Jos nykyinen elämänmeno tuntuu joskus siltä, että on sukellettava muutoksesta toiseen, niin muutoksia ja jopa muodonmuutoksia kohtaavat kansalliseepoksemme Kalevalankin naiset.
Aloitetaan Ainosta, jonka taru vuoden 1849 Kalevalassa – siinä Kalevalassa, johon yleensä viitataan kun puhutaan Kalevalasta – alkaa traagisesti.
Ilmarinen is married to Louhi’s daughter for a time, and, in his anger, transforms another daughter of Louhi into a seagull. Aino is Joukahainen’s ‘only sister’; Lönnrot made her name from the word ainoa, meaning ‘the only one’. Onko mytologian käyttö toisaalta kovin kaukana Raamatun sotkemisesta politiikkaan? The name Anni (or Annikki) appears in many folk poems, also as the name of Joukahainen’s sister, which became Aino in the Kalevala.
Ever since, numerous Finnish scholars have sought to analyse and explain the figure of Väinämöinen; their interpretations include historical, mythical and shamanistic perspectives. His humanity is reflected in his various attempts to get a female companion: for example, his interest in the young Aino and his courting trips to Pohjola. Mykkänen uskoo tämän nostaneen ärsytyskynnystä.
Ainon tavoitteleminen on yksi näistä teoista. Viimeisessä runossa hän joutuu vielä vastaamaan teoistansa, kun Marjatta-nimisen naisen avioton lapsi sanelee Väinämöiselle tämän pahat teot. When Väinämöinen’s hammering in Vipunen’s stomach wakes him from his deathly slumber, Vipunen sings his incantations to him. As a culture hero, Väinämöinen makes the first boat and the first kantele – as its creator, he is also the most skilled player of the kantele; like Orpheus, he is a singer capable of enchanting humans and animals alike.
He unknowingly seduces his own sister, takes revenge on Untamo’s household and then kills himself with his sword. The child is baptised by Virokannas and named King of Karelia, leaving Väinämöinen no choice but to retreat. His name originates from the word väinä, which means a broad, slowly running stream or straight. The folk poems at the basis of the Lemminkäinen sequence include both shamanistic elements and motifs from medieval visionary literature (e.g.

As a leading figure of the poems, his name has attracted functions from a variety of layers of culture. Hän näkee positiivisena sen, että taideteos pystyy antamaan peilipintoja vaikeiden aiheiden käsittelyyn. In the folk poems, it is Väinämöinen who raises his knee from the water for the seabird to lay its eggs on. Aiemmin kansanedustajat ovat käyttäneet varsinkin Aleksis Kiveä ja Tuntematonta sotilasta.