“Hush! And shush! Say nothing, for the beldam might be listening!” What exactly IS a Beldam? Why isn’t that term brought up very much
in Coraline? Are spiders involved? Scorpions? Is the Other Mother part fairy? How are Button eyes, and Wild eyes, and one
poisonous beauty potion tied together? How does the Other Mother change form between
the Coraline Book and Movie, and is that relevant? In the Movie, the Other Mother has us on pins
and needles, as she is made of, well, pins and needles! Her movements and lair become more spider-like
as her more terrifying form is revealed. In the Book, she is a paper white skinned,
crimson clawed, sharp toothed mess of motion - she is always moving, whether it be her
hair blowing in a non-existent breeze, or her fingers tapping and twitching and dancing
in anticipation (or agitation!). The book Other Mother looks healthier and
rosier after Coraline sleeps the night away behind the mirror in the Other World, almost
as if she’d siphoneed off some lifesource! But as different as they are in appearance,
both of these beldams have button eyes, an affinity for bugs, and an overwhelming need
to consume the souls of children. Are these traits common among all Beldams,
and which traits track back furthest? (Also, if you're curious and are thinking:
“my, what creepy hands those are!” check out my second channel, abiltlate, where I’ve
got a lot of spooky cool things and calm cozy stories brewing!) So… what exactly IS a beldam? The phrase has been around a long time, and
has an interesting origin story itself! Even if there’s not very many google results
on it. Both the Merriam-Webster and Oxford Dictionaries
definition of “beldam” is: “an old woman.” Wow. Super helpful! (Very literal!) Oxford elaborates a bit more with: “a malicious
and ugly woman, especially an old one; a witch.” Ok, so a descriptor for grumpy old women. And those others deem ugly. Not loving it… but the catch all: “a witch”
- there we go! That one word “witch” can have any number
of a hundred meanings and connotations, and it’s just sort of casually tacked on there,
with no further elaboration. Which “witch” are we talking about? Put a mental pin in this “witch” part
for a bit later, because “witch” is QUITE the slippery word throughout history, meaning
different things at different times, for different motives! It’s interesting that the word “Beldam”
is used to describe ill-tempered ugly and/or old women, especially when it’s etymology
comes from a combination of French and English seemingly meaning quite the opposite! In the 1800’s, The old French “bel”
(“belle”) meaning “beautiful” and the English “dam” (French “dame”)
for woman. Together today they would mean “beautiful
woman” if it weren’t for HOW this phrase was used and changed over time. (Maybe this is when one of the Other Mother’s
older victims was first claimed, and why they use the term “beldam” to describe her!) Now, when used in late Middle English the
word “beldam” (or “beldame”) originally meant “grandmother” (“bel” in English
meaning “grand”) so, a designation, which, yeah, grandmothers can be old, sure, but they
are not always ugly and mean and spiteful! So, where does that newer(or, older) “evil,
ugly” witchy connotation come in? Right about in the middle of when a particular
usage of the word “beldam” was widely used, in 1819 English poet John Keats wrote
a ballad titled “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” or… “the Beautiful Woman without Mercy”
- (this got its name from a French poem about rejected love, with the same name, written
around 1424) Now, that “without mercy” part definitely sounds like our soul-scrounging
arch-nemesis from Coraline! And, after hearing what this ballad is about,
there’s even more of a connection! Keats writes about a beautiful child of a
fairy who seduces a knight with her wild eyes and by singing in strange fairy verse something
to the effect of “I love thee true” (not unlike the Other Mother’s oft-repeated phrase
“I’ll love you forever and always”). Like Coraline’s Other Mothers, this Belle
Dame feeds the knight sweet relish, wild honey and manna-dew - all things that sound delicious,
and rather extra, just like the Other Mother’s pact-like meals for Coraline. (Eating food proffered by faeries and gods
is quite a tricky ordeal with major consequences - just look at Persephone and the pomegranate
seeds, required to reside part-time in the underworld because she ate of the food there!) The fairy daughter and the knight end up her
Elfin grot, where she cries, so he kisses her, and she then lulls him to sleep… where
he has a dream of “pale kings and princes” (not unlike the ghost children) who warn him
that “La Belle Dame Sans Merci Hath thee in thrall!” The knight “wakes” (up for interpretation)
on a cold hillside, where he forever, alone and palely, loiters forever more. I can really see Coraline's Other Mother in
this ballad - the “wild eyes” that stand out to the knight are like the uncomfortable
Button Eyes of both Other Mothers. This Belle Dame lures in the knight with promises
of comfort and potentially romance (whatever the knight was looking for) just as the Other
Mother lures in her prey by seeming to provide whatever they are most looking for - for Coraline
it’s a mother and father who are more actively involved in her creative world. Colorful clothes her real mother won’t buy,
far away friends brought near, fun and frivolous toys, and GOOD recognizable FOOD - no more
of dad’s experimental ‘recipes!” Each of the Other Mother’s previous victims
was lured in with the promise of their own heart’s desire. And, as an added bonus, Keats’ Belle Dame
is “a child of the fairies” - in Neil Gaiman’s book “Coraline,” one of the
husk children the Other Mother ensnares is actually a fairy! This is interesting as it could mean that
the Other Mother herself may be part fairy, and able to travel between the mortal realm
and the fae realm because of that. (or, her web of lies and deception lies at
a crossroads, as covered in this video here [CU to Other Mother vid]) Also, the fact that
the knight in the poem dreams of the Belle Dame’s past victims, warning him that he
is now in her thrall, absolutely sparks some similarities to how both the Book and Movie
Other Mother’s past victims warn the still living Coe Belleraline about the true nature
of the Other Mother! The Belle Dame’s “Elfin Grot” is her
lair, just as the Other Mother has a lair on the other side of the corridor, where she
seduces the knight with tears and then lures him into what seems to be a forever sleep,
where he meets the souls of the others. eat’s poem “La Belle Dame sans Merci”
inspired a lot of the 19th century “femme fatale” iconography - “beautiful but deadly.” And, this beautiful but deadly woman can easily
morph into a “DECEPTIVELY beautiful but deadly woman. A trickster. The “ugliness” of the “witchy beldam”
serves to warn readers about the true nature (ugly) of the pretty and seemingly loving
woman. Maybe not a “witch” in the sense of the
nebulous Oxford Dictionary definition, but certainly “bewitching” to be sure! And, really though, so many people were accused
of being “witches” as an excuse for someone else's behavior! ‘She bewitched me!” or “I was compelled
to do this thing because of their wiles!” etc. Of course, this witch-accusing is a much bigger
and nuanced topic, and out of the scope for this particular video! BUT, I want to get back to those entrancing
“Wild Eyes” from the ballad and Button Eyes that make many so uncomfortable with
the Other Mother Beldam. But before that, let’s look at the Italian
for “beautiful lady” - “Bella Donna.” If this word seems familiar to you in a poisonous
way, you are absolutely right to feel that way, and Sally would be so proud! Belladonna is a type of deadly nightshade
(Definitely seeing the tie-in between ”beautiful but deadly” here!) that was used as EYE
DROPS to dilate women’s pupils back in the day. Yikes. It would make them look sparkly and wide-eyed…
some would say WILD EYED, like our Belle Dame in the Keats ballad. These little poisonous drops, of course not
regulated back then, could cause blindness and heart palpitations among other unpleasant
side effects. Do not use them. But, it’s kind of poetic in a twisted way
- The Belle Dame with the wild eyes that promises love as she entraps and maybe kills the knight,
kings and princes, the Beldam that makes promises of the heart as she entraps and drains the
souls out of the children, maybe killing them, and the Belladonna, that promised young women
an attractive look in order to snare the attention of a love in society, only to leave them with
serious harmful side effects, maybe killing them. The way each of these “beldams” claim
their victims is THROUGH THEIR EYES - wild passionate moments, sewn buttons, or self-administered
poison. Eyes ARE the window to the soul, afterall! Ahhhh I do love it when motifs can be stitched
up neatly! BUT there is something else that claims a
hold on the word “Beldam.” Something that I haven’t really been able
to track down to a source, but have seen traces of online. Some blogs write it is a type of forest witch
who acts exactly as the Coraline Beldam with regards to trapping children and playing games,
but there is no information beyond what a particular writer writes. These entries are mostly from 2019 and after,
and don’t link to any sources, so while there are a lot of details that conveniently
very nearly match our Coraline Other Mother (like spiders, glamors, etc), there are not
a lot of solid pieces or sources, which is super frustrating. But an “older” blog from 2010 mentions
a Romanian forest spirit, a Beldam named Muma Pădurii, who, while inhabiting a very very
ugly body, protects the untouched forest in which they live! (that’s very noble!) They grow to hate humans who destroy what
the spirit is protecting (understandable). Muma Padurii has a girl: Fata Padurii, who
is a forest girl demon that lures travellers in with her beauty, then becomes a monster
once she has them. (not unlike the Other Mother) The story is
likely older, and I’ve looked and looked for an older version of it (because 2010 is
NOT old, and the Book Coraline was written before then!). Alas no dice, beyond a story published in
1885 that mentions a Scorpion Witch who breathes fire, (And, yes I’ll be covering this story
on the a bit late channel, so stay tuned!) but no specific mention of “beldam.” Now, forest witches and dwellers who happen
to have exactly the solution a person needs (think the starving Hansel and gretel who
encounter witch with a candy house!) are a common thread in folklore and fairytales,
and perhaps that’s why the Other Mother is so scary, even if we can’t exactly pinpoint
her! So, that’s how the Other Mother, the Belle
Dame, is tied to poems, poisons, beauty glamours, fairies, mythic meals, old witches, the promise
of forever and always love, and more! If you are very familiar with the Romanian
Beldam stories, please do let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear about them! And, if you want the Other Mother to help
you pick out some spiffy button eyes, check out my second channel “abitlate” for creepy
calm Coraline content! There’s always something new and weird brewing,
so join me there for calming creepy stories, sounds, and spells! Thank you, friends and fiends, delving into
the Beldam’s tricky past! Please like, and subscribe, and stick around
for more creepy spooky things. Good bye!
