Superstition-Never Put New Shoes On The Table

What is superstition?

Belief that is not based on human reason (supernatural) or scientific facts, but is connected to ideas about magic. People believe that if they do a certain thing then something bad is doomed to happen. People see superstitious people as weak because they let a silly thing like seeing a black cat panic them. People can be superstitious for many reasons but most people who are superstitious have said they have either been taught it by family members, have anxiety or have obsessive compulsive disorder. 

Different superstitions 

•Friday the 13th.

Friday has always been thought of as an unlucky day as that’s the day Jesus died. And people believe 13 has a long history of being unlucky but people aren’t sure why.

•No umbrellas inside.

This superstition comes from Roman times when a woman opened an umbrella indoors just seconds before her house collapsed on her and she passed away. When people found out she had an umbrella opened they immediately blamed that and it’s still a superstition today.

•Cross your fingers. 

People do this for luck. It goes back to first century romans where two people would cross fingered to support each other on a wish because the crossing of the fingers resembled a Christian cross. Now people do it alone.

•Make a wish on a wishbone.  

The bone was seen as good luck and people would fight over them causing them to break, then they said whoever had the biggest part is the one who would receive their wish.

•Knock on wood.
Knocking on wood or touching wood is different. This isn’t something that causes bad luck necessarily it’s something that blocks it or prevents it. For example if I say “I smashed a mirror before and I didn’t get bad luck” I’d touch wood to stop it from jinxing itself and giving me the bad luck.

•666. 

It’s a superstition that goes back to the bible where 666 is the number of the ‘beast’. People believe it’s a mark of satan.

•Cracking a mirror.

People believe of you crack a mirror you’re doomed to bad look for seven years. This goes back to the belief that mirrors don’t just show your reflection, they hold pieces of your soul. They came up with seven years because it’s a long time but it’s also not cursing them for eternity.

•Bad luck comes in threes.

This is a superstition based of coincidence. If it’s happened to someone before they’ll just guess that that’s what happened. So if you get bad luck it effects you three times.

Superstition and how it’s presented in Blood Brothers

Many people believe that superstition is the cause for everything that goes wrong in blood brothers and the true reason for the terrible fate of the characters.  Mrs Johnstone’s superstitious beliefs  are revealed early on in Blood Brothers and is one of the things that gives Mrs Lyons the power to manipulate her. This is linked to fate and destiny, because Mickey and Edward’s death is shown to be inevitable from the opening scene, making the superstition Mrs Lyons tells Mrs Johnstone about the twins come true, but when Mrs Lyons said it, she thought she was just making up a story to scare mrs Johnstone into getting what she wants but in the end, since she created the superstition, “They … they say that if either twin learns that he once was a pair, they shall both immediately die.” it was her that made it come true. The narrator is a key character for this theme, as he reminds the audience of the twins’ fate at several different points of the play. However, while superstition and fate are very important themes in Blood Brothers, Russell questions whether they really exist or whether social class is more important in determining Mickey and Edward’s futures however, in the end, both their lives ended the same.  

You never put new shoes on the table.

Many others believe that the second Mrs Lyons puts new shoes on the table, the tragic future and fate is set.  Superstition is immediately linked to the working class, because Mrs Johnstone is superstitious whereas Mrs Lyons isn’t. This gives Mrs Lyons power over her employee when she wants to make sure that Mrs Johnstone doesn’t tell anyone about the twins being split up, but again, some think it was destiny that had the power the whole time. 

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe features as a symbol throughout Blood Brothers. Earlier on, she represents freedom and sexiness but towards the end of the play she stands for depression and early death, as her life spiralled out of control, leading to her becoming dependent on prescription medication and dying of an overdose. This is less of a superstition it it does represent fate and how because Mrs Johnstone wanted the goods in her life she also had to share an equally tragic fate. So some people believe mrs Johnstone manifested a life like Marilyn’s and that’s why she managed to be moved to a better place in the country but without realising it she also doomed herself.