Felicia Nimue Ackerman is a writer, poet, and philosopher serving as professor of philosophy at Brown University, as of 2014. She received her BA from Cornell University in 1968, and her PhD from the University of Michigan in 1976. Her research interests center on the philosophy of literature, bioethics, and moral psychology. She also writes a monthly column for The Providence Journal.
Lady of the Lake is the titular name of the ruler of Avalon in the Arthurian legend. She plays a pivotal role in many stories, including giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father. Different writers and copyists give the Arthurian character the name Nimue, Viviane, Vivien, Elaine, Ninianne, Nivian, Nyneve, or Evienne, among other variations.
In medieval literature
The Lancelot-Grail Cycle provides a backstory for the Lady of the Lake, Viviane, in the prose Merlin section, which takes place before the Lancelot Proper, though it was written later. There, Viviane learns her magic from Merlin, who becomes enamored of her. She refuses to give him her love until he has taught her all his secrets, after which she uses her power to trap him either in the trunk of a tree or beneath a stone, depending on the story and author. Though Merlin, through his power of foresight knows beforehand that this will happen, he is unable to counteract Viviane because of the "truth" this ability of foresight holds. He decides to do nothing for his situation other than to continue to teach her his secrets until she takes the opportunity to entrap and entomb him in a tree, a stone or a cave.
"Nimue" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the American fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time, which aired on November 8, 2015.
Plot
Opening sequence
Middlemist flowers are scattered in the forest.
In the Characters' Past
1,000 years earlier before "the age of Arthur" (approximately 1,800 years before the Present Day), Merlin and a friend were trekking through a desert, desperate for water. Merlin saw a light and ran after it, revealed to be the Holy Grail, on top of a stone. When his friend grabbed it, he turned to ashes. Merlin then grabbed the grail after praying to God for permission, and was able to drink from it. When he put his hand down, he realized he had magic. The desert was no more — only lush greenery and forests. 500 years later, Merlin is at a village healing people, where his apprentice informs him of a woman who escaped a burning village. Merlin meets the woman, who introduces herself as Nimue. She wants revenge on Vortigan, the masked man responsible. She also had Middlemist flowers to offer, but Merlin agrees to help her and places the seeds in a planter. Over the course of the next several months, they fall in love, and Merlin reveals the truth about the Grail and how he acquired magic. He expresses a wish to reforge the grail into a sword that can destroy his immortality, so that he can live a normal mortal life with Nimue as his wife. However, as they start their quest, it turns out that Vortigan has been watching them.
The name Felicia derives from the Latin adjective felix, meaning "happy", though in the neuter plural form felicia it literally means "happy things" and often occurred in the phrase tempora felicia, "happy times". The sense of it as a feminine personal name appeared in post-Classical use and is of uncertain origin. It is associated with saints, poets, astronomical objects, plant genera, fictional characters, and animals, especially cats.
Felicia Hardy is the daughter of a world-renowned cat burglar. After suffering a traumatic event as a college freshman, she trained herself in various fighting styles and acrobatics and, after deciding to follow in her father's footsteps, adopted her costumed identity as the Black Cat. She was ranked 27th in Comics Buyer's Guide's 100 Sexiest Women in Comics list.
In 1979, creator Marv Wolfman was looking for a female foil for Spider-Woman. He decided to base a character on a Tex Avery cartoon "Bad Luck Blackie", in which a black cat brought misfortune to anyone in close proximity. The Black Cat's costume and appearance were designed by Dave Cockrum.
Felicia is a catwoman who was taken in and raised by a Catholicnun named Rose. When Rose died, Felicia left home hoping to become a pop star. She knew that the outside world was not pretty as it was filled with much prejudice towards Darkstalkers for being different. Despite this, Felicia never lost hope, as she remembered what she was told before that one has to obtain happiness on their own. She wishes there to be a way for peaceful coexistence between Darkstalkers and humans alike. For that, she pursues her dream of becoming a star to serve as a bridge between them. During her travels, she met many other catgirls of her kind, and with her newfound friends (Alto, Grace, Lucy, Nana & Mimi, Nonno, and Piko), she set out for her dream of being on stage.
Vedder ... As a Brown University philosopher professor and writer of some distinction, FeliciaNimue Ackerman, opined recently (in the Wall Street Journal), “[H]ow come many humanities professors are self-important, status-conscious jerks?” ... .
To the editor. I gave up trying to write about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict years ago. Insensibility by both sides seemed to rule the discourse ... Bral ... To the editor ... So it's all mine — I'll make it so!' FeliciaNimue Ackerman, Providence, R.I...
FeliciaNimue Ackerman, a monthly contributor, is a professor of philosophy at Brown University... Now in his own 30s, Quentin remains close to his mother despite his awareness of her flaws, which unfortunately include racism.
FeliciaNimue Ackerman, a monthly contributor, is a professor of philosophy at Brown University. Several years ago, a girl who appeared to be around 12 approached me as I was leaving a Providence supermarket ... So is fun.
The Providence Journal
25 Jun 2022
The Providence Journal
25 Jun 2022