So many inferences to make from the tale of Narcissus to our current political scene. Appreciation for spectacle over substance has been a developing theme for some time, and in that, we become complicit. Our lust for reality television. Our search for heroes. Our vicarious admiration for those who accumulate wealth.
I wonder about Echo. What happened to her after Narcissus perished? And Liriope? Interesting that the plant we name after her is sturdy and, once established, very hard to remove.
I also wonder about what the Narcissus flower tells us, the one that sprang up after its namesake died. Dare I hope that it wants to teach us that something new and more beautiful can emerge — if we learn from the fall?
Hmmm.. Yes, I agree that we are complicit. We all gaze into the silver-clear pool of capitalism? I feel another post coming on...
Sorry story about Echo. For some reason she was punished by a goddess, condemned to only repeat what she has heard. Narcissus rebuffs her approaches (annoyed, I guess, at her persistence repetition), so she pines away until:
"Nothing but voice and bones she now retains,
These turn to stones, but still the voice remains"
No word on Liriope. Except "stubborn" and "everywhere." Good ground cover for our slopes.
The purpose of myths, we are told, is to explain why things are a certain way. "That's why narcissus flowers are found along streams and lakes" is the 'lesson' of the Narcissus myth.
Maybe that's the difference between a fable and a myth. The former is very clear about delivering a moral; the latter less so.
So many inferences to make from the tale of Narcissus to our current political scene. Appreciation for spectacle over substance has been a developing theme for some time, and in that, we become complicit. Our lust for reality television. Our search for heroes. Our vicarious admiration for those who accumulate wealth.
I wonder about Echo. What happened to her after Narcissus perished? And Liriope? Interesting that the plant we name after her is sturdy and, once established, very hard to remove.
I also wonder about what the Narcissus flower tells us, the one that sprang up after its namesake died. Dare I hope that it wants to teach us that something new and more beautiful can emerge — if we learn from the fall?
Hmmm.. Yes, I agree that we are complicit. We all gaze into the silver-clear pool of capitalism? I feel another post coming on...
Sorry story about Echo. For some reason she was punished by a goddess, condemned to only repeat what she has heard. Narcissus rebuffs her approaches (annoyed, I guess, at her persistence repetition), so she pines away until:
"Nothing but voice and bones she now retains,
These turn to stones, but still the voice remains"
No word on Liriope. Except "stubborn" and "everywhere." Good ground cover for our slopes.
The purpose of myths, we are told, is to explain why things are a certain way. "That's why narcissus flowers are found along streams and lakes" is the 'lesson' of the Narcissus myth.
Maybe that's the difference between a fable and a myth. The former is very clear about delivering a moral; the latter less so.
Thanks for the thoughtful thought!