goddesses are discussed as part of this chapter, most significantly the regional goddess Macha. In addition, the botanical migration of plants from one area of the world to another is described and compared to the migration of human beings.
•What emotions do you experience when you consider visiting a region associated
with conflict?
•In your ethnic history, is there a country or region associated with discrimination or
oppression of your people? How would you feel about traveling there?
•The author includes many passages of poetry from Northern Irish poets in this
section. How do you feel when you encounter such passages? How do you respond
to poetry in general? Looking back over your life, explore where your attitudes
towards poetry began.
Chapter Six:
Brigit, the goddess-turned-nun who bridges both the Celtic and Christian eras in Ireland's history, is the focus of this chapter, together with the relighting of Brigit's fires in Kildare, the town historically associated with her. Brigit's festival, called Imbolc, celebrates the arrival of spring in Ireland and is still celebrated widely, although now as a Christian feast.
•Do you see paganism and Christianity as opposed or, potentially or actually,
connected?
•How do you define paganism? How do you feel about it?
•What does the image of Brigit evoke for you?
Chapter Seven:
The relighting of the Beltane fires at the turn of the millennium is the centerpiece of this chapter, which also explores the economic difficulties Irish people have faced in the last several centuries. Several mythic figures are considered, including the great cow of abundance named the Glas, as well as the river goddesses Síonann (Shannon) and Bóann (Boyne).
•What did you already know about the Famine? How did reading about it make you
feel?
•What did you know about the treatment of dairy cattle? How did reading about it
make you feel?
•What connection did the author make between the health of humans and their
animals?
•How do you respond to the idea of a global community? What are its threats and its
promises?
Chapter Eight:
In tracing the circuit of Ireland, the author comes at last to the province in which the book began, where she describes the strange hillside monuments to an unnamed goddess. The various goddesses of abundance connected with the area, including Danu, are defined, as is the Celtic feast of Lughnasa. Finally, the author describes the attempted elimination of the Irish language and parallels that with the suppression of women's sexuality.
•Do you speak the language(s) of your ancestors?
•Has your family ever encouraged the learning of that (or those) languages?
•What feelings are stirred in you when you consider what you do not know about the
land of your heritage?
•How do you define “wild”?
Chapter Nine:
The concluding chapter returns to themes that have been knit together throughout the book: the sacred center, the role of the hag in creativity, the joy of storytelling, the connection of story to land, and the unchanging but ever-changing nature of the Irish culture. As you read this chapter, you may consider any of the provocative questions that have emerged in your earlier discussions. Finally, ask yourself which regions of Ireland seemed most compelling to you and why. If you were to design an itinerary for an Irish visit, what would it include?