Luciano Garbati's "Medusa with the head of Perseus" 2008. Wikipedia
Content warning: discussion of rape, sexual assault
For millennia, readers and adapters of Greek mythology alike have put the hero at the center of every story: the strong man who slays the monster and wins favor with the gods. But when reframing these stories of old and putting the focus on the women who were often just used as props or prizes, a new narrative reveals itself. The Medusa myth is one example that has been re-centered on its typical antagonist, shifting the focus from Perseus’s murder of Medusa to the initial reason for Medusa’s condition—her rape by Poseidon.
In Ovid’s revered telling, the author implies that Medusa’s unparalleled beauty seduced Poseidon into assaulting her and therefore she deserved her punishment from Athena. This victim-blaming rhetoric has been pervasive for the women in Greek mythology and women throughout history. But in recent years, there has been a push to reclaim these skewed narratives and take back the image of a triumphant survivor. Her story is one of contradiction and betrayal by the gods. As Christobel Hastings wrote in her article, “The Timeless Myth of Medusa, a Rape Victim Turned Into a Monster”: “She is, in a sense, a site for our collective projections of both fear and desire: simultaneously a symbol of women’s rage and a figure sexualized by the very patriarchal forces she is seeking vengeance against.
Port Charlotte artist, Jocelyn Ortega of Moxie Tattoo, created this variation of the Medusa tattoo. https://www.tattoosbymoxie.com
The image of Medusa, which has been used to intimidate, terrorize, and warn women against “seducing” powerful men, is being re-invigorated in contemporary art and culture as a point of pride for survivors. Many survivors are taking to tattooing or otherwise adopting the image of an empowered Medusa on their bodies: “By reclaiming the Medusa identity, they are dispelling the belief that being victimized means they ought to be cursed or punished” (example image courtesy of The Center for Abuse and Rape Emergencies website).
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, Argentinian sculptural artist Luciano Garbati petitioned for his 2008 sculpture Medusa with the Head of Perseus, photographed here, to be placed in a New York City Park outside of the courthouse where Harvey Weinstein was convicted. The statue stood as a monument to the brave women who came forward and risked their reputations and careers to protect other women. The statue stood from October 2020 to April 2021 in partnership with the MWTH group, spearheaded by Garbati and Bek Andersen with the goal of “engaging the narrative habits of classical imaginaries, their role in the present culture, and visions of the future.”
Dua: The Monster’s Story follows this tradition of giving Medusa the main character moment her story deserves. But while there are plenty of examples of artistic reclamation of her story, the larger narrative around her and survivors in general still reflects the original mythology and artists still work to push us towards progress and against the status quo.
Shana Laski is the assistant director of the upcoming virtual reading of Dua: The Monster’s Story and an artistic associate with Theatre Prometheus. Born and raised in Chicago, Shana has been in DC for three years and working all over town with companies like Round House Theatre, Spooky Action, Mosaic Theatre Company, Expats Theatre, and Rorschach Theatre. She graduated with a BA in Theatre and American Studies from Wesleyan University in 2019 and is committed to telling stories that are fiercely honest, messy, and complicated. For this reason, she loves to play a well-crafted villain and can’t wait to keep championing new work in the DMV.
On November 18th, Theatre Prometheus presents a FREE digital reading of Dua: The Monster’s Story by Robin Berl. This is the last stop before our production next year, so be sure to reserve a spot and join us for this exclusive look!
Works Cited/Referenced:
Anderssen, Bek. “About.” MWTH PROJECT, Nov. 2018, www.mwthproject.com/about-1.
Bedworth, Candy. “#MeToo and the Medusa Myth.” DailyArt Magazine, 26 Oct. 2021, www.dailyartmagazine.com/metoo-and-the-medusa-myth/.
Hastings, Christobel. “The Timeless Myth of Medusa, a Rape Victim Turned into a Monster.” VICE, 9 Apr. 2018, www.vice.com/en/article/qvxwax/medusa-greek-myth-rape-victim-turned-into-a-monster.
https://carefl.org/the-medusa-tattoo/
Scholl, Heather Marie. “Medusa: A Legend of Healing.” Daughters of Medusa, Daughters of Medusa, 16 Aug. 2022, thedaughtersofmedusa.com/blog/medusa-a-legend-of-healing.
Reilly, R. C. (2021). Reclaiming My Sister, Medusa: A Critical Autoethnography About Healing From Sexual Violence Through Solidarity, Doll-Making, and Mending Myth. Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, 21(1), 80–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532708620931132