Essay: More Mortal Women

(Image Information: Medea, by Evelyn de
Morgan (1889); Web Source: Art Renewal)

Last week, I read books 1-4 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and discussed how many of the women in these stories were easily manipulated and controlled by men and gods (e.g. Io, Semele, Callisto, Andromeda). However, this week, the women had much more a mind of their own in Ovid’s Metamorphoses books 5-7. These women, although much more independent, still did not ever get the happy ending they desired; their skills, passions, and intelligence were not enough for them to win what they desired. Not even the mighty Medea got what she wanted in the end.

First, there was the weaver Arachne. Arachne was so talented that she thought she was better than the mighty Minerva herself. Even after Minerva disguised herself as an old women and pleaded with Arachne to worship the goddess, Arachne (being so bold, and so brash) ignored the women. This lead to Minerva revealing herself, but even this was not enough for Arachne to bow. The overly proud mortal dueled the goddess, and unsurprisingly, the goddess defeated Arachne and turned her into a spider. Arachne’s refusal to honor the gods that created her led to her ultimate downfall. Although Arachne is a strong woman, she is portrayed as a weak character because of her reckless attitude.

Much like Arachne, and actually a friend of the mortal turned spider, was Niobe. Niobe, a beautiful woman with godly bloodlines, seven daughters, and seven sons. Considered herself to be so great that she should be a goddess herself. She not only refused to worship Latona, but she forced others to stop public prayer for the goddess. Latona made sure this sacrilegious woman was put in her place, killing all seven of her daughters, and all seven of her sons. Niobe’s arrogance did not stop until the final child was killed.

The best, and most impressive, of all the women was Medea, the daughter of King Aeetes. Medea quickly falls in love with Jason and is willing to do anything to help him successfully return with the golden fleece so long as he promises he will marry her after he succeeds. So he promises, and she helps him. Then, Medea used her knowledge of certain herbs and magic to restore Aeson’s (Jason’s father) youthfulness at Jason’s request. Her greatness continued to grow as she tricked the daughters of King Pelias (Aeson’s brother) to kill the King. This allowed Aeson to return to the throne. However, in truly tragic form, Jason found another woman, and Medea was driven mad with fury. In this maniacal episode of rage, Medea killed the two sons she shared with Jason, again leaving no one happy.

Besides these three women there was also Procne and Philomela. These sisters, similar to the women of last week, were deceived by a man; and while the ending is not happy, Procne does exact revenge on Tereus by murdering their son and feeding him his remains. While Procne does react and fire back at Tereus, in no way does she win or even come close to being satisfied at the end of the story. Her vicious insanity shows more of her unstable mind than her power over a man. Just as before, the women in books 5-7 fell at the feet of those who were considered more important than them (i.e. gods, goddesses, and men).