One day, Penelope began sculpting a statue of a woman as a tribute for the goddess Venus. She worked diligently on this statue, and her skill and attention to detail where such that it appeared almost alive as it emerged from the stone. She gave the statue kind eyes and a playful, knowing smile, and as she worked she spoke to it.
She told the statue what was going on in the world, and what she thought of it. She talked about the books she was reading, and her theories on how the plot would progress. She planned aloud what she would do next to complete the statue, and jokingly asked for its opinion.
The statue, which Penelope had started calling Grace during their one sided conversations, listened to everything Penelope said. She heard about the world outside Penelope's art studio, and longed to see it for herself. She wanted to read the books Penelope had mentioned, and see if she enjoyed the stories when they were written, or if it was just the way Penelope retold them that made them sound so interesting. She wanted to read other books and see if she liked those stories even better. She longed to be alive.
The day Penelope finished carving Grace she looked into her carved eyes and sighed.
"I wish I could bring you to life," she said. "The world is a wonderful place, though at times it can be cruel. It seems a shame you will never get to experience it. I would have liked to show it to you, I think."
When Penelope began to dedicate her finished statue to Venus, the goddess was touched. She could see from the care put into the statue that carving it had been a labor of love, and she could sense that the statue loved the artist in return. Venus saw that both statue and artist wished for the statue to be alive, and decided to grant that wish.
Life flowed slowly into Grace. Penelope watched, stunned, as the statue drew her first breath. She nearly fell when her legs turned from stone to skin and bone, but Penelope managed to steady her.
Grace looked up at the woman who had created her, and, for the first time in her existence, spoke.
"Hello," she said. "I'm so glad to be able to talk to you."
Author's Note: This story is based on the story of Pygmalion from Ovid's Metamorphosis. In the original, Pygmalion thinks all women are wicked, so he makes a statue and pretends to date it before asking Venus to bring it to life. I wanted to write a story where an artist's love for their creation brings that creation to life, without the creepy sexist overtones. I also wanted to include a bit of what the statue thinks of all this, since that perspective is entirely missing from the original. To be clear, the two characters in my story don't feel romantic love for each other at the point that the story ends, although I do think it could develop that way once Grace learns about the world and has a chance to become a real person.
Bibliography: Story Source Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline (2000).
Image: Statue of a woman
Hey, this is the same story that I chose to adapt for my writing! I really like the decision you made to remove the romantic tones from the story. That was one of the creepier things I have read recently. Allowing for a relationship to develop more naturally gives the story a better flow, and I like how you let the statue weigh in on how things are going.
ReplyDeleteI love this! There's actually a lot of research in the field of history and classical studies about homosocial relationships in Ancient Greece, specifically among women who were confined to the home for most of the day. if you're interested, I think it would be an awesome project to incorporate these kinds of Grecian female friendships in to a larger storybook.
ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDeleteHello, again! I loved this retelling! I thought switching Pygmalion’s character to be a woman was a creative way to change the story. I also like how you kept other things the same, like pouring her heart into the statue, talking to it, and wishing for it to be alive. I also really enjoyed reading a bit from the statue’s perspective! Based on other comments, people seem to think the love here is now more platonic, and I am not sure if you meant it that way or still romantic love as in the original story. Either way, it was well written! I also particularly liked how you gave us a description when Grace was coming to life. The slow progression from first breath to first step was nice, and better than some instantaneous change, in my opinion.
Hi, Emily!
ReplyDeleteI love your thoughtful changes to this story! Writing Pygmalion as the female Penelope was a great touch, and I especially enjoyed that Grace, the statue, was given thoughts and feelings. As you stated in your author's note, that is truly a perspective that is often neglected. I appreciated that you clarified the nature of Penelope and Grace's relationship. In my opinion, that's an interesting choice as an author. If you had left the situation vague, it could have kept your readers guessing, but by clarifying, you made a concise stylistic choice. Good work!