Philomela in Ovid's Metamorphoses
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PHILOMELA: The Wounded Artist Philomela is a woman who has been wounded and violated, who instead of giving up, resourcefully uses her remaining talents to redeem herself. Her tongue cut out, she lacks a voice – so instead she speaks visually through her art. Ovid's Philomela says: "I'll cast aside my shame, proclaim your crime. If that be possible for me, I'll tell my tale where many people crowd." Many artists and wounded healers who may be unable to directly heal their own wounds are indeed healing and empowering themselves through art. Creating art which expresses their pain and publicly sharing it, in spite of public discomfort and exposure, they release their pain, and in the process feel heard and appreciated. Sometimes this process may involve seeking justice, and making meaningful contributions not only artistically but through publicly calling attention to crimes of social injustice. | |
Philomela, from Ovid's Metamorphoses (trans. Rolfe Humphries,1955, pp. 146-48) "And now the voyage ended, and the vessel Was worn from travel, and they came stepping down To their own shores, and Tereus dragged her with him To the deep woods, to some ramshackle building Dark in that darkness, and he shut her in there, Pale, trembling, fearing everything, and asking "Where was her sister?" And he told her then What he was going to do, and straightway did it, Raped her, a virgin all alone, and calling For her father, for her sister, but most often For the great gods. In vain. . . . But Tereus did not kill her; he seized her tongue With pincers, though it cried against the outrage, Babbled and made a sound something like "Father," Till the sword cut if off. The mangled root Quivered, the severed tongue along the ground Lay quivering, making a little murmur, Jerking and twitching, the way a serpent does Run over by a wheel, and with its dying movement Came to its mistress' feet. . . . And a year went by And what of Philomela? Guarded against flight, Stone blocks around her cottage, no power of speech To help her tell her wrongs, her grief has taught her Sharpness of wit, and cunning comes in trouble. She had a loom to work with, and with purple On a white background, wove her story in, Her story in and out, and when it was finished, Gave it to one old woman, with signs and gestures To take it to the queen, so it was taken, Unrolled and understood. Procne said nothing-- What could she say?--grief choked her utterance, Passion her sense of outrage. . . . |
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Philomela The Myth and Poem http://www.qub.ac.uk/english/shuttle/the_myth.html The Philomela Metaphor http://www.ualberta.ca/~holson/athena/philomel.htm Matthew Arnold: Philomela (poem) http://www.ualberta.ca/~holson/athena/philomel.htm Philomela at Perseus http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup=encyclopedia+Philomela Philomela in Metamorphoses (More) http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup=ov.+met.+6.412&vers=english;more&filter=none Medieval Legend of Philomela http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/GoodWomen/philomela.html Study Guide (site may be down) http://diogenes.baylor.edu/WWWproviders/thorburn/ovidmet134to142.html http://ccis09.baylor.edu/WWWproviders/thorburn/ovidmet134to142.html | |
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