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A review by mimosa234
Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes
3.0
3.5 I loved having the opportunity to properly have these central figures in Greek mythology explored and brought to the forefront of their stories. Natalie Haynes highlights the complexity behind Ancient Greek female characters and how retellings of the legends have embedded further the patriarchal imaginings of these women.
Fundamentally though it saddened me thinking about the misogyny written into these characters. They were written by men for men and even the original text with its many layers and potential interpretations doesn’t hide this. I felt at some points Natalie Haynes takes on too much of a deep dive in trying to emphasise the personality and courage within these female characters and whilst I appreciated this holistic and detailed exploration of the original texts through to the modern cultural references it did at times feel a little tenuous.
Fundamentally though it saddened me thinking about the misogyny written into these characters. They were written by men for men and even the original text with its many layers and potential interpretations doesn’t hide this. I felt at some points Natalie Haynes takes on too much of a deep dive in trying to emphasise the personality and courage within these female characters and whilst I appreciated this holistic and detailed exploration of the original texts through to the modern cultural references it did at times feel a little tenuous.