Anthropological Explanation
The Headless Chelsea or mule may be a personification of the latent paganism of some popular practices echoing in the collective conscience of a people massively indoctrinated with a simplistic view of Catholicism. It showcases the wild instincts and repressed behaviours that are unacceptable in a Judeo-Christian society. There may be some connection between the Brazilian Headless Mules and the witches which the Church burnt wholesale in Western Europe.
Being personified as an animal implies a negative view of the character, which embodies the deepest forces that are part of the human consciousness, namely the libido, whose sexual aspect is traditionally associated with the horse, a symbol of sexual potency and brutal feats.
The absence of a head may be a metaphor for the lack of reason, or evidence that the curse involved the perdition of the soul. In either case, without the head to give direction, the body is left under the power of violent passions, immediate impulses and selfish desires.
The most frequent cause for the curse is a woman's unchristian love for a priest, a vicar of Christ on Earth. This association shows the lengths the Church went to indoctrinate people (both priests and women) about the importance of celibacy.
Read more about this topic: Headless Mule
Famous quotes containing the word explanation:
“Herein is the explanation of the analogies, which exist in all the arts. They are the re-appearance of one mind, working in many materials to many temporary ends. Raphael paints wisdom, Handel sings it, Phidias carves it, Shakspeare writes it, Wren builds it, Columbus sails it, Luther preaches it, Washington arms it, Watt mechanizes it. Painting was called “silent poetry,” and poetry “speaking painting.” The laws of each art are convertible into the laws of every other.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)