Steeds from the Deeo

Miguel Rivera

Period 6

McMullan, ELA 8 Acc

11/29/17

Steeds From the Deep

The Scorpio Races, a story by Maggie Stiefvater, is a fantasy fiction novel that contains bits of romance and uses the Scottish Kelpie legend greatly. Because the Kelpie legend stems from a creature from water, the sea takes on multiple forms of symbolism that aids in shaping the idea of just how dangerous the capaill uisce are. Topics that the sea takes are death, unease, alluring, and haunting. Underlying these dangers are unique and subtle interactions between characters that have an authenticity to actions lead by the cast.

The novel utilizes and describes the Scottish legend accurately on account that whenever a capaill uisce strength is displayed the act is usually brutal, daunting, or even gory. An article by Bellaterreno states that the Kelpie or capaill uisce are extremely violent. “Once in its element, the unfortunate victim would drown, and be devoured completely.” Additionally, the article states that water horse folklore comes from real encounters with water dwellers, but as the article says, the sightings could just be typical images being disoriented. With this in mind, the book catches bits of the Celtic goddess Epona who represents “fertility and abundance, such as cornucopias, along with young foals.” Although only showing presence in one chapter (Thirty-two), the Mare Goddess “brings with her a wealth of information about the lore of the island.” which is mainly about the ritual the riders proceed with that shows commitment. As such the capaill uisce in The Scorpio Races are accurate regarding the Scottish folklore.

Because the capaill uisce come from the sea, the sea becomes a beacon of symbolism within the novel. One sign the sea takes on is a death because of the fact that capaill uisce seem to want to return to the sea so the capall uisce lures riders to drown. During the scene when Skata is presented, Sean says at one point while riding her: “Compelling me to join her in the sea.” “You will not be the one to drown me.” (41) which means that through some “magic,” Sean is being lured to drown with Skata Another sign the sea can symbolize as is a mystical and haunting presence. The sea proves to be haunting due to the sole fact that the capaill uisce come from the sea. “They remind me of shark egg pouches. The nostrils are long and thin to keep the sea out. Eyes black and slick: a fish’s eyes.” (231) This quote helps in understanding the capall uisce and their place of origin, by showing “similarities” from their place of origin.

Some interactions between the characters are unique in a way that although some may only be supportive characters, the secondary characters have a life of their own as in personal events occur without a protagonist observing and that the interactions