I had the pleasure of hearing and talking to Robert Bly when he was on his book tour in 1990.  I was intrigued by his talk and the mythical story of Iron John, the rusty red creature hiding in a pool in the deep forest.  While the story seemed strange to me, the character did not.  I’d met this character in a dream and had been working with the images from that dream for several years, even then.  But my story and my experience of the wild man was nothing like the vengeful, bloodthirsty monster Bly described in his book.  And in my dreamscape the red man was not the only character of interest.

When Robert Bly helped launch the “Men’s Movement” back in the 1990’s the idea was to help men reclaim their wildness, as well as their humanity.  But his version of the story also suggested that the “power” of men had been stolen by women.  And that’s where he lost me.

The wild man that showed up in my dreamscape and story was also covered in thick red hair, or fur.  His hair was not the color of rusted iron, though, but rather a vibrant red: a bold, untarnished color.  This wild man was also locked in a cage, but he was not a violent destructive monster slaying local villagers.  Instead he was waiting for the right moment, for the door to be opened, in order to go and find his brother from whom he was separated.  The wild man I encountered had not forgotten who he was.

The younger brother of this wild man was also covered in fur, but his fur was a deep blue color.  When I looked up the name of the shade of blue that most accurately described him, I found it is the “YInMn” blue, also called “Bluetiful” by Crayola. The YInMn blue color was discovered in 2009 by an Oregon State University geologist. Ironically, there happens to be an OSU geologist in the novel as well.

The blue man is also trapped but unlike his red counterpart he is afraid and sorrowful. Blue fears that he is alone and forgotten, while Red knows that he is not alone or forgotten.  The significance of these distinctions makes this a different mythology altogether from the Iron John myth. The story of Red and Blue reveals a light in the darkness: the power of unity, courage, and love.