Week 2 Story - The Obsession of Pygmalion
Pygmalion, from a very young age, was shown to be an artist of extreme talent. Even as a toddler playing in the mud, his creations were no mere child's play, but lifelike parodies of nature. When he grew older, he was apprenticed to a master sculptor, and quickly outgrew and outmatched students more than a decade his senior. By the time he had become a man, his master had nothing more to teach him, and Pygmalion struck out on his own.
As a young man, Pygmalion was requested by nobles and kings alike to carve their likeness into marble, securing their eternity in the history of the world. He was paid handsomely, and he surrounded himself with his work. Soon, it became rare to see Pygmalion outside of his workshop or the palace of some vain noble on the island. His workshop was littered with creations cut and scrapped, in search of something he couldn't grasp. Each time he tried, he felt closer, but no amount of work could bring him to the paragon he desired.
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| Pygmalion by Jean-Baptiste Regnault. Wikipedia Source, Public Domain |
As he quickly approached his 50th year, The Festival of Juno came to the city in which he lived, and Pygmalion escaped the claustrophobia of the workshop to join the festivities and give tribute to the goddess. To Juno, he dedicated a sculpture no taller than a young boy, adorned in lovely colors and ornaments, and asked of one wish: to create what his heart desired, but his hands could never know.
After the festival, he returned to his station late in the night. Inside his home, he illuminated the block of stone which sat in the center of the workshop. There, he saw not stone, but a form begging to escape its prison. All night he carved and carved, trimmed and sanded, before at last the form of a human undecipherable from nature showed itself - more perfect than any mortal. He embraced his creation, and was met with embrace in return. The figure was that of an adolescent girl - but to her, he bore no lust, no desire.
She took to his craft as his student, and took to his wisdom as his daughter. In his old age, she cared for him, and took on the mantle of artist in his workshop to complete his unfinished works. Even when she married, she sculpted, and became the only individual to best Pygmalion in sculpture. As he died, she prepared his funeral vestments and celebration, and crafted a memorial to him at the center of Cyprus, known today as Chionistra, or Mount Olympus.
Author's Note: I loved the tale of Pygmalion, but I felt as though a rewrite could help to remove much of the latent sexism built into the story (not unique to this story, to say the least). I decided to remove the idea of romance altogether, choosing family and dedication as the center of the story (and relevantly changing the goddess of name to Juno).
Bibliography:
"Pygmalion"from Ovid's Metamorphoses, translation by Tony Kline (web source)
Hi Gage!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your story and could really feel your love of this story and appreciation for Mythology. For me the real wow moment is that you made the statue into a daughter instead of a wife. I really liked the new dimension that gave the story and changed the type of love from something that feels shallow in the original, to something with real depth! I was wondering why the sculpture he creates for Juno is of a young boy. I know you discuss in your author's note that it was to change the focus towards family and dedication. As someone less familiar with mythology, I didn't understand the significance of the Festival of Juno and the choice of a young boy as the statue. What if in your story you added a little more information on Pygmalion's lack of family and that kind of unconditional love. I think the way you set up the story was really good and made the reveal of a daughter super interesting and unexpected, but it could be interesting to discuss the emptiness he feels in his life without any true friends or family, just material goods. I can't wait to see what you write next!
Hello Gage!
ReplyDeleteReally beautiful story. It really speaks to the inherit power of creation, caring, and protection that humans have. We have the power to create life, and we form deep connections with our children, and we try to mold them the best we can, just like a sculpture molds marble stone.
It would of been more interesting if you could of elaborated more as to how the statue came to life. Did he have the power, or was it a God that saw he was lonely; perhaps they wanted to preserve his craft.
-Kevin
Hey, Gage!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, your writing is very descriptive and enjoyable to read! You are a talented writer, for sure! I really loved the way that you took this story and made it about a master and his pupil, rather than a man and his lust for his own creation. You turned a slightly creepy story into one truly pleasant to read. The change from lust to familial love was quite refreshing and made me enjoy this story much more than the original. I am curious as to why this particular statue came to life and none of his other creations. Was Juno responsible? Was he so lonely that he somehow transformed this stone into a daughter? Also, it might be interesting if you added some more details about how lonely Pygmalion was, that he was unsuccessful in finding a wife and having a family, perhaps due to his demanding line of work. Perhaps you could also have him name the girl he creates and add some more about their relationship to draw the reader in even more! Overall, this was an incredible retelling of the Pygmalion story, with an ending I did not expect and absolutely loved! I am excited to see the other stories you will write this semester!
Hi Gage,
ReplyDeleteI loved your story. It was beautiful, especially the ending where one of Pygmalion's creations came to life as a girl who was his student, his friend, and his caretaker. Also, I loved how Mount Olympus was created as a tribute to Pygmalion. Stories that tell the creation of something are always my favorite because they give me a wonderful reason for how something came to be. Why did Pygmalion dedicate a statue of a young boy to Juno? I wondered if there was a meaning behind this boy. I would like to know more about the girl. What was her name? I think it would be very good to see her perspective on Pygmalion. Lastly, some suggestions I had would be to explain more in the author's note. I have never read the story, so your comments on making it less sexist and eliminating marriage didn't mean anything to me because I really did not know what you were talking about. All in all, I loved the story!!
Good job Gage!
HI Gage,
ReplyDeleteI loved the exquisite detail you used in your story. You really took the role of describer for the reader and we could feel it. I felt like I was starring at the sculpture while you described it to the readers. I do wonder why it was a young girl Juno wanted. Was it because she would inevitably become his everything and she needed to grow into that role? I think it would be interesting if you were to go deeper into the relationship of the young girl and sculptor. You were able to create such detail about his actual sculptures, why not go into more detail on the most important one to him.
Hello, JD!
ReplyDeleteI love what you did with this story! I must admit that at first I thought it must have been nice to dedicate yourself entirely to a certain profession, but as I kept reading, I realized Pygmalion’s desperation. I really appreciate how you removed the sexism from the story and utilized the familial approach! You wrote a fantastic story!