Essay: Metamorphoses

Foolish as Love

It is a generally assumed belief that love is a wonderful and precious experience to go through that leads to happiness. From stories by Shakespeare to Hallmark movies to trashy love songs, the idea of love is highly valued and praised in most societies. However, Ovid has a more pessimistic view about experiencing this sensation. The tales in Metamorphoses by Ovid, translated by Charles Martin, focus on the idea of love. The stories written in Metamorphoses show the stupidity and fallacious attempts at love when love becomes the destroyer of peace and happiness for those involved. Almost every tale in this collection of stories features people and gods who in their rapture for others, act hastily and foolishly to accomplish their goals. Not only does Ovid show this flawed logic towards love but a majority of the relationships conveyed in the stories show couples that are unequal in their devotions, thus mocking their feelings.

In the story of Apollo and Daphne, Apollo falls in love with Daphne, who does not share his feelings in the slightest. “Daphne, the daughter of the river god Peneus, was the first love of Apollo; this happened not by chance, but by the cruel outrage of Cupid.” (Apollo and Daphne, I 628-631) His feelings for her were so strong that he chased after her, pleading for love. His pursuit terrified the girl. “I am stalking you because of love!” (Apollo and Daphne, I 701) In fact, she becomes so afraid of his strong devotions, that she pleads her father for a merciful ending, so her father transforms her into a tree to protect her virginity. “Loving her still, the god puts his right hand against the trunk, and even now can feel her heart as it beats under the new bark; he hugs her limbs as if they were still human, and then he puts his lips against the wood, which, even now, is adverse to his kiss.” (Apollo and Daphne, I 763-768) After she becomes a tree, Apollo still refuses to give up his love for her therefore as a tree she becomes his possession. This story is clearly mocking Apollo’s love for Daphne as his feelings are disregarded and feared. Daphne gave up her life as a human as a consequence of being loved by a god. By the end of the story, both Apollo and Daphne are damaged by love. Apollo must now face the misery of never having Daphne as his bride but rather as a tree, while Daphne was forced to lose her humanity due to Apollo’s love. This love ruined both of their lives, causing them distress and to be made objects of laughter for others.

In the story “Narcissus and Echo”, the love that Echo has is completely rejected by Narcissus. Echo is eternally punished to remain alone by the curse of the gods. Narcissus on the other hand has such high standards for what he wants due to his attractiveness that he disregards all that meet him. “[And] Echo gave her heart with her reply, ‘Come! Together!’ And leapt out of the woods, eager to give her words a little help by swiftly embracing the desired neck; he flees, and fleeing cries, ‘Hands off! No hugs! I’ll die before you’ll have your way with me!’” (Narcissus and Echo, III 499-504) Echo falls in love with Narcissus and due to his nature, he blows her off and tells her to leave him alone. His act of pushing her away crushes her spirit as she has such high feelings towards him. When he rebuked her love, it was almost as if he was judging her for her feelings and mocking her for believing that they would get her anywhere. This act of cruelty is common in Ovid’s stories, showing that when love is unequally shared between people, it can only cause pain. However, Narcissus’ tragedy did not end here. Since he was unable to love another person due to his unjustifiable high standards, he ended up falling in love with his own reflection. “How many times, in vain, he leans to kiss the pool’s deceptive surface or to plunge his arms into the water, keen to clasp the neck he glimpses but cannot embrace; and ignorant of what it is he looks at, he burns for what he sees there all the same, aroused by the illusion that deceives him.” (Narcissus, III 551-557) Narcissus took pride in his own self-worth and ego so much that eventually the only thing that he viewed as worthy of his time was his own self. This obsession lead to his demise as the prophecy said that he would live until he knew himself. The experience that Narcissus went through emotionally when he found himself was not love, but rather an inflation that ended up consuming his humanity, making a mockery out of his dignity.

In quite a few of the stories, when one loves another too strongly, it causes them to act without reason, leading those involved into terrible situations. In the story “Jove and Io”, Jupiter, also called Jove, is so overcome with lust for Io that he hunts her down and in a moment of passion, rapes her. “But run she did, through Lerna and Lyrcea, until the god concealed the land entirely beneath a dense dark mist and seized her and dishonored her.” (Jove and Io, I 829-832) Io did not want to be an object of affection for Jupiter, but she became one due to his ability to cheat in love as a god. Seeing as Jupiter is married to Juno, he then had to disguise Io as a cow to protect her from the goddess. Juno knew what had occurred and thus decided to punish Io by forcing her to remain a cow under permanent close watch. “Love surely would have triumphed over shame, except that to deny so slight a gift to one who was his wife and sister both would make it seem that this was no mere cow!” (Jove and Io, I 861-864) Thus, Io’s life was destined to conclude as a cow. Io did not want to lay with Jupiter, she did not want to be a cow. However, the desires of the gods were forced upon her and as a consequence she held no control over her own life. The love that Jupiter felt for her was all physical but his lust was strong enough that they engaged in a loveless act of love.

Not all stories in Metamorphoses show relationships between individuals who hold different amounts of love for the other. In “Pyramus and Thisbe”, the two are equal in their affections. However, this story does mock love as well. “Proximity saw to it that this couple would get acquainted; soon, they fell in love, and wedding torches would have flared for them had both their parents not forbidden it, although they weren’t able to prevent two captive hearts from burning equally.” (Pyramus and Thisbe, IV 92-97) Thisbe and Pyramus are restricted from holding their affections by the society around themselves. This limit on their devotions causes strain within their union and thus they decide to run away together so that they can love without consequence. In a strange turn of events, Thisbe’s shawl gets mauled by a lion, Pyramus assumes her death and thus offers himself up to the lions, and Thisbe returns to find his bleeding body. “You’ve lost your life by your own hand and by your love for me! In my hand too, there’s strength to do the same, and love that will give power to my stroke!” (Pyramus and Thisbe, IV 205-208) In this story, it shows a tragedy of love through miscommunication. Pyramus thinks his bride is dead and thus decides he cannot live without her, so why not die. Thisbe sees his act in action and becomes so remorseful that she commits suicide as well. Their affections towards each other are so strong that they act without reasoning first and think in ultimatums. This type of attitude expressed by the couple shows how irrational and passionated love can become.

In many relationships, one of the participants eventually becomes consumed by jealousy and feelings of inadequacy. When this occurs, tensions often arise in the relationship causing friction that leads to all sorts of problems. In the story “Juno, Jove, and Semele”, Juno teased Semele about Semele’s insecurities with Jupiter until Semele decided to prove her worth by participating in an activity, seeing Jupiter in his full glory, that she physically could not handle. “[But] she, whose mortal body could not bear such heavenly excitement, burst into flames and was incinerated by Jove’s gift. Her child was torn out of her womb unfinished, and—this part is scarcely credible—was sewn into his father’s thigh, where he was brought to term.” (Juno, Jove, and Semele, III 397-402) Because Semele did not trust the love that was shared between Jupiter and herself, she tested the limits of what was acceptable behavior in their relationship which lead to her ultimate death. Because Jupiter loved Semele, he went along with her desire even though he knew that it would kill her. With her death came their child, Bacchus, who eventually became a god. The future of her son mocks the separation between humans and gods. Semele died due to the fact that she could not see a god in his true glory, yet her son transformed himself into a god that became worshipped for wine and group frenzies.

Sometimes love occurs between people that it should not due to their constant interactions and level of intimacy. When their actions are found out, they are normally reacted to negatively. In “Mars and Venus”, Vulcan finds out about his traitorous wife and thus devises a plan to capture the lovers in the act. “He spread it craftily across the bed, and when his wife and her gallant had come together on the couch, by her husband’s art and by the chains he’d cleverly devised, the two of them were caught in the very act, clinging together in mutual embrace.” (Mars and Venus, IV 247-252) This is a just another example of forbidden love gone wrong. However, in some regards this story is actually worse. While trapped in a net exposed to the world, Vulcan had other gods come witness the scene and mock the couple, publicly exposing them to everyone, shaming them for loving another.

Rape is often the consequence of strong one-sided love in Ovid’s stories. In “The Fountain of Salmacis”, Salmacis was an abnormal naiad who liked to be fickle. She wanted to be with Hermaphroditus after finding him to be attractive but he refused her advances so she forced him upon herself when he entered a pool to bathe. “[And] though he fights her, holds him in her clutches, seizing the kisses he is loath to yield; her hands surprise him, coming from below, caressing that reluctant breast of his— although he strives to tear himself away, the nymph—now here, now there— surrounds her prey. (The Fountain of Salmacis, IV 492-497) When Salmacis tried to rape Hermaphroditus, the two become conjoined together and become a fountain because Salmacis asked the gods to join them together forever. The fountain is now known for making men more effeminate as Hermaphroditus was a man raped by a female. Like Io, his life was completely controlled by the gods and their desires. Salmacis wanted him, tried to take him, and then forced him to become and remain in a form that was not his choice due to Salmacis' desires.

Ovid views love and the actions that people take when they are in love as a joke. In his stories in Metamorphoses, every couple falls victim to their love for each other, making the result of having loved a repercussion. Daphne became a tree because of Apollo, Echo was left abandoned for a reflection, Jove forced Io to live as a cow, Pyramus and Thisbe committed suicide for each other, Jove killed Semele due to her inferiority complex, Mars and Venus were publicly shamed, and Hermaphroditus became part of a fountain due to Salmacis’ lustful desires. No story of love ended well in Ovid’s collection of tales. In fact, the love that occurred in these relationships often destroyed their chances at a normal life. Their love diluted their senses, forced them to act rashly, and act in ultimatums that caused long-term problems for those involved. This harsh outlook on the idea of love that is normally viewed so positively forces the question, What happened to Ovid during his love life to make him such a pessimist?

Works Cited

Ovid. Metamorphoses. Trans. Charles Martin. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005. Print.