Themes in The Were-Wolf

Sweyn has a moment of reflection quite out of character for him: he realizes how self-centered and foolish he has been with regards to his brother. While Sweyn was caught up in pursuing White Fell, he never noticed that Christian’s love was far more profound than anything he was capable of. In this way, Christian’s sacrifice demonstrates the highest form of love: selfless sacrifice.

Sweyn has realized what Christian knew all along: White Fell was a werewolf, intent on harming the family. Stripped of the conviction and anger that brought him there, Sweyn only finds shelter and “stay”—another word for comfort—with the knowledge of Christian’s loyalty and sacrifice. Because he misread the situation so poorly due to his skepticism of his brother’s intentions, Sweyn seeks forgiveness from Christian, who only ever sought to protect his brother.

As established earlier in the story, one thing certain to kill a werewolf is holy water—water that has been sanctified somehow. Because of Christian’s selfless sacrifice, his blood has been made holy, powerful enough to vanquish a werewolf due to his steadfast love for his brother.

Just as White Fell trespassed into his home, so now is Christian trespassing into the wilderness where humans are unwelcome. As he ventures further from the comforts of civilization, he discovers that nature is not quite as welcoming as it once seemed and may hold more hostility than comfort in the night head. In this realm and in this fight, he is more powerless than ever, a fact made clear by the light of the stars on the things behind him.

Again, notice how Christian is capable of a much more profound love than his brother. Sweyn, by virtue of his arrogance and thoughtlessness, is unable to comprehend how much he is hurting his twin, for his selfishness prevents the depth of love Christian feels for him.

Because Sweyn is a professed skeptic and Christian gives credence to mysticism, Sweyn and Christian’s conflict is philosophical as well as physical. To Sweyn’s displeasure, Christian’s suspicion has spread to other members of the family. Despite his insistence on rational evidence, Sweyn refuses to consider evidence that may implicate White Fell as anything more than just a beautiful, powerful woman.

Contrast Sweyn’s love for White Fell with Christian’s love for Sweyn; because Sweyn is too self-involved, he cannot truly love White Fell, tending toward admiration of her physique instead. Christian, however, has been shown to deeply care for Sweyn—who perhaps doesn’t deserve his love—making his love more selfless and extraordinary.

Notice that Sweyn, the perfect man, has found in White Fell an equally capable woman. As Sweyn is the best of his gender, so is White Fell the best of hers, a blend of feminine beauty and masculine strength.

In contrast to Sweyn’s doubt, Christian is more willing to accept that not everything is as it initially appears. Christian is more religious, seeing a separation between the body and the soul that might allow for a shapeshifting werewolf.

This paragraph explicitly establishes Sweyn as the more skeptical of the two brothers, less likely to believe in supernatural events. He scorns the validity of superstition and things he has not personally witnessed. He represents rationality and an unwillingness to believe in anything outside the realm of his own experience, even when pleaded to by those he trusts.

Notice the sexist way that Sweyn views women. While men need proof before belief, women, he says, tend toward belief without evidence, prioritizing emotion over intellect. This was not an uncommon view during the time; it is made more complicated, however, by Sweyn’s failing to acknowledge the evidence that points toward White Fell’s being a werewolf.

Christian’s love is selfless. Although he could be jealous of Sweyn, he instead finds contentment in Sweyn’s happiness, even though Sweyn doesn’t seem to return Christian’s love as fervently. In this way, Christian is the better of the two twins at brotherly loyalty.

White Fell, with her obvious resilience and power, is unlike any woman the family has ever met. Though Sweyn is an accomplished hunter in his own right, even he is impressed by White Fell’s survival skills—doubly so because she is a woman. In this way, White Fell further reinforces her image as a mysterious, alluring creature: the epitome of both feminine beauty and grace and masculine strength.

The woman’s clothing and mannerisms indicate that she does not follow the customs that dictate how women ought to be meek and averse to activity and conflict. In this way, she is set up as a combination of both sex’s traits: she is beautiful yet strong, powerful yet alluring.

Notice the unfriendly, almost hostile qualities associated with nature in this paragraph, which is personified in several ways: the fire’s smoke travels through the chimney’s intimidating “black mouth” up to the night sky, where it “rushes back in panic” due to fear of the night’s sounds and the wind, which lunges after the smoke like a predator. According to Rol’s perception, nature is frightening, but he is safe indoors from its “rattling and shrieking.”

Notice the image Rol has created: a swirling flurry of white duck feathers, similar to the snow drifting outside. In this way, Rol creates the perfect environment for White Fell’s arrival, having brought an image of nature into the warmth of civilization.