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casandra_lovealwaysbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Minor: Child death, Sexual harassment, Death, Murder, Misogyny, War, Violence, and Grief
asipofcozy's review against another edition
4.5
I have always been fascinated by Greek culture and mythology. I grew up on stories of Achilles and Hercules and thought, "this is what it means to be a hero". Yet, now, after reading Pandora's Jar I can say that I have changed my tune. It's not that I don't still respect these childhood stories that we still teach children today; it's that I now see the truths that lay behind each of them.
Haynes takes the voices of these marginalized women in greek myths and finally gives them a voice. She analyzes each artist, writer, poet, and singer and how they have hidden away these women in the background. Too afraid to sing of their pain, suffering, and loss at the expense of these heroes. She makes us question if Medusa is actually the villain due to earlier accounts of her story or if Clytemnestra was an out-of-control woman that wanted power. The greek writers and even modern-day writers never want to talk about the women's side of the story, and now we have it.
I think what disturbed me the most was how modern-day writers and retellers of these stories gloss over some serious issues that were normalized in the original greek retellings, which Haynes points out quite often in Pandora's Jar. Such as r*pe, sexual harassment, Stockholm syndrome, and suicide. Take the thousands/millions of retellings of Persephone and Hades for example.
Not one story talks about how Hades forced himself on her or forced the Pomegranate down her throat every day so she couldn't leave. Or how Zeus was a part of all this, yet it's in all of the original texts. Why was this? Was it because it wouldn't be as "romantic" of a story? If so, these modern-day writers are turning a blind eye to r*pe culture and just allowing it. Even now, with some very popular retellings out like Lore Olympus: Volume One or A Touch of Darkness, not one talks about Persephone being r*ped. That it was "romance" that kept her there.
I get that we need these retellings. I mean, I love a good retelling as the next person but are these stories, in the end, taking away the voices from the original women of the myths who are constantly used, abused, and thrown to the side as trash for the next woman that catches the fancy of the hero?
Pandora's Jar made me think analytically about women in literature, women in the modern day, the original stories of these myths, and the retellings of these myths. It led me to question the stories I was told as a child and whether I would think differently of these so-called 'heroes' if I knew how they treated women. Or how modern-day storytellers treat these women by wiping away their original voice. Haynes, in the end, creates a complex situation behind these women like Helen of Troy, Phaedra, and Pandora and if they truly are the beautiful villains we have come to see today.
Graphic: War, Rape, Domestic abuse, Gore, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
rebeccajost's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Murder, Grief, Infidelity, Pregnancy, War, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Violence
erin_curry's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Suicide, Violence, and Rape
nila's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Torture, Violence, War, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Minor: Cannibalism
cozylifewithabby's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Misogyny and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual assault
purplepenning's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Death, Child death, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Incest, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence
katiemack's review against another edition
4.5
The feminist lens through which Haynes wrote this book made me rethink all of the Greek mythology retellings I read growing up (including the ones written by Robert Graves, an author Haynes critiques heavily!). If you ARE looking for standard retellings, this book is not for you; however, if you are looking for a critique of the ways in which famous women in Greek mythology have been vilified throughout history, this is a must-read. Haynes has thoroughly researched her subject (as evidenced by the notes and "Further Reading" sections), but her wryly funny remarks and insightful analyses prevent this from becoming a dry regurgitation of facts.
Greek history buffs: grab this one!
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Murder, and Child death
caseythereader's review against another edition
4.75
- PANDORA'S JAR is for everyone who loves Greek mythology but wishes the women weren't protrayed only as objects or monsters.
- Even if you think you know it all in terms of myth, I'll bet Haynes digs out some alternate tellings and translations you haven't seen, giving everyone from Persephone to Clytemnestra new dimensions.
- Plus, this books is funny as heck. Haynes is dryly sarcastic, giving much needed levity to these tales of tragedy and woe.
Graphic: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Animal death, Blood, Suicide, War, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Violence, Alcohol, Death, Grief, and Incest
millysreads's review against another edition
5.0
This book took me on a real journey, not just through the Greek Myths, but also in the way I evaluate and look at history and mythology. How, due to obvious reasons, when I think about greek myth, I don't think first of the countless women that feature in the stories too.
This amazing, amazing book was an overview of a handful of women from Greek myth; from Medea and Medusa, to Pandora and Penelope. It was non-fiction and kind of a whistle-stop-tour of all the different versions of myth that feature these women as well as a discussion of their character portrayal and why they had been portrayed in a certain way in each version.
It was poignant and moving and incredibly topical, in a time when women's stories have only been suggested to be as important as men's for such a short number of decades. Even now, it cannot be argued that women's stories are viewed as equally as men's. Especially not from someone who reads a variety of different genres and yet it belittled and reduced just because I also happen to read romance novels mixed in with fantasy, sci-fi, mystery and more classic novels.
I saved so many of the quotes from this book - it almost had me punching the air in glee at certain points - and it is something that will stick with me for a long time.
Absolutely deserving of 5/5 stars.
Minor: Rape, Violence, War, and Death