#The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literature

[theboarsbride]

Regarding the post about how booktok is fast fashion, I couldn't agree more. Like it, they take notes on what sells well and just frankensteins a bunch of tropes and genres (though, I don't even think genres fit, it feels more like tags on A03) until it is just a pile of grey mush with glitter on it. "An erotica retelling of a classic Greek myth but it's a girl boss (but secretly tradwife) but it's also a dystopia but everyone's a monster but everyone is conveniently an attractive human but main character is in love with the abusive alpha male but he's a millionaire and he punched a dude so it's fine " is just literature's version of the tackiest, most shoddily put together scraps of polyester that'll disintegrate like cotton candy in water sold by Temu that'll go out of fashion in about a week

YES EXACTLY!!!!

That is such a brilliant and visceral description of "TikTok Literature" oh my god... It just OOZES bland, cheap, Temu product, fr fr...💔

With every inch of my being I HATE the 'erotic Greek myth retelling set in the modern-day' (when it's just another Hades and Persephone retelling that, in my opinion, totally misses the point of the original myth and also the cultural contexts that the myth has). Not to say that this concept can't be well-done, it's just become exhausting to see, and I would like to see other mythologies represented in publishing!! (So I highly recommend some recent reads I really enjoyed: Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse, which is a sci-fi fantasy based off of pre-Columbian American mythologies, and The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter, a really fantastic and addicting epic high fantasy series featuring a story of vengeance and dragons, and based off of mythologies from South African tribes.)

I don't really want to put blame on the people who regularly consume TikTok Lit. because while they contribute to over-consumption, we need to look at the roles publishers play in this damage. They're the ones seeing these trends, they're the ones feeding into it, they're the ones who, ultimately, are looking for profit and are pumping out this TikTok Lit. Hoo-ray for Capitalism!!!!! <3333

It sucks because TikTok isn't all bad, and it allows smaller, indie/self-published authors a chance to put themselves out there! It can be a fantastic marketing tool, it just bites to see it turn into what it's become.

but yey!! I am here to be a haterrrr!! I both love and hate BookTok and will always take a chance to dunk on and uplift it!

#jojo reads #booktok #anti booktok #bookblr

[thenegoteator]

psst i saw your ask on gaiman's blog. what were your favorite academic papers about coraline while researching?

my favourite paper (sadly it wasn't relevant to my essay) would probably be

Kirsten McQuinn, "Not at Home: Liminal Space and Personal Identity in The Hobbit and Coraline", Mallorn: The Journal of the Tolkien Society, 60, 14–18.

it's a very lovely comparative piece (analysis of children's literature tends to be comparative, and quite broadly at that) on the role of the liminal space in fantasy. and it didn't mention Freud at ALL which believe me, in this case that's a bonus.

A fun one that I felt,,,, some kind of way about was

Holly Blackford, "Divorce and Other Mothers: Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight (2005) and Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002)", in The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literature (London: Taylor & Francis Group, 2011) 199-220.

which again, is comparative, but it analyses Twilight and Coraline specifically in the context of how they work with the myth of Persephone which is fun.

the papers I ended up using were neither pleasant nor agreeable because they mentioned lots of Freud :( something about having to read things like

just makes me wanna. not do that. but hey! I handed the paper in yesterday so I'm free now

#she speaks #and answers #thank you for asking!!! #honestly i did not expect?? mr gaiman to answer that???? #i was in the throes of. freudian psychoanalysis and had to read about people searching for phallic imagery in the book. #and i thought huh isn't the author still alive imagine reading something like this about your own work #and then i was like. wait not only is the author alive isn't he on tumblr??? #and then i had a very terrible urge to ask. #but anyway. #I think he is very wise to steer clear of it

[rotgospels]

[Gothic] heroines in transition between states of being, just as Peter is forever “betwixt and between” in The Little White Bird (1902), persist in being attracted to various kinds of creatures that embody both immortal youth and an opportunity to express sexual desire. Creatures that symbolize the liminality between life and death entice girls away from home and make them “fall.”

Holly Blackford, Lost Girls, Underworld Queens in J. M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy (1911) and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1847)

#Holly Blackford #The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literature #girls must die to become women

[ladylike-foxes]

Normally I am all about supporting writers, authors, and poets—especially those representing the female perspective......

Buuuuut, if anyone has a PDF or plain txt copy of The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literature by Holly Blackford that they'd be willing to send me, I am absolutely dying to read it, but I don't have $52+tax to spare on it 😓

#The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literature #Holly Blackford #The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literatureby Holly Blackford #literature #literature requests #essays #literary analysis #blackford holly #myth of persephone #persephone mythology #girls' literature #womens lit #pretty please #if there's anyone out there #pdf books #txt doc #pdf request

[the-knights-who-say-book]

ok ignore this but i need to make a list somewhere of things i wanna read or at least skim for interesting bits when i have free time again so i don’t lose them

The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literature by Holly Blackford

The Redaction of the Books of Esther by Michael Fox

The Collar and the Sword: Queer Resistance in Samuel R. Delany's "Tales of Nevèrÿon by Joshua Yu Burnett

Moroccan Folktales by Jilali El Koudia

Corporate Publishing and Canonization: "Neuromancer" and Science-Fiction Publishing in the 1970s and Early 1980s by Sarah Brouillette (book history journal??)

Review: Le Guin and the Future of Science-Fiction Criticism by George Slusser (science fiction studies??)

On Superhero Stories The Marvel Cinematic Universe as Tolkienesque Fantasy by A.G. Holdier

Reconceptualisation of Frame Story and Nested Narrative in 21 st -Century Novels: "The Fall of Troy and Ragnarok" by Barbara Puschmann-Nalenz

Framing Fan Fiction: Literary and Social Practices in Fan Fiction Communities by Kristina Busse

#let's bring some professionals into this discourse

[trashy-greyjoy]

Sydnee Recommends: Diverse Reads

This is by no means a fully comprehensive list of diverse literature this is just diverse books that I’ve come across in my reading experience and would recommend to others. Also as a bisexual woman, there is more of a focus on bi characters just because I look for my own representation. All these books I’ve either read, own, or have interest in reading in the near future.  

Enjoy, lovelies!

* = haven’t read, but it’s on my tbr/heard good things about it

Fantasy:

Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo (YA)

Do I even need to explain this one?

Ocean’s Eleven meets The Breakfast Club

Diversity: POV characters of color, bisexual and gay POV characters, physically disabled character, character w/ a learning disability, body positive chubby character

Shades of Magic series by VE Schwab (Adult)

If you haven't heard me yell about this yet, where have you been?

If Kaz and Inej (SoC) had a child and she met A: TLA, and they went on an adventure to save London. And there’s pirates.

Diversity: POV characters of color, bi/pan/queer and gender fluid POV characters. Basically every single character is so bi. (author is also queer)

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh (YA)

Retelling of 1001 Arabian Nights

Diversity: entire cast is middle eastern (author is also a woc)

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova (YA)

Labyrinth (starring David Bowie) meets Practical Magic meets Book of Life, but gay

Diversity: Latinx cast of characters (including main character), bisexual lead, f/f relationship (author is also a woc)

*Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor (Adult)

post-apocalyptic fantasy set in Africa

Diversity: African setting w/ all African cast of characters (author is also a woc)

*book was optioned by HBO and is in early developments with George RR Martin set to produce (so its probably tragic af)

*Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (Adult)

If every character from literature that’s traveled to a different world all went to high school together

Diversity: aesexual main character (she actually says it out loud), a trans male character, characters of color

Sci-Fi:

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee (YA)

the daughter of a superheroes starts an internship with a super villain

Diversity: Main character is Chinese/Vietnamese and bisexual, trans character (is the focus of the sequel) (author is also a woc)

Adaptation by Malinda Lo (YA)

alien invasion on a high school tri

Diversity: bisexual main character (author is also a woc)

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (and A Closed Common Orbit) By Becky Chambers (Adult)

Firefly and The Expanse meet Doctor Who with more gays™

Diversity: f/f relationship, characters of color, commentary on gender identity

*alien species that view sexuality and gender with extreme fluidity (so not humans)

*The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (Adult)

hard to explain but the world has different “seasons” punctuated by apocalypses and the fifth season is upon them, which might be the final apocalypse. 

Diversity: multiple characters of color, LGBTQ+ characters (not sure specifically which but it lists trans and queer characters), discussions on gender fluidity and identity (author is also a woc)

*Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (Adult)

disgraced space captain teams up with a mad tactician to redeem herself and save some shit

Diversity: both main characters are poc and, i’ve read, bisexual (not sure if this is true or a head canon but the female lead is confirmed wlw) (author is also a moc)

*God’s War by Kameron Hurley (Adult)

a government assassin for hire is tasked with an assignment that could potentially end a decades long war

Diversity: takes place on an islamic planet 3000 years in the future, main character is a bisexual woman

Contemporary/Literary Fiction: 

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna M. McLemore (YA)

*actually magical realism but more contemporary than fantasy

poetic af story of a girl that grows roses from her wrists and a boy who hangs moons in the sky

Diversity: trans male lead, multiple characters of color, (I heard the female main was bi but it wasn’t confirmed in text so that might be a head canon)

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde (YA)

friend group of geek girls head to comic con for a good time

Diversity: asian bisexual character, f/f relationship, chubby character, depictions of anxiety

We Are Okay by Nina Lacour (YA)

a story of confronting trauma and moving on 

Diversity: f/f relationship

*Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy (YA)

a young, self-identifying lesbian starts to question her sexuality and if she  might be bisexual with the reappearance of a childhood friend

Diversity: lesbian and bisexual characters (really important depictions of bisexuality and how sexuality can change and just yeah its important for people that don't realize they're bi immediately)

*The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (YA)

 #BlackLivesMatter movement from the perspective of a young black girl who’s friend was shot by police

Diversity: characters of color (focused on the black community) and a look at the BLM movement (author is also a woc)

Graphic Novels

Saga by Brian K. Vaugh and Fiona Staples

a couple from opposing sides of an intergalactic space war fall in love and have a baby and now the entire galaxy wants to kill them 

Diversity: multiple POV characters of color, interracial relationship, gay and bisexual characters (including a bi woc) 

*We(l)come Back by Christopher Sebela and Jonathon Brandon Sawyer

basically soulmates meet and fall in love in different lives as different people (and genders) with the same soul

Diversity: different identities include f/f relationships, gender fluidity, gender queer characters, I just ordered this so I don't know to much but I’m excited

*The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer

a f/f retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth

Diversity: f/f relationship (not sure if they both identify as lesbians but they’re both wlw)

Short Stories

Local Stop on the Floating Train by E. Lily Yu 

short story about racism after a nuclear annihilation 

Diversity: commentary on racism, characters of color (author is also a woc)

*Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue (short story collection)

sexy feminist retellings of fairy tales

Diversity: retellings include lots of f/f relationships 

#sydnee recommends #diverse books #lgbtq+ books #diverse reads

[narkik]

Hey, sweetie! Could I use your help? I'm planning to make my Capstone Project a psychological look behind shipping villain x heroine in fiction and thought, since you're a english major and enjoys gothic and horror novels in which this is a common trope, could your recommend me a academic book on the subject that might me useful? Basically, I'm looking for studied reasons why the dynamic might appeal to a reader.

!!! yes i do!!

if your uni has a database, look for The Sadistic Reader, which basically studies why women deliberately seek works where the female characters will experience bodily/sexual violence

Isn’t It Romantic? Angela Carter’s Bloody Revision of the Romantic Aesthetic in “The ErlKing” - anything that studies “The Erl-King” by Angela Carter should help, as its an entire story about a v/h relationship + how the heroine feels torn between being independent & enjoying subjugation (its a p short story too, easy to find online!!)

anything about the female gothic (x)(x)

The Myth of Persephone in Girls’ Fantasy Literature

those are the only ones i can think of that highlights the appeal of v/h dynamics to a reader!!! i hope they help :’)

#ask #my hoe ass LOVES THIS SHIT #also that is such an incredible ??? capstone project???? im dEAD #diaryofanobsessivefangirl #the loveless lovers #amanda is an english major

[darklygophilia]

Phantom of the Opera: a tale as old as...

(This is gonna be long...)

Recently I’ve re-discovered my love for “Phantom of the Opera.” It started after I saw the 2017 rendition of the tale that’s as old as time “Beauty & the Beast,” which lead to my re-reading of favorite childhood novels, “Beauty” & “Rose Daughter” by Robin McKinley. Low & behold, right next to them on my book shelf was one of my all time favorites, Gaston Leroux’s “Phantom of the Opera.” It had been a while since I’d read any of them & in re-reading them with a slightly more wise, adult POV, & a bit more life experience, I was overjoyed that the experience felt much like the 1st in the fact that I realized many details in the stories that I’d missed when I was younger. It’s nice, leaving a favored stories behind for a while & then taking it back in with a fresher perspective. 

Throughout this vast re-read, I had also at the time been doing research in Greek Mythology (for another project) & also happened to be reacquainting myself with the Hades/Persephone tale. The thing about mythology is that the stories alter in certain details over time. It’s not so different from books like “Phantom of the Opera” that have so many adaptations that they all get jumbled together in their influence over our interpretations of them. When it came to Hades/Persephone what irked me in my research was discovering that Zeus was lauded throughout history. In too many interpretations/re-tellings Zeus is seen as the caring father-figure, the loving grandfatherly-figure (if we’re talking about Disney’s animated Hercules), or the seductive all power God-King. He’s someone to respect. Right? Not really!

Zeus is a man who often came down to Earth to consort with human women (those who denied him its hinted that he raped them) & was NEVER faithful to any of his wives. What, you thought Hera was his only wife? The Greeks viewed him in a traditional Patriarchal sense & that has extended throughout each new adaptation of his character. However, after reading up on Zeus, he actually had a lot in common with his father Cronus, the tyrant Titan King (Cronus may have swallowed his own children, but guess what, so did Zeus - i.e. Athena). Throughout history, literature, & Hollywood he’s portrayed as a hero, an authority figure to be lauded (& perhaps that’s our own Patriarchal society influencing us). Zeus, is in reality, extremely unfaithful, hinted as being a seducer of women & a rapist, had much in common with a former tyrant (his father), etc. Hades is typically chosen as the epitome bad guy. I mean, he had to be bad, since he ruled the Underworld (a job he never even wanted)! Right? It was actually Hades’ power, strength, natural leadership & strategy skills during the 5 yr. war between the Olympians/Titans, the Titanomachy, that enabled the Olympians to win - it was also what caused Zeus to fear Hades & trick him into ruling the Underworld (which inevitably made people wary of Hades & eventually vilified him).

When Hades meets Persephone, falling madly in love with her, he’s unsure how to proceed. Hades actually goes to Zeus, telling his brother that he’s found a potential bride but is essentially uncertain how to proceed.  “I’ll just ask my womanizing big brother, Zeus, he knows how to woo women.” (I’m paraphrasing, obviously, but you get the gist.) It is actually Zeus who suggests that Hades should kidnap Persephone. Which in itself, says more about Zeus than it does Hades, IMO!

Hades takes his brother’s advice & does as Zeus suggests, kidnapping Persephone. What’s interesting is the fact that while this 1st half of the story remains pretty consistent throughout the fogginess of history (myths do like to alter throughout time with each new interpretation of them) the 2nd half is open to much interpretation due the latter half being unclear of certain events. It’s a toss-of-the coin, a 50/50 chance; many philosophers & historians believe Persephone was taken against her will, while just as many of them suggest that Persephone saw Hades taking her to the Underworld as rescuing her from her overbearing, controlling mother, Demeter. Demeter also threatens to leave the world in a perpetual state of winter, essentially driving all of humanity into starvation,  The same speculate as to whether Persephone knew what would happen if she ate those famed pomegranate seeds.

For any story that leaves room for speculation, I’ve found that it’s what people theorize that’s far more telling of THEM as people than it is of the actual story! When people theorize that Persephone was a victim, that she was tricked, that says more about the theorist than it does Persephone, b/c the theorist is the one that is turning Persephone into the victim, not necessarily the actual story. When theorists interprets/speculates that Persephone had an intelligence that enabled her to know what she was doing, that she made her own choices, it lends Persephone the agency she deserves as a person rather than choosing to victimize her! The story also hints that Hades truly loved Persephone given that he was pretty much the only Olympian who was faithful to his wife!

Moving forward, as I re-read “Phantom of the Opera” (as well as reading “Phantom” by Susan Kay for the first time) I began noticing parallels not just with stories like “Beauty & the Beast” but also Hades/Persephone.

The most obvious parallels being: in comparison to “Beauty & the Beast” an ugly (cursed) man seeking the companionship of a woman who can love him in spite of his ugliness; in comparison to Hades/Persephone, when the Phantom absconds with Christine, taking her down to his lair to make her his bride. The latter parallel also reminds me of the french epic poem “Eloa” who is an agel that falls in love with a disguised Satan - he takes her to hell, not believing she could truly love him now that she knows the truth, but instead she chooses to stay with him regardless.

In particular the parallel to Hades/Persephone seemed to fit considering this particular quote from Leroux’s novel, “You must know that I am made of death, from head to foot, & it is a corpse who loves you & adores you & will never, never leave you!” Hades was often referred as Lord of Death since people feared speaking his actual name.

My foray into the various “Phantom of the Opera” adaptations also enlightened me to other aspects of parallelism & details that, as a child, I had not thought of until now with an adult perspective.

Fantasy vs. Reality...

In “Beauty & the Beast”, the ultimate reward for Belle in loving the Beast for who he is (not what he is) in the end, is that he transforms back into his handsome Princely self. As a children’s story B&B gets the message across; that beauty is more than just skin deep, teaches lessons of seeing beyond the obvious, acceptance & tolerance. But the ending is the real fantasy, the lie as it were, b/c in the real world the Beast would not become a Prince again. The real reward for Belle in reality would simply be the Beast’s love, not an alteration in his physicality. These fundamental changes in childhood stories are true within the concept of tales like “Beauty & the Beast” in comparison to whether we’re looking at the story with a child’s gaze or through an adult’s POV. There’s the fantasy we interpret as children, then there’s the reality we see as adults! This comparison is reflective between various adaptations of “Phantom of the Opera” & “Beauty & the Beast.” The fantasy being B&B where the beauty is rewarded for loving such a creature by him transforming into a handsome Prince, while the Phantom stays as he is.

Fantasy Love...

In “Phantom of the Opera” Raoul is referred to as “foppish boy,” that “insolent boy” but a boy all the same! His youth, education, title & wealth are the very things that most women think of in an ideal man. His overall role in Christine Daae’s life represents the sweetness of childhood. Raoul is, at 1st, presented in a very real aspect: his brief history with Christine, his lac of mystery making him seem normal; there’s no supernatural element to his character. However, as Raoul become a Love Interest to Christine, he’s rendered a sort of fairy-tale quality. The reality being that a man of Raoul’s social standing would likely not be able to/or even think to marry someone of Christine’s much lower social standing (he’s a Vicomte, she’s a mere chorus girl). That particular element gives their “love” a Cinderella” feel rendering Raoul as a sort-of Prince Charming. Erik, the Phantom, is flawed & referred to as the man of the story - he’s older, wiser, more experienced (even if those experiences have made him bitter). Leroux even calls Erik, “The man’s voice.” Raoul become less of a reality & more of a fantasy love, akin to a Prince Charming in a fairy-talewhile Erik, becomes less of a fantasy throughout the story & something far more tangible; he’s brutal & honestly flawed, an ugly reality of the world.

Each adaptation that I’ve come across seems to present Erik/Raoul to the reader as polar opposites. You have Raoul who Christine sees quite obviously as a real person (he’s not an Angel of Music, he’s not some Opera Ghost), he’s real flesh & blood, a youthful young man. They have some history together which solidifies Raoul’s presence as a normal guy in Christine’s life. There is no air of mystery. Yet, they come from completely different classes of society. Not unlike how Darcy, in reality, would never marry someone of such low social standing as Elizabeth Bennett (”Pride & Prejudice”). That’s the fantasy - the Prince Charming, Cinderella effect of the Raoul/Christine relationship. Where as there is no real social separation between Erik & Christine. Any expectations society gives for Christine to choose Raoul are the very things that make him a fantasy love: wealth, title, handsome, youth, etc. The fantasy itself is the very thing that lends an illusion of realism to Raoul as Christine’s love interest! He’s a fantasy that exists completely under an illusion of realism, IMO!

Christine: Growing Up...

This is where the jumbled various adaptations of a story become harder to separate, in this regard I’m essentially taking in a bit of every adaptation (this reminds me of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” where in the original novel he’s not as handsome as Dracula is later perceived in later adaptations). In Leroux’s novel Christine has only known Erik, her Angel of Music for a few months (though at times it seemed like she’d known him much longer) whereas other adaptations show Erik being in Christine’s life much longer. As a child Christine looks upon Erik with a child’s gaze. 1st as her Angel of Music, seeing him as a literal Angel. Quickly morphing into the guidance of a teacher, & while he still remains her “mon ange” (my angel), he has also become her Maestro. At the same time he’s become the Opera Ghost. With each stage of Christine’s psyche, the illusion of Erik melts away; from Angel, to Maestro, to Phantom, until he is just a flesh & blood man. Where as Raoul remains a representation of Christine’s childhood & their “love” eludes to that youthful mindset - a childhood infatuation that’s as fleeting as the emotions experienced by other teenagers. Not unlike the comparative romantic relationship in “Gone with the Wind” (Scarlet clings to Ashley who represents life before the war, the last part of her childhood, of a time long gone; while ignoring her very real feelings for Rhett which represent something far more lasting & mature. You have Ashley, the idealist & Rhett, the realist). Raoul represents Christine’s past, her childhood idealism; Erik represents Christine’s growth b/c he’s seemingly a part of every phase of her life.

Christine’s Early Childhood - Raoul (varies with each adaptation)

Christine’s Later Childhood - Erik as her Angel of Music.

Christine’s Teen Yrs. - Erik as he Angel but also now taking on the role of Maestro, her teacher, while also being the mysterious Opera Ghost (something darker, more mysterious than the purity of an Angel).

Christine’s Adult Yrs. (moving into womanhood) - Erik, the illusions have fallen away & he’s now just a flesh & blood man!

The role Raoul seems to chiefly represent in Christine’s life is her past, there’s not much growth in their relationship beyond Raul wooing her. B/c her relationship with Erik changed over the yrs. it represents real growth in character & personality for Christine which is the reality of growing up. By choosing Raoul, Christine chose the illusion of living her life through her childhood & is therefore stuck in the past. Raul essential hinders Christine’s growth as a character, IMO.

Sexuality...

Erik (the Phantom) is a lot like Severus Snape - an unlikely sex symbol of the story! He’s also acts as a sort of metaphor for Christine Daae’s evolution in discovering her sexuality.

The fundamental growth of Christine moving away from her childhood & into a woman is connective to how Erik encompasses various phases of her life. When Christine looks upon Erik as an Angel it represents the purity of a child’s mind. He’s her friend, her companion of comfort that get’s her through the loneliness after her father’s death (the Musical & 2004 film). When he grows into her Maestro - her teacher - he becomes her confidant, a source of wisdom (this is especially prevalent in the Charles Dance mini series). As she grows into her teen yrs. & Erik becomes the Opera Ghost, he represents something darker, more mysterious in nature; he’s no longer the pure Angel. By the time Christine sees Erik, the flesh & blood man, he’s fallen in love with her which shows his representation of Christine moving her mindset from the fantastical (Angel/Phantom) to something more real (a man). This development, I feel, is the opposite of Raoul. Raoul starts off seeming realistic & morphs into the fantasy of a sort-of Prince Charming, showing that Christine looks upon Raoul the way she would as a child, as a fairy-tale ending. Whereas Erik starts out as something unreal/otherworldly (Angel/Phantom) later becoming something tangible & real. It shows how with Raoul, Christine moves backward but with Erik she moves forward into adulthood - womanhood (though, that’s just my interpretation).

That moment of adulthood is when Erik reveals himself to being a real man & takes Christine down to his lair for the first time. (Leroux) “The moment she took his offered hand she was no longer a child.” In the musical, this is shown in the song “Music of the Night” in it’s purely sensual nature & tone of the song where we see Erik caress & holding Christine repeatedly throughout the scene. Many speculate that this strongly hinted that Christine & Erik were actually lovers in the most intimate sense, given that during that time period what differentiated between being a girl & being a woman was the marriage bed. Both the quote & song hint at a deeper connection between the 2.

This is reflective throughout much of Christine’s relationship with Erik. In the musical, the songs become more sensual in nature & far less metaphorical. One theory I found was the speculation that “Music of the Night” was metaphorical to Christine loosing her virginity. Interesting.

The song “Past the Point of No Return” is a bit more blatant in its lyrics if still a bit poetic in how it addresses the concept of physical/sexual pleasure. The fact that it’s a duet between Erik/Christine further shows a more sexual nature to their relationship. It’s the opposite of the duet shared between Raoul/Christine “Say you need me...” which is far more innocent in nature & tone. Where as the songs/scenes between Erik/Christine radiate passion! In “Love Never Dies” adaptation, the song “Beneath a Moonless Sky” is downright blatantly descriptive of the sexual intimacy between Erik/Christine (no longer metaphorical).

As little girls we’re fed stories, fairy-tales of gentle love. Even books like Twilight capitalize on the interpretation of young love as something pure where the teenage male is (rather unrealistically) a perfect gentleman & other books where the man is the only one perceived as having a sexual nature. “Phantom of the Opera” in its own way shows that women are sexual creatures, too. By representing the innocence of her childhood, Raoul is in a way repressive of Christine’s sexuality while Erik enables her to embrace certain desires.

What furthers the sexualization of Erik - whether it’s when he’s Christine’s Angel...

her Maestro...

the Opera Ghost...

or just the ostracized, scarred, tormented, isolated flesh & blood man, Erik...

- is the fact that throughout various adaptations of the story there is a great deal that appeals to popular erotic fantasy.

There’s the eroticism of the Phantom’s aesthetic in adaptations like: Webber’s Musical, the Charles Dance Mini Series, the 2004 film, even the poetic prose of Susan Kay’s novel lends a romanticized interpretation of the character: He’s tall, dark, mysterious with an edge of danger. And in terms of physicality, the Phantom is far different from that of Raoul. While Raoul would likely be a handsome athletic man for the time period, he is also what was considered the typical handsome, the typical athlete. Males in society within Raoul’s social class were physical in that they likely had formal hunting parties (ever watched Downton Abbey?) & knew how to fence. But his wealthy likely meant he never had to do any form of real physical labor. In the Charles Dance mini series, ‘04 film, Webber’s Musical, & a novel by Fredrick Forsyth, the Phantom is decidedly more physical: from building & adjusting the Opera House’s architecture, roaming around the Opera House in unlikely places (climbing onto the rafters), not to mention how he moves large pieces of furniture like an organ all the way down to his lair; the Phantom’s backstory as an assassin in Persia! He is very much an active man who’s dealt with physical labor & hardships his whole life & therefore has a sense of strength that Raoul’s luxurious lifestyle would probably NOT enable him to have.

Let’s not forget that enigmatic mask of his!

Not to mention the cape!

And of course the sexualization of the student/teacher-protege/mentor relationship!

Yet, despite all the illusions, the many faces Erik wears, he is far more tangible & real than Raoul. Raoul, who’s personality floats somewhere between entitled brat to nonexistent; Raul, whose entire character is defined by his wealth, his good looks & his past with Christine. Where as Erik, the Phantom has a backstory, a tortured life that makes him the man he is now. Erik who is ever changing & complex in personality & character no matter how enigmatic he’s portrayed feels far more real. Even down to how people treat him & the cruelties he’s endured simply b/c of what he looks like is a reality of our world!

As for the love Erik has for Christine - in Leroux’s novel Erik seems consumed with loneliness & desperate for companionship which makes his feeling for Christine appear obsessive in nature. Though, even at the end they are both moved to tears & Christine shows him great compassion. It’s possible that the lack of human contact that Leroux’s Erik has endured is parallel to that of extreme isolation which can psychological alter a person’s sanity. So, is it the abuse he’s faced throughout his life, the horrors he witnessed in Persia, or his isolation that has made insane? Perhaps all three in Leroux’s novel.

In other adaptations Erik’s love is portrayed as something far more pure. He loves Christine for her talents (singing, ballet, artistry) & not her physical beauty like Raoul. As a woman, I can’t tell you how annoying it is when people, men in general, comment on my looks. When someone tells you you’re pretty/beautiful, your looks aren’t something you really have control over (genetics), therefore the compliment falls flat a lot of the time. Where as if you compliment someone for their accomplishments, something they’ve worked hard for, it’s far more meaningful. The relationship between Erik/Christine in various adaptations appears to be built on companionship, trust, respect, the love of friends, the love of student/teacher, romantic love, the appreciation they have for each other’s talents, & at times their own mutual loneliness (Erik in his solitude & Christine in the sadness of her father’s death). The Raoul/Christine relationship many times focuses on how beautiful Raoul thinks Christine is. In the 1990s TV mini series adaptation starring Charles Dance, the Phantom tells Christine that Raoul is not worthy of her b/c, “He comes to the opera for the wrong reasons. He come for the sake of pretty faces rather than the music.” In a way, much like in “Beauty & the Beast” Belle/Christine at times deal with body image issues. Where as the Beast in B&B, & Erik in “Phantom of the Opera” are both judged for how they look, so are the characters Belle/Christine - both women are seen for their looks by their love interests Gaston/Raoul. Where as in the Musical, for example, Erik seems to focus mostly on Christine's talents which he later becomes attracted to.

This was essentially my interpretation of “The Phantom of the Opera” in it’s entirety, including the influence of its various adaptations. I theorize with the more sympathetic, romanticized versions of the story mostly b/c my 1st exposure to it was the 2004 film & later Webber’s Musical. I read the book after that & so my mental via of the Phantom was decidedly different to that of what Leroux likely originally intended. To me the film, musical, mini series, & Susan Kay’s novel are the ones that are most influential of how I view the story/characters compared to someone who started out reading Leroux’s book 1st. Which was an entirely new experience for me in terms of how I usually analyze/interpret things b/c I almost always read the original novel before any other adaptation.

#Phantom of the Opera #Phantom #Meta #Beauty & the Beast #Hades & Persephone #Character Analysis #Writing #Gaston Leroux #Susan Kay

[sinsinnatus]

While her brothers receive the new, glossy books of Gilderoy Lockhart, Ginny herself is thrown old, discarded books that symbolically embed a very dangerous diary. It is in this diary that Ginny pours her rage, her disembodied voice, that disrupts the school and conjures the immortal boy Tom Riddle, the boy who is really the dark lord himself.

Ginny’s writing communicates things the aboveground world silences. When we discover that Ginny’s writing has transgressed the boundaries of the diary, appearing in blood on the very walls of the school, we realize that the target of a victim’s rage grows. The diary is, like the chamber, a very old vehicle for unleashing repressed feelings, also for Tom Riddle, the abandoned boy haunting Hogwarts. 

Together, the parseltongue of Ginny and Tom runs riot in the school.

             -    Holly Blackford, The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literature

#hpedit #slytherdornet #tom x ginny #gin'n'tonic #tom riddle #ginny weasley #my beeeeautiful babies #it's been too long! #featuring my favorite lit crit eva lol #mine*

[fic-dreamin]

How women saved rhunekind. It's not really debatable the cliche and often insulting role female characters have played in traditional fantasy literature. With this in mind, I don't think a ludicrous flip of the coin plays any better. There are many fine examples of strong female characters in fantasy from Galadrielle and Eownyn on up to Arya Stark. What passes for the part in Sullivan's newest series is more like a continual exclamation point added to a rather lifeless sentence, and the result is a very silly Sesame Street-esque guide to human civilization. I can almost hear the gentle voice adding "...and THAT, boys and girls, is how we got the wheel...or archery...or written history...or steel". The inventors, of course, are all women. Go to Amazon

Making connections to Riyria World I quite enjoyed this book. Read and listened, alternating while driving. Told in 3rd-person, the pace is pretty much nonstop, yet not exhausting. It's mostly upbeat, but there are some grim scenes, and a few beloved characters are lost. Mostly, we see how the Dalh Rhen clan unites under Persephone, working to overcome, survive, and fend off the Fhrey. Go to Amazon

Read any other book by Sullivan I'm glad this isn't the first book that I've read by this author, because I'd never have read another. I've enjoyed all his other books that I've read. Go to Amazon

A Society Advances at the Speed of Light Sophomore Slump Keep politics out of fantasy books. And I hate to only give this book two stars That was awesome. Sullivan's band of heroes continue their amazing journey Better Than Book 1 - No Spoilers Not as good as Age of Myth I really enjoyed it. I love how the version of stories ... It's a solid read

[storiesupmysleeves-blog]

obviously, i'm excited to see my boyfriend next week for thanksgiving, but i might be just a little bit more excited to get "the myth of persephone in girls' fantasy literature" that's waiting for me in his dorm room... is there something wrong with my priorities?

#personal #boyfriend #persephone #the myth of persephone in girls' fantasy literature #relationship problems that aren't really problems

[rotgospels]

Holly Blackford, Lost Girls, Underworld Queens in J. M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy (1911) and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1847)

#Holly Blackford #The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literature #Wuthering Heights #that sentence about repressed lockwood made me laugh

[rotgospels]

Holly Blackford, Lost Girls, Underworld Queens in J. M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy (1911) and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1847)

#obsessed with this #Holly Blackford #The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literature

[rotgospels]

a few people have messaged me about holly blackford’s lost girls, underworld queens so i’ve uploaded a pdf here for anyone interested 

#Holly Blackford #The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literature

[rotgospels]

my fantasy and scifi literature unit reading list is so hit or miss. its like ‘the myth of persephone in girls’ fantasy literature,’ ‘literature and film as modern mythology,’ ‘maria tatar’ but then there’ll be a group of articles on harry potter 

#pretending i do not see the lecture on harry potter