Fairy Sex and Romance
Some types of fairies seem to specialize in seduction. Smooth-talking, sharp-dressing male fairies known as ganconers (or glanconers) lure unwary human women into trysting with them, usually less densely populated areas where trees outnumber people. In most ganconer tales, the seduced and then abandoned woman goes mad, and/or kills herself or simply exists in misery for the remainder of her days, unable to enjoy romance with a mere mortal after the enthralling experience of fairy love. Tall, dark, and handsome ganconers are said to carry old-fashioned short-stemmed clay pipes known as dudeens. The female equivalents of the ganconers are leanan sidhes. These fairy women tend to prefer artistic men, but loving a leanan sidhe may rob the victim of his drive to create (Keats’s La Belle Dame sans Merci would seem to belong to this category of fairy).
Although not all tales of fairy-human romance end in madness, sadness, or death, the tales do all share a sense of boundary crossing. Etain believed herself to be human and happily married to the Irish king, Eochaid. Then one day a handsome stranger appeared to her. The stranger explained that he was a fairy king and he had come to reclaim her for she was his wife. This fairy king, Midir, had lost Etain long ago when his jealous first wife cast a spell that caused Etain to take the form of a butterfly and drift away on a current of wind. For years as a butterfly, Etain traveled helplessly on the airstreams until she fell into the wineglass of a human woman who swallowed her. Nine months later, this woman gave birth to a child, Etain in human form. Etain felt a sense of resonance to the story Midir told of her past life, but she loved her human husband. She told Midir she would remain with Eochaid, but Midir asked if she would leave if her human husband let her go. Believing this would never happen, Etain said yes.
The fairy king challenged the human king to a series of contests. The first three times, Eochaid won (or Midir let him win), and each time the King of Ireland claimed as his stakes that the King of the Fairy Realm accomplish some superhuman task. Midir did all that Eochaid asked, but the fourth time they played, the fairy king won and for his prize, he asked to kiss and hold Etain. Eochaid stalled, saying Midir could return in a month for his prize. While the fairy king was gone, the human one used the time to fortify his castle and set guards around the queen. When the month was up, Midir used his magical powers to materialize within the castle walls. He kissed Etain, then transformed her and himself into swans and the winged pair flew away. Some versions of the tale end with Etain united in the fairylands with Midir, although she sends the daughter of Eochaid’s she carried in her womb when she left back to the father. In other versions, Eochaid, after a long search, finds the fairy mound where Midir hides Etain. Midir tells Eochaid that Etain will return to her human husband only if he recognizes his queen. Midir then sends out fifty fairy woman wearing the guise of Etain, but Eochaid sees through the ruse and will accept only Etain. Eochaid and Etain return to the human world to rule for many years.
For a tale of a happier fairy romance, albeit one with a specific expiration date, read the story of the Chief of the Clan MacLeod and his fairy wife.
