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From Bird-Woman To Mermaid: The Shifting Image Of The Medieval Siren, Claire Cannell

Student Research Symposium

During the Middle Ages, the siren transforms from its classical status as grotesque bird-woman into an alluring mermaid. A female monster, the siren represents what is considered monstrous in women. I plan to examine the unstable image of the siren in order to better understand the religious and social status of the medieval European woman. The siren is contextualized among contemporary secular images of female sexuality and the writings of religious authorities such as Leander of Seville, who wrote that all women were either nuns or sirens. I plan to analyze the implications of the nun-siren binary created by Leander …