The raven has always been a really symbolic animal in several myths and tales. And the author clearly took inspiration from some, so I would say that's the reason why.
I find ravens a bit scary, but they are also super-intelligent. And in this case, raven was the perfect choice. Dove just would not have had the same character as raven.
I loved the way the raven was used. As mentioned above, there is a mixture of light and dark when it comes to ravens.
“Memories are dangerous things. You turn them over and over, until you know every touch and corner, but still you'll find an edge to cut you.”― Mark Lawrence, Prince of Thorns
jjmainor wrote: ↑12 Oct 2018, 21:16
The raven had a dark side...it went on the attack when someone threatened Catrin and neither she nor anyone else could repel her attacker. A dove is an image of peace, so literarily, it wouldn't work in the role the raven filled. As far as any other animal, it needed to be a bird. A ground animal couldn't give her the bird's eye view she needed at times. Plus the flight of a bird was symbolic of the flight to the Otherworld.
I agree with you, the raven was a perfect animal for Catrin's personality.
I liked that the author chose a raven as Catrin's spirit animal. A raven is a very mystical and smart creature which is befitting of a warrior princess. In addition, Marrock's spirit animal is a wolf, an animal that symbolizes brute force. Only an animal that is agile and cunning could outsmart a wolf. Therefore, I think a raven is best positioned to take on Marrock in battle and bring Catrin victory.
In Celtic mythology a raven is often immersed with the connection to transformation, ancient wisdom, ancestral knowledge, balance between the light and dark, hidden truths, prophecy, fertility, and war. These mystical spiritual guides are often depicted as representing divine messengers with prophetic gifts. Considering these enigmatic guides are also strongly associated with symbolizing powerful shape shifting gods and goddesses, possessing the hidden truths of creative and destructive forces, than connecting Catrin to a raven is perfect match considering her strong prophetic attributes and internal battles balancing dark destructive forces with creative energies within herself and surroundings, and ability to master her shapeshifting gift. It is also interesting to note that in Celtic mythology the Goddess of fate and death, Morrigan, was depicted as having shapeshifting abilities and would soar above war battles to assemble fallen soldiers to the Otherworld. Much of Catrin’s attributes throughout the story resonate with how Morrigan is portrayed in Celtic mythology, such as her strong perception, intuition, fierceness, and determination to embrace and control her prophetic abilities.