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A review by gretchensorce
Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes
5.0
Firstly, this book will not be for everyone. It is filled with names. Names you may recognize from some classics course you took in college (Euripides, Ovid) or some adaptation of Greek myth you’ve seen in modern media (Achilles, Circe, or Helen) and many, many names you are not likely to have heard. It can be intimidating to wade through. I urge you not to be intimidated. When Ms. Haynes references some long dead Greek Amphorae painter by name, think to yourself “pot painter” and move on. Getting caught in the minutiae will not be of service here.
Ms. Haynes is everything I know and remember of those leading my own Classics education, witty, wry, funny, and passionate. Her insights are thought provoking and engaging. Wading through the many, many, versions of any Greek myth, weaving them all together and taking into account the time period in which they were written, or translated, or reimagined by Hollywood, we get a sense of the “living document” nature of Greek Myth and come to notice the many times throughout history where women and their voices are put out, silenced, or completely reimagined - very often to the detriment of the story and nearly exclusively by men.
If you have an interest in Greek myth, Greek tragedy, or how women are portrayed and perceived through them, this is an EXCELLENT read. If you are planning to read (or reread, as I am) your Euripides, this book would make a wonderful companion read.
A few quotes that resonated with me. I apologize, I listened to the audio book (wonderfully narrated by Ms. Haynes herself) and did not take down proper notations. (Sorry Dr. Steiner, I do know better.)
“Medusa is not a monster, she is a woman who was raped and then punished for it. [Perseus] is still afraid of her even after he has beheaded her and trodden her down. If you’re looking for a better metaphor for virulent misogyny, I’m afraid I don’t have one. “
“We might well feel that a classic children’s book is no place for rape. I don’t particularly disagree, but these myths are full of violence, and we should at least ask why it is the violence against women that is removed in order to make our heroes uncomplicated adventurers.”
No quote, but at one point she makes a parallel between Medea and Beyoncé in her Hold Up video, and I just think that’s amazing.
“The version of the story that so many of us grew up with marginalizes it’s most interesting characters. . . Every telling of a myth is as valid as any other, of course, but women are lifted out of the equation with a monotonous frequency, and this provides ammunition for those that choose to believe that this is how stories always were, and are.”
Ms. Haynes is everything I know and remember of those leading my own Classics education, witty, wry, funny, and passionate. Her insights are thought provoking and engaging. Wading through the many, many, versions of any Greek myth, weaving them all together and taking into account the time period in which they were written, or translated, or reimagined by Hollywood, we get a sense of the “living document” nature of Greek Myth and come to notice the many times throughout history where women and their voices are put out, silenced, or completely reimagined - very often to the detriment of the story and nearly exclusively by men.
If you have an interest in Greek myth, Greek tragedy, or how women are portrayed and perceived through them, this is an EXCELLENT read. If you are planning to read (or reread, as I am) your Euripides, this book would make a wonderful companion read.
A few quotes that resonated with me. I apologize, I listened to the audio book (wonderfully narrated by Ms. Haynes herself) and did not take down proper notations. (Sorry Dr. Steiner, I do know better.)
“Medusa is not a monster, she is a woman who was raped and then punished for it. [Perseus] is still afraid of her even after he has beheaded her and trodden her down. If you’re looking for a better metaphor for virulent misogyny, I’m afraid I don’t have one. “
“We might well feel that a classic children’s book is no place for rape. I don’t particularly disagree, but these myths are full of violence, and we should at least ask why it is the violence against women that is removed in order to make our heroes uncomplicated adventurers.”
No quote, but at one point she makes a parallel between Medea and Beyoncé in her Hold Up video, and I just think that’s amazing.
“The version of the story that so many of us grew up with marginalizes it’s most interesting characters. . . Every telling of a myth is as valid as any other, of course, but women are lifted out of the equation with a monotonous frequency, and this provides ammunition for those that choose to believe that this is how stories always were, and are.”