AKICILJ/DW/U

[betonica]

(crossposted)

So.  There seems to be a somewhat common meme (is that the right word?) with aunts being magical.  Anyone have a clue where this comes from?  Am I making it up?  Samantha had lots of magical aunts.  The aunts in Practical Magic are there to take care of (most of) the stuff.  Sabrina (some versions at least) has two magical aunts.  Charmed, maybe? maybe not.  Books - Wise Child & Juniper; Witch Child (haven't read it, actually); something with a kid named Mary Smith perhaps by Joan Aiken?  A housemate says the Puppetmaster is another (haven't read that, either) ... etc.

Who am I missing?

A different housemate suggests that maybe the magical aunt thing started with the realm of Roman superstition.  Does this sound right?

Anyone have any ideas?

Comments

[matthewdaly]

I'm not literate in literature or feminism, of course. But I'd throw out that maiden aunts are generally portrayed in literature (since the Victorian era, if tvtropes is to be believed) as quirky and powerful. Every generation seems interested in understanding women who made it to (or beyond) middle age without marrying. Is she to odd to "get" a man? Is she too strong-willed to want one? Is she the sort who doesn't "need" one??? And how can she have the internal strength to make it on her own through her elder years without a husband or children to take care of her? Tvtropes notes that, gratefully, modern generations are less likely to cast aspersions on unmarried women, so modern "maiden aunts" are stylish and independent instead of frail and dotty. In any generation, I'd think that witchcraft is one way to answer that riddle that would resonate in some circles and suggest themselves to some writers.

It also potentially dips into the societal superstition that magic is associated with virginity, to which aunts may have plausible deniability in a way that mothers could not. (Although grandmothers are also very commonly magical too.) So there might be echoes going back as far as the sources of worship of the virgin goddess (or the triple goddess), which could arguably be Dianic like your housemate suggests. On the other side, I'm not certain that Diana ever interacted with a niece or nephew in any of the Roman legends. I suppose you could take one step further back in history and argue that Perseus was aided in his quest by Aunt Athena and Uncle Hermes. But serious discussion of ancient literature and folklore is way outside my pay grade.