The Motif of Animal – Human Transformation in Colleen Houck’s Tiger’s Curse Fantasy Series

Abstract

The motif of human – animal transformation is present in many mythologies. Stories created in different cultures explore a variety of human – animal shifters:  werewolves, tiger – men, swan – maidens, berserkers. The intent of this paper is to analyze in what way shifters from various mythologies are interwoven into the Tiger’s Curse fantasy series by Colleen Houck, a contemporary American author. The paper aims to provide a typology of these characters and examine the nature of their transformations. Shape-shifting in the world created by Houck is inspired by mythologies and stories from all over the world, with a focus on Asian lore. Transformations of human characters vary from the voluntary, when the person is able to change their form at will, to the involuntary, when the transformation is forced upon the body of the host, from inborn abilities, to curses or other magical occurrences. The shifters may be individuals who are aware of their abilities, or people who have no recollection of changing shapes. There seem to be multiple reasons for the use of this motif. Animal – human transformations allow writers to explore the dual nature of human nature, delve into the animal mentality, or introduce magic into fantasy narratives.