While Janie presents a digression from what is expected of a character who follows the line of Persephone, Isabella, and her oppressive relationship with Heathcliff, are both flawless representations of the use of the descent to hell in Wuthering Heights. Emily Brontë’s novel, Wuthering Heights, effectively employs the use of a descent into hell through the tyrannical reign of Heathcliff over Isabella because this leads to the readers’ full understanding of the failed marriage between the two individuals. The relationship between Heathcliff and Isabella, while one sided, accurately reflects the same elements present within the relationship of Hades and Persephone. Both Hades and Heathcliff are regarded to be tyrannical males whose oppressive …show more content…
Her time spent with Hades proves that his oppressive nature only adds more to her powerlessness; therefore, she yearns to return to how things used to be. To satisfy both parties, Hades and Persephone, Hades agrees to a compromise set by Zeus because of the failure of crops caused by Persephone's mother’s distress. Persephone can see her mother and return to her world for two seasons, Summer and Spring, for the year, however, when the time of either Winter or Fall, Persephone must return to her captivity in the underworld. While Isabella is not given an alternative option in avoiding Heathcliff’s abuse, she begins to express her discontent with the status of the marriage. Like Persephone, initially, Isabella did not voice her qualms associated with being in a marriage with Heathcliff, however, as time went on, she gained the ability to be more rebellious. Due to the fact that Isabella wrote her letter to Nelly and explained what exactly was happening at Wuthering Heights, this can be seen as a parallel to Demeter’s plea to Zeus for the safe return of her daughter. Moreover, the very basics to Isabella and Heathcliff’s relationship also draws a connection to Hades and Persephone. Because Heathcliff kept Isabella captive in Wuthering Heights
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).
Anyone that eats or drinks in the underworld will be forced to stay there forever. Persephone eats the seeds knowing the rules and is subjected return to Hades and the underworld every year. With eating of the seeds, it is told that Persephone’s experienced her first encounter with sexuality and loss of maidenhood. The myth goes on to say, that every year when Persephone returns to Hades, Demeter makes the world dry and barren.
Both Demeter and Penelope lose a loved one because of the schemes of the gods. In the Hymn to Demeter, Zeus gives Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, as a wife to Hades, who kidnaps her and takes her to the Underworld. When she discovers Persephone’s fate from Helios, Demeter is bereaved. “But a more terrible and savage grief
Life has always been an important theme of literature. As mortals, we are preoccupied with the short amount of time we have available to us. While there are many aspects of life that are important to all living beings, certain themes presented in the texts are the bonds between loved ones and the importance of agriculture. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter presents life as something to be enjoyed and cherished, as it may soon be taken away from us. In the case of hymn, even as a goddess, Persephone was still taken from her mother, the goddess Demeter, to the underworld. As life is short, the text demonstrates that the bond between a mother and her child, as well as a woman and her friends, should be strong. Relationships between the mother and the child are highly emphasized in this text, as Demeter mourns Persephone's descent into the underworld to the point that she is willing to end the lives of humankind by keeping the harvest from growing and causing all vegetation to die. "For mortals she ordained...
‘Demeter’ is a poem about the story of Demeter. "Demeter was the goddess of harvest and Persephone was the goddess of springtime. Hades, the lord of the underworld, kidnapped Persephone. Hades fell in love with Persephone and asked Zeus to help him kidnap her so she could become his bride. The crops started to wilt and humans couldn't grow crops anymore. However Zeus told Hermes to bring back Persephone and to make sure she didn't eat any food from the Underworld. Hermes fetched Persephone. But before she left, Hades convinced her to eat 6 pomegranate seeds. Hermes made a compromise and said Persephone had to stay in the Underworld as Hades wife for six months. That's why there are seasons. In the fall and winter, Persephone goes down into the Underworld and Demeter mourns. In the summer and spring, she comes back and Demeter rejoices. " (1)
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.
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.
One of her first tries to kill the little girl, is sending the huntsman after. She demands him by saying “I never want to see her again. Kill her, and as proof that she is dead bring her lungs and her liver back to me” (“Little Snow-White” 1). The huntsman fails to do as she asked, so she then tries to choke her, poison her with a comb and finally poisons her with a red apple, all these actions and qualities make her an evil character. Both devil figures want to prove they are the ones in control or that they are more superior than the others, like how Hades wants to get rid of Zeus to become the one in control of the world, and the queen wanting to get rid of Little Snow-White to become the most beautiful woman in town. The difference between them is that Hades is tricked by Zeus and he is left in the underworld by himself, his actions are to take revenge from his brother for all the misery he feels. While the queen’s actions are just because of her jealousy from Little Snow-White and to be the fairest
According to “Persephone, Demeter, and Hades” It starts off with “Persephone who is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture (farming). Hades who is her uncle, abducts Persephone while she was picking flowers with her companions in a meadow.” According to “Classical Mythology” it states “Hades had other plans for Persephone: he would steal her innocence and virginity and turn her into the dreaded goddess of the Underworld.” It also states how “Persephone was gathering flowers one day on a plain in Sicily. Hades appeared, thundering across the plain in his four-horse chariot. The god then jumped down upon Persephone, and scooped her up with one arm. After abducting her, he carries her off to the Underworld. Demeter who is Persephone’s mother soon came to retrieve her daughter, but was unable to find a trace of Persephone. She traveled to the corners of the earth, searching for nine full days and nights without ever stopping to eat, drink, bathe, or rest. Demeter was in a fury so in retaliation she destroyed lands, crops, and livestock as she complained to the loss of her daughter. She threatened to make the earth unproductive forever and thus destroy all of humankind if she did not find her
Numerous lively heroes ventured into Persephone’s clutches with the hopes of beating death, yet she explains that despite their god-like strength they too will die. Two such heroes were Theseus and Pirithous. When Theseus and Pirithous attempted to kidnap the Queen of the Underworld she enticed them to sit in the chair of forgetfulness where their flesh fused to the cushions and refused to relinquish them (Taylor 268). Persephone appears many times to offer food, drink, or rest to weary heroes in the underworld in order to trap them there forever in the same manner that Hades tricked her (Taylor, 268). Because of Persephone and Hades’ antics many people hated them as gods, but Persephone’s cruelty serves as a reminder that while death is necessary it is not always kind. In the same manner that Persephone accepted her fate, mortals must also accept their own imminent
The parallels between the protagonists, Laura and Persephone, are quite evident. First and foremost, Laura’s mother, Mrs. Sheridan, stands as a counterpart for Demeter, Persephone’s mother. Mrs. Sheridan chose to pass down her black hat to Laura, the youngest of all of her children (Masfield 251). Laura and her mother share an intimate relationship that mirrors that of Persephone and Demeter. This display of affection expresses how comfortable mother and daughter are around each other. Mrs. Sheridan thinks highly of Laura, she sees her as a mature young lady. In comparison, when Persephone is whisked away to the Underworld without her consent, Demeter is overcome with grief and depression. Demeter’s life was centered on Persephone; she had the sensation that something was the matter. When he daughter vanished, Demeter lost her sense of direction. In addition, bot...
In a society in which social position was vital for having a successful family, the Greek and Roman families internally struggled with one another. This constant conflict stems from the father’s desire for control and the society’s high placement of power. In the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone, Zeus’s interest for his selfish gains prompts him to “ ( give ) Persephone to the Lord of Dead to become his queen “ ( Rosenberg Demeter 96). Zeus does not ask Persephone nor Demeter, his beloved wife, presenting that he does not show any opinions on their feelings. Although Zeus in reality just wanted to have a powerful family with the addition of Hades, his love for power overrode his love for his family and created a tension between the other members and him. In another Greek myth, Jason and the Golden Fleece, shows man’s love for supremacy through ...
In Ovid Metamorphoses, the Roman literature described the ruthless act of Pluto of rape, to seize and carry away Proserpine without the consent of Ceres and in parallel in the Homeric Hymns of Demeter; Persephone was seized and carried away by Hades without the consent of Demeter. The invariant theme that was identified in both the Greek and Roman literature was the loss of innocence of Persephone/Proserpine. Despite the various differences the story was presented, it reinforced the innocence that was stolen from the god of the underworld, Hades or also known as Pluto. Throughout this paper, it will discuss the similar characteristics of the two myths such as the motive that led and encouraged the god of the underworld to kidnap Persephone/Proserpine, and the aftermath caused by the grief of the mother of the abducted Persephone/Proserpine. The paper will also discuss the differences between the two literatures, such as the involvement of other gods and goddesses.
A multitude of feelings and sentiments can move a man to action, but in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, love and revenge are the only two passions powerful enough to compel the primary actors. There is consensus, in the academic community,1 that the primary antagonist in the novel, Heathcliff is largely motivated by a wanton lust for vengeance, and it is obvious from even a cursory reading that Edgar Linton, one of the protagonists, is mostly compelled by a his seemingly endless love for his wife, and it even seems as if this is reflected in the very nature of the characters themselves. For example, Heathcliff is described as “Black-eye[d]” [Brontë,1], “Dark skinned” [Brontë, 3] and a “dirty boy” [Brontë, 32]; obviously, black has sinister connotations, and darkness or uncleanliness in relation to the soul is a common metaphor for evil. On the converse, Edgar Linton is described as blue eyed with a perfect forehead [Brontë, 34] and “soft featured… [with] a figure almost too graceful” [Brontë, 40], which has almost angelic connotations. When these features and the actions of their possessors are taken into account, it becomes clear that Edgar and Heathcliff are not merely motivated by love and revenge as most academics suggest, but rather these two men were intended by Brontë to be love and hate incarnate.