OH TALK ABOUT FINNIE'S WIFE, OONA ( una ? WHY ARE THERE SO MANY SPELLINGS OF THESE NAMES. )
oona ( una / oonagh ) is the wife of finnbheara, and therefore the lady of her husbands terrains : his faerie court, the realm of death, and the daoine sidhe (magical peoples) of the west. oona herself is an incredibly powerful goddess who elected to stay behind after the banishment of the other gods. she rules over faeries, nature, and devotion. commonly, she would be referred to as queen of the faeries.
" HER EYES WERE SOFT PURPLE, HER HAIR GENTLY FLOWED LIKE THE SPIDER’S WEB.”oona is the image of beauty and genteelness - for her own reasons ( as she was unmarried and unbound at the time of the banishment of the gods ) she stayed behind in ireland, rather than travel to tír na nóg, where her life would have been much easier, surrounded by faithful friends and family. instead, she stayed. she is quiet, generally, and elusive. given her symbols and nature, it is possible she stayed for the nation and her devotion to it , or for the faeries who would have died without her concerted protected , or perhaps for finnbheara, this being the least likely option. whatever the reason, it was done for compassion and stability, and without her involvement a lot of creatures would have died. so, she gave up her life of beauty and family to care for faeries and non-gods who needed her.
this self sacrificing nature is evident in her marriage with finnbheara - he seduces mortal women and takes fascination with them, but no one outside the marriage has seen oona disgruntled. their marriage was one of moral oneness and strength through unity rather than love, but they have not since divorced, either. this would not have been unusual in the more egalitarian culture they come from. finnbheara, even while desperately in love with medb, would not dare leave his wife. i can’t guess as to the exact intimacies of their marriage : genuine selflessness in order to provide stability, a shared political ingenuity, and a deep reverential compassion for those they rule over, surely, but these personalities obviously attract: not every partnership necessitates a marriage. oona’s private life is exactly that : private. we know she soothed the souls of the faeries before they could leave the underground, we know she is calm and compassionate and composed. we know her magic is a match to that of finnbheara’s, but where his is to do with challenge and chance, death and ruling - hers is to do with devotion and perfectionism - with more elements to be explored, surely. i see oona as a very melancholic figure, not in just sadness, but in that while finnbheara rages and broods that he has been abandoned and cut off from his family, from his lover, he doesn’t realize that he is not the only one who is feeling alone. oona is composed, and she is the highest ranking woman in connacht, with no equal but for finnbheara, who is unfaithful. there must be attractive sides to them both : finnbheara has razor sharp wit and a glorious mind, he is funny, and he makes people feel special. they care about the same things. oona is brave, regal, beautiful beyond compare, and is peaceful and kind in a very warlike world. their differences are also interesting : where finnbheara is a rogue, she is a lady. where finnbheara is gruff, she is refined. he is subversive, judgemental, and trapped in his own loneliness. oona, on the other hand, is orderly, caring, and always extending her help. to my examination, it strikes me that its pretty fucking rough for her. she’s this amazingly talented woman with an incredible sense of self discipline, who is also caring to the extent that she gives up everyone she knows aND YET. the family she is left with is a selfish husband, no children, and the faeries who, rightly, adore her - but will never understand her.