Will's Esch & Medea
In the novel, Salvage The Bones, Esch lives within a small impoverished town where education is almost foreign. Fueled by her kindred relationship to the Greek goddess, Medea, Esch falls in love with Greek mythology. A particular part of Medea's story that Esch relates to is Medea's dissociated love with Jason, "In Mythology, I am still reading about Medea and the quest for the Golden Fleece. Here is someone that I recognize. When Medea falls in love with Jason, it grabs me by the throat. I can see her. Medea sneaks Jason things to help him: ointments to make him invincible, secrets in rocks. She has magic, could bend the natural to the unnatural. But even with all her power, Jason bends her like a young pine in a hard wind; he makes her double in two. I know her." (Ward 38). Despite being disastrous, Esch connects the relationship between her and Manny to that of Medea and Jason--foreshadowing the end of their relationship. Esch initially falls deeply in love with Manny without any valid reasons other than his appearance ( a result of patriarchal society/hormones?). Her spontaneous attraction symbolizes the arrow of cupid through the heart of Medea--forced unknowingly, hard to stop. Both Medea and Esch are being exploited for a use; In Medea's case, magic, and in Esch's situation, sex. When Manny calls Esch a “slut”, she fights back and digs her nails far into his
“perfect skin”, just like Medea burns Jason's family in front of him. Both characters go through naive periods of time but eventually are able to escape their false realities of “love”.
This oil painting is of the Pre-Raphaelite era was made by John William Waterhouse in 1907. The painting displays a soldier on the right, representing Jason, this figure looks in wonder at the woman on the left that portrays Medea. The woman appears to be mixing something into a golden cup, perhaps a potion of some sort.
This piece of American wartime propaganda poster was produced by J. Howard Miller in 1943 for Westinghouse Electric. This poster was used to promote feminism and the idea of strong women in the 1980s. Esch is a strong and independent woman which is why I chose this image to represent her. Initially, Esch was scared of nearly everything--judgment, speaking out, defying roles, etc. At the end of the novel, Esch attacks Manny and tells her father about the child she had been hiding from him. Esch learns to be strong and to speak out for herself.
Spicy
ReplyDeleteI think how you talk about foreshadowing in the first paragraph really ties the point you're trying to make together. I also like the comparison of Medea with cupids heart and how suddenly Esch fell for Manny. You had a lot of information about your first image, that was very helpful in understanding what was being depicted. The only question I have is in your comparison of magic and sex, yes both woman are both being exploited but I don't understand how it connects to them being naive, I think a better word choice would be angry.
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