Take a photo of a barcode or cover
frasersimons 's review for:
Ariadne
by Jennifer Saint
What begins as a pretty straight forward retelling of one myth manages to trace a fairly subversive through line through a number of others; most of which I would wager are the most well known in the cultural consciousness.
We follow Ariadne and her sister to their ends. Which. If you know, then you know. In a way these are very faithful to the original stories. But the further context of framing them solely from the sisters’ perspectives, as the myths unravel in familiar ways, is the degree in which there is latitude for the interpretation of why those events unfolded. The well known misogynistic framing of each story reframes and gives voice to the marginalized instead.
In true feminist fashion, I think this humanizes the women, especially when the myth is especially dehumanizing of a particular female character—but it also humanizes the men. And holds them to greater account at the same time. More so than the unknowable machinations of the gods that are responsible for teaching men lessons by way of punishing the things they care about (ostensibly): their women women, is the toxic qualities the gods embody and the men emulate to be god-like. Even as the seek to appease their immortal parents, both literal and figurative for some, they are doomed to repeat the same patterns that mostly end up harming women, perpetuating a gender roles and society as suited.
It can feel close to revelatory giving a slant to the myths from women. Of course Perseus Plays the sisters off one another and lies. Of course the madness that grips some famed women comes from someplace. And of course the gods change and grow and twist in one way; even if their appearance is immutable for all time, time alters every relationship. Myths would have us believe gods simply do as they please and are mercurial at best. But what do men who write stories about the gods know of them, when their object of desire, women, are consistently and consistently opaque to them? It only makes sense Ariadne’s truth would be more layered and interesting, and reflective of the way society actually works.
We follow Ariadne and her sister to their ends. Which. If you know, then you know. In a way these are very faithful to the original stories. But the further context of framing them solely from the sisters’ perspectives, as the myths unravel in familiar ways, is the degree in which there is latitude for the interpretation of why those events unfolded. The well known misogynistic framing of each story reframes and gives voice to the marginalized instead.
In true feminist fashion, I think this humanizes the women, especially when the myth is especially dehumanizing of a particular female character—but it also humanizes the men. And holds them to greater account at the same time. More so than the unknowable machinations of the gods that are responsible for teaching men lessons by way of punishing the things they care about (ostensibly): their women women, is the toxic qualities the gods embody and the men emulate to be god-like. Even as the seek to appease their immortal parents, both literal and figurative for some, they are doomed to repeat the same patterns that mostly end up harming women, perpetuating a gender roles and society as suited.
It can feel close to revelatory giving a slant to the myths from women. Of course Perseus Plays the sisters off one another and lies. Of course the madness that grips some famed women comes from someplace. And of course the gods change and grow and twist in one way; even if their appearance is immutable for all time, time alters every relationship. Myths would have us believe gods simply do as they please and are mercurial at best. But what do men who write stories about the gods know of them, when their object of desire, women, are consistently and consistently opaque to them? It only makes sense Ariadne’s truth would be more layered and interesting, and reflective of the way society actually works.