In O’Brien’s novel, Wild Decembers, a young and innocent Breege fell in love with an engaged farmer named Bugler who moved from Australia so he could establish a farm on family-owned land in Ireland. While trying to keep their relationship a secret, Bugler takes Breege to a secluded island where they engaged in a sexual act that resulted in Breege’s pregnancy. Breege and Bugler’s night on the island, her pregnancy and Bugler’s untimely death parallels the myth of Persephone and her decent into the Underworld as Hades’ queen.
In Greek Mythology, the young Persephone, daughter of Demeter, was chosen by Zeus to be a companion to Hades in the Underworld. Hades kidnapped Persephone when she was picking flowers, specifically the narcissus, and brought her to the Underworld. Demeter, the goddess of grain searched all over the world to find her beloved daughter. While she was searching for Persephone, she neglected the crops and the winter harvest was ruined. In the Underworld, Persephone was crowned the Queen of the Underworld but she still longed to see her mother. Hades agreed that he would let her return to Earth if she did not eat anything while in the Underworld. Knowing that he wanted to keep her for his Queen, Hades deliberately gave her a pomegranate from which Persephone later admitted to have eaten a few seeds. Hades agreed to let her live on Earth, but she had to visit him four months out of the year because she ate the pomegranate seeds. Demeter was reunited with Persephone and the crops again flourished (Bryant 55).
Much like Persephone, the character of Breege is a young woman who seems to never have had a boyfriend. Since Breege does not have a partner, one can infer that she is still a virgin and has not entered into...
... middle of paper ...
...wn farm land sits stagnant, without anyone to properly care for it.
When Bugler and Breege visit the cemetery island on a secret date, their story parallels the myth of Persephone. O’Brien knew the myth well since she wove details of the Underworld like Cerberus into her story. Breege perfectly portrays Persephone when a childlike Breege spent the night on the island and emerged as a woman after a sexual meeting with Bugler. Breege took the “pomegranate seeds” from Bugler as his sperm when he impregnated her. Bugler, or Hades, ensured Breege would come back to visit him through her thoughts, now that she is pregnant with his child.
Works Cited
Bryant, Megan. Oh My Gods!: A look-it-up guide to the gods of mythology. New York, New York: Scholastic, 2010. 54-59. Print.
O'Brien, Edna. Wild Decembers. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001. Print.
Perseus was born to Danae and the Greek god Zeus. Acrisius, the father of Danae, was told by the oracle of Apollo that Danae’s son would kill him. After finding out that Danae had her son, Perseus, Acrisius shut Perseus and Dane up in a large chest cast the chest out to sea. After a while out in the sea, they landed on the island of Seriphos, where they were saved by the king Polydectes’s brother, Dictys. Polydectes, after hearing about Danae, wanted her to marry him. In order to get rid of Perseus, so that no one would be able to stop him from marrying Danae, Polydectes came up with a plan. He pretended to be marrying the daughter of one of his friends and required everyone to bring him a wedding gift. Polydectes knew that Perseus, being very poor, would arrive empty-handed. Perseus vowed that he could bring Polydectes anything that he wanted and so Polydectes demanded Perseus to bring him the head of the gorgon Medusa, hoping that he would be killed. Perseus set off on his adventure to kill Medusa and while stopping to rest one night in an unknown land, Perseus realized how hopeless the adventure seemed to be. “Gorgons were horrible, instead of hair they had black serpents that writhed on their head, they had brazen hands that could...
In two amazing poems, both poets make allusions to the myth of Persephone. The myth of Persephone tells of her kidnap by Hades, the God of the Underworld. She is then fated to spend one-third of the year in the underworld as Hades’ bride because she consumed pomegranate seeds. This myth appears frequently as a metaphor not only in “The Pomegranate” and “The Bistro Styx,” but in many others as well. In both poems, the myth of Persephone is used to symbolize the mother-daughter relationships.
Hades fell in love with Demeter’s daughter, Persephone. Persephone loved to live about in the fields that her mother made. Hades wanted Persephone as his bride. Zeus, the father of Persephone, did not deny but warned that Demeter would be furious. He captured her and forced her to stay in the underworld. To capture her, he arose from the depth with a chariot of horses. He stole her from the flowery field and took her to a dungeon of darkness. Persephone gained the name “core”. This was symbolizing her loss of girlhood. Demeter went looking for her daughter. She could not find her, and she almost came to the extent of barring the whole earth of the vegetation. Zeus could not let this happen, so he sent for Persephone to be received. Persephone would not eat, but Hades would not let her leave until she ate at least one thing. Hades gave her a forbidden fruit. Any fruit that was to be eaten in the underworld, the eater of that fruit must stay in the underworld. Her eating the fruit meant she had to stay in the underworld forever. A compromise was made between Demeter and Hades. Four months of the year Persephone had to stay with Hades and be the queen of the underworld. During this time the Greeks entered a cold and barren time called winter. The other eight months, Persephone spent her year with Demeter. During this time crops and vegetation would be abundant (Peterson and Dunworth 143). These were the times of spring and summer. When it was time for Persephone to rule the underworld, she was in charge of watching the special prisoners. The prisoners were the defeated titans (Calame, 266).
Haven vs. Wilderness, Perseus felt safe around his mom until a guy asked her to marry her and wasn’t so sure about it.
Harris, Stephen L., and Gloria Platzner. Classical Mythology: Images and Insights. 2nd ed. Mountain View: Mayfield, 1995
When she discovers Persephone’s fate from Helios, Demeter is bereaved. “But a more terrible and savage grief came into Demeter’s heart. Then, angered at the dark-clouded son of Cronos, she avoided the assembly of the gods and lofty Olympus.” (H. Dem. Demeter’s loss of Persephone and her subsequent grief directly parallel Penelope’s loss and sorrow for Odysseus.
Webster, Michael. “Greek History and the Gods.” Grand Valley State University. Web. 15 Dec. 2009 .
Hades, the God of the Underworld and Death, also the God of the Riches. Most of Hades and his four siblings life was spent in the stomachs of Cronus his father. Cronus was the Titan God of time and the ages. He was afraid if he had not eaten his children he would be overthrown by one of his sons. If not for Zeus later on Forcing the Cronus to disgorge them Hades would not have had a life at all. Together Zeus and Hades Drove the Titan Gods from the heaven down to a pit and locked them away. Hades gaining control of the Underworld realized he was missing something. A wife, he demanded for his brother Zeus to give away one of his daughters to him. Zeus chose Persephone now the Goddess and queen of the Underworld. Although this did not happen so easily, Zeus knowing his daughter would not accept to marry such a man like Hades he quickly had his own daughter abducted just to please the God of the underworld, but her mother Demeter the Goddess of Agriculture, grain and bread was not happy about this and demanded her daughter back. When she was not given her daughter she put a great dearth upon the earth until she was handed back her child. Hades did send her back from the Underworld only because she had tasted the pomegranate seed and had to return to him a portion of each year. People thought of Hades to be a regal god who was dark haired and held an bird-tipped sceptre ("HADES : Greek King of the Underworld, God of the Dead ; mythology ; pictures : HADES, PLUTO”).
In the Hymn to Demeter, the rape of Persephone starts with her picking flowers and she comes across the hundred headed narcissus which "Gaia made grow as a trick for the blushing maiden" (HHDem. 8-9). This trick is set into motion by Zeus, but since Gaia plays the role of protecting the youngest generation, this is a foreshadowing that Persephone's ordeal will be for a good cause. Hades moves in to take Persephone when the grounds gapes open and she begins to cry aloud. Demeter hears her daughters screams but she is powerless against Hades, hence the separation of distance between them. The grief stricken Demeter goes through an experience which plays out the role of a symbolic death. this is because the relationship between the mother and daughter ends at a wedding.
Has there ever been a time where you have experienced true love, but everything was not what you expected? You thought everything was at the forefront but there was a deeper meaning to things. Well in the poem “First Love: A Quiz”, A.E. Stallings introduces you to the deeper side of things. This poem doesn’t consist of many literary devices, but Stallings uses her choice of words to make the reader give thought to the text, and to the story being told of Persephone and Hades. The structure of the poem also helps to better understand the actual meaning of the poem. As you read this “quiz” everything gets very abstract and your options become harder and harder to choose from.
Persephone, Hades’ wife, is the goddess of spring and the Queen of the underworld. She resides in the underworld for only six months of the year due to Hades kidnapping her. She was told not to eat anything for then she would have to remain in the underworld. While in the underworld, Persephone consumed six pomegranate seeds. Her mother Demeter, goddess of agriculture, threw a fit. Demeter complained to her brother Zeus. To be fair, Zeus stated that Persephone would have to remain in the underworld one month per seed each year. So, Persephone now resides in the underworld six months out of every year.
Grant, Michael, and John Hazel. "Athena." Gods and Mortals in Classical Mythology. Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam, 1973. Print.
... participants did not wear crowns or eat pomegranate seeds that had touched the ground because Persephone had been stolen while gathering flowers, and because she had eaten the pomegranate seeds in the underworld (Foley, 72/Taylor 1995).
Keenan, Sheila. Gods, Goddesses, and Monsters: An Encyclopedia of World Mythology. New York: Scholastic, 2000.
Hades shows himself to Perseus and with the rage of what Hades has done to Perseus, Perseus grabs a lighnting bolt from his sword and throws it at Hades sending him back to the underworld. Saving Andromeda and she offered to make him king and he had refused. Zeus asked if he wanted to join him in Olympus but refused and requested to stay a demi-god but Zeus granted him Io as a companion. In the story according to the Greeks Danae is the daughter of King Acrisius. When he had them put in a box and thrown into the ocean and saved by the fisherman named Dictys they both were still alive and Danae ended up falling in love with Dictys and they were married. Dictys’ brother King Polydectes wanted to take Danae as his wife, Perseus hearing the news he offered to pay any price for his mother not to marry King Polydectes. Sense Polydectes was afraid of Perseus he quickly made an offer that he will allow his mother to stay married to Dictys, only if he brings back the head of Medusa. Bravely, Perseus accepted his