Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Galatea by Madeline Miller

80 reviews

glen3's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

claudia_moreira's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4/5
Esta é a primeira história que li da autora e devo dizer que fiquei curiosa. Embora seja grande fã de mitologia não conhecia a história de Galatea muito bem.
O facto de ser contado no ponto de vista da protagonista dá-nos a conhecer a personalidade dela e o ponto de vista dela de toda a sua história o que torna tudo muito interessante. Gostei particularmente da racionalidade e frieza de pensamento da personagem sendo ela uma estátua viva.
Uma escrita fluída e concisa mas sem perder a sua beleza.
Não posso dizer que foi uma história que me arrebatou mas com certeza vai permanecer na memória.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Medical content

Moderate: Confinement and Sexual content

Minor: Emotional abuse

emilypete17's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Super quick to read but the content was such an interesting and important commentary on feminism and female autonomy. The recentering of a woman in a classic myth that originally sidelined and disregarded her feels so relevant to our world today and the aspect of female rage was done exceptionally well. I will literally read anything Madeline Miller writes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Pregnancy

marthadude's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy

This story is primarily focused on the abuse that Galatea has received from her creator/husband. I wouldn't say that anything is particularly graphic, but the implication is enough.

She gets revenge on him but gets herself killed in the process.

hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Abortion

miamcmillan's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

beautiful as always. a haunting retelling of galatea which i’m sure i won’t stop thinking about for a While. miller is a consistently gifted author and her characterisations are strikingly vivid. i loved the length tbh - i thought it was very fitting for what this story was supposed to be. just overall a miniature work of art. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

anntharai's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

4.5

Enjoyable and dark, I’d like it to have been a longer story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content

annasatya's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

sassolinosassoletto's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective relaxing tense fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

marisa_n's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I originally gave this short story 3 stars. However, the more I think about the story, the more I think it deserves 4 stars.

The story is based on the Greek myth of Pygmalion, a sculptor who creates a statue of his ideal of woman, which he falls in love with and names Galatea. After his pleading and sacrifices, Aphrodite turns brings the statue to life. In the original myth, the couple lives happily ever after. 

The author questions this happily ever after, and creates a captivating social commentary about the objectification of women and the sexualization of girlhood. 

To Pygmalion, Galatea is quite literally an object brought to life for his sexual gratification. He begged the gods to breathe life into the beautiful statue, but this was only out of lust. He never imagined the sculpture having opinions or (god forbid) a personality of her own. He wants her to be seen, not heard, as shown by his rage over the smallest noise in the house. When Galatea tries to leave him, he locks her away. Similar to when he used to keep the statue lying on his couch, he forces Galatea to lie in bed all day and night, waiting for his conjugal visits.

"He had known me only as a statue, pure and beautiful and yielding to his art. Naturally, when he wished me to live, that’s what he wanted still, only warm so that he might fuck me. But it does seem foolish that he didn’t think it through, how I could not both live and still be a statue. I have only been born for eleven years, and even I know that." 

Pygmalion is also obsessed with the designed 'purity' and 'innocence' of Galatea. In the original myth, he created Galatea after being disgusted by the local prostitutes and losing all interest in real women. Galatea was the manifestation of his fantasy for a pure, innocent virgin.  

Each night, Pygmalion forces her to reenact her first moments of life, where she awakes and they have sex for the first time. This obsession with her "birth" and loss of virginity, suggests that he only finds her attractive when still imagining her as a pure, virginal statue. Even his own touch is degrading to his fantasy. 

" When I had once asked him how old he meant for me to be, he had said, “A virgin.” "

His next statue, in the making, is of a young girl of ten years old. There are some sinister undertones suggesting that he is sculpting in the image of their ten-year-old daughter. 

The story ends with a clear rejection of innocence, where Galatea commits the sins of murdering her husband and killing herself. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Abortion, and Murder