Okay, I dunno if this has been pointed out already, but I was re-reading American Gods for like, the umpteenth time, and it is only now when I realized why Wednesday chose "Emerson Borson" as his pseudonym in lieu to Mike Ainsel.

"Emerson" is, literally, "Ymir's Son". Ymir, of course, being Odin's grandfather. "Borson", predictably, is "Bor's Son". And Odin is the son of Bor.Gah, and here I was wondering how Shadow could ever manage to remember such a name.

Now, if anyone could only explain if there's a significance to "Mike Ainsel"?


===

"Plans? What plans? I'm making this up as I go!"

I thought this might be a sound-alike for "my ainsel," or "my own self," which is a term you come upon sometimes in fairy/folk tales...

I think this one's pretty clear. The section heading is "My Ainsel", which is clearly a hint about who "Mike Ainsel" could be.

If you check for "My Ainsel" on Google, you'll find the same story repeated over and over. Here's a good example:
http://www.clanmacbean.net/parcie.htm

Now in this story, the little boy is sent to play with the Brownie, and gives the Brownie a false name "My Ainsel" (dialect for My Ownself).

In AG, Odin's little boy is sent to play with the Brownie (or Kobold), Hinzelmann, and he also, at that point, changes his name to My Ainsel. I think it's just a wry joke on Wednesday's part.

This is one of the references I was proud to understand. Now if only I knew who that darn nameless guy in Vegas was....

The parallels continue -- the fireplace and the poker, the brownie being burnt, and trying to blame the little boy, (to Chad, not his mom), Chad not buying the story since the brownie was clearly responsible for the problem his ownself.

Okay, enough of that now.

This sort of thing utterly AMAZES me... I didn't pick up on either reference (Emerson or Ainsel), and I'm sure I wouldn't have, because I'm not all that well-versed in mythology. I figured there was probably some sort of reasoning behind the names, but didn't investigate.

I'm pleasantly dumbfounded by this sort of thing... Thanks for pointing it out!

~J.

I just remembered... The "My Anisil" story bears a lot of resembelance to The Odyssey's "Nobdy", where Odysseus tricks the Cyclops. It can also be read as "Noman."

The Ainsel referred to above is female and Celtic. Not a deal-breaker, but I would like to suggest an alternative. Ansel is a form of anshelm and is a masculine norse name meaning "God-protection". The identity was provided by Odin to keep Shadow safe, and also works as a sort of pun since, as Odin's bodyguard, he is quite literally providing god protection.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Lenny,