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Pyrne
Pyrénée, cover art
by Philippe Sternis Pyrne is a French graphic novel (bande dessinée) written by Régis Loisel and drawn by Philippe Sternis. The story is about a girl who is raised in the remote Pyrenees by a bear. The bear finds her as a newly-orphaned infant after escaping from a circus during an earthquake which has also killed her mother. The design of the cars and clothing suggest that this takes place some time during the 1950s. Some paternal instinct causes the bear to take the girl and raise her as his own cub in the mountains, where she learns to talk to animals like a female version of Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli (see feral children in mythology and fiction). Like Mowgli (as originally described by Kipling) she is naked and unashamed for most of the book. This has caused some criticism, although Sternis insists that the nudity is tasteful. The main part of the story takes place when Pyrénée is about 12 years old - i. e., in the mid-1960s. At first her life with the bear seems quite idyllic. The bear explains that he named her after the mountain range; she wonders if that might not be confusing. They watch a thunderstorm together. The bear hates lightning, but Pyrénée finds it exhilarating. She picks flowers, which the bear considers wasteful, but she reminds him that he tramples flowers just as wastefully when he walks. Back at their cave, their neighbour the fox brings them a rabbit for dinner. Pyrénée asks him to bring her a boar next time. Life in the wild is not all fun and games. Shortly afterward Pyrénée is badly stung by bees while trying to gather honey for the bear and swears she'll never do that again. Later, after rolling in some soothing herbs, she happens to sit on an anthill. And after this busy day she still has nothing to eat but rabbit. Next day Pyrénée disturbs the bear while he is trying to catch salmon, and asks if she can have some. The bear "patiently" suggests she try catching her own. While trying (and failing) to catch fish with her bare hands, Pyrénée notices something in the river. It is a glass bottle - apart from her teddy bear and the bear's collar, the first man-made artifact she has seen since infancy. The bear does not see the use of it, but she soon discovers that she can it to carry water and make music of sorts by blowing over the top. She is so preoccupied with her new toy that at first she does not notice that the bear has also found a new interest. Meanwhile the fox brings Pyrénée a mole (claiming that it is a baby boar), and tells her he has heard the call of nature and become a father. Pyrénée doesn't understand, but he tells her she will in time. Noticing that the bear has become distracted, Pyrénée asks him what is wrong. He tells her he is in love with a female bear. Pyrénée is devastated, thinking that he does not love her any more. He protests that he does, just not in the same way. When he tries to explain that he has to mate and have cubs, Pyrénée demands to know why he can't have cubs with her. He tries to explain but does not have the words to describe the difference between them. Pyrénée becomes so frustrated that she smashes her bottle, then cuts her hand on the shards. Next morning the bear wakes to discover that Pyrénée has fastened the collar about his neck. She thinks that if she holds his chain she can keep him with her, but he is so enraged at being treated like a captive once more that he comes close to killing her, only managing to restrain himself at the last moment. Sobered by the incident, Pyrénée removes the bear's collar and they sit together in silence. The bear suggests that while he is otherwise occupied, Pyrénée should visit "The Ancient", who lives higher up the mountain and will be able to answer her questions about what she is. After a long and difficult climb, Pyrénée finds only a blind old eagle who lives in a cave behind a waterfall. The cave contains a number of strange objects which the eagle tells her once belonged to The Ancient. Pyrénée tries to stalk a rabbit, but after it talks to her she cannot bring herself to kill it. Later, the eagle shows Pyrénée a weathered skeleton and tells that it was one of her own kind - a man. It then dawns on her that the man was in fact the Ancient, and that he has been dead for some years. While she is coming to terms with this knowledge she also has to deal with the fact that winter is approaching and she has to find something to eat and keep her warm. The eagle tells her the Ancient ate food from small tin cans. Discovering a cache of these together with a can opener in the cave, Pyrénée figures out how to open them and then gorges herself sick on their contents. When the winter snow sets in the eagle shows Pyrénée a fur coat and boots that were once worn by the Ancient, and she uses them to keep warm while exploring with the eagle - the only time since infancy that she is not naked - although it takes her a while to figure out that the opening of the coat should be at the front and not the back. While exploring in the snow she discovers the remains of a campfire, perhaps only hours old, and burns her hand in it. Her discomfort is forgotten when, to her delight, she discovers another bottle next to the fire (from its distinctive shape it is obviously a Coca-Cola bottle). When spring arrives Pyrénée finally perfects the knack of catching fish bare-handed. Soon afterward she and the eagle descend to the bear's cave. The bear tells her it is time she returned to humanity, and thanks to the wisdom she has learned from the bear, the fox and the eagle she now has the confidence to do so. The bear keeps teddy and gives Pyrénée his collar in exchange. As Pyrénée walks away, the bear and eagle have a conversation in which the bear calls the eagle "Ancient". The final panel shows Pyrénée as she will first be seen by people - naked, her hair bound up with twigs, with the bear's collar and chain around her neck. See also: Feral children in mythology and fiction External links * Entretien avec Philippe Sternis (en Francais)
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