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on persephone
Jan. 9th, 2020 12:10 pmI don't really like that trend of arguing that there was some "original version" of Persephone's myth where she chose to stay in the Underworld herself, and that this means the story was feminist all along.
First of all, as other people had pointed out, there's no such thing as an "original version" when it comes to most myths and folklore: the written sources we can get our hands on now compiled oral stories, told over and over and over. And either way, this couldn't be more obviously a modernized version of the story, one designed to do away with the uncomfortable bits to freely enjoy the rest.
And though I have nothing against that, and think it could be a nice choice for a retelling, I do want to hear about those uncomfortable bits. When she became Hades' wife, she gained something and she lost something. How did Persephone cope with it all? How did she feel when she got to leave for six months, and did those feelings change over time? Did she come to terms with how the relationship started, or did she never forgive him? Was it something that poisoned the marriage even if she later genuinely fell in love with him?
ETA: BTW, I think at this point we've all forgotten -accidentally on purpose, maybe? Even if it's not a taboo I mind exploring, especially in Greek mythology- that he's her uncle LOL. On both sides actually! Which I care less about in terms of the incest taboo (this is Greek mythology, after all), and more in the sense that she must have known him already, and how this could influence things.
Those are all questions that have always fascinated me about this myth, and the "ACTUALLY, it was her choice all along!!", when they eliminate them, they tell a different story. Not a bad one, or an uninteresting one, at all; but not what, to me, it's Persephone's story, if that makes sense.
On top of that, those feminist revisions raise the question of whether it's better to implement changes that erase the original problems, or tell a story addressing those horrors, but that's a whole other topic.
First of all, as other people had pointed out, there's no such thing as an "original version" when it comes to most myths and folklore: the written sources we can get our hands on now compiled oral stories, told over and over and over. And either way, this couldn't be more obviously a modernized version of the story, one designed to do away with the uncomfortable bits to freely enjoy the rest.
And though I have nothing against that, and think it could be a nice choice for a retelling, I do want to hear about those uncomfortable bits. When she became Hades' wife, she gained something and she lost something. How did Persephone cope with it all? How did she feel when she got to leave for six months, and did those feelings change over time? Did she come to terms with how the relationship started, or did she never forgive him? Was it something that poisoned the marriage even if she later genuinely fell in love with him?
ETA: BTW, I think at this point we've all forgotten -accidentally on purpose, maybe? Even if it's not a taboo I mind exploring, especially in Greek mythology- that he's her uncle LOL. On both sides actually! Which I care less about in terms of the incest taboo (this is Greek mythology, after all), and more in the sense that she must have known him already, and how this could influence things.
Those are all questions that have always fascinated me about this myth, and the "ACTUALLY, it was her choice all along!!", when they eliminate them, they tell a different story. Not a bad one, or an uninteresting one, at all; but not what, to me, it's Persephone's story, if that makes sense.
On top of that, those feminist revisions raise the question of whether it's better to implement changes that erase the original problems, or tell a story addressing those horrors, but that's a whole other topic.
