The Myth Of Persephone in "Hadestown."

I’ve written many posts on Tumblr where I analyze various print and media versions of The Myth of Persephone born out of a specific fascination I have with the myth and mythology in general (and a book writing related reason) under the tag “The Persephone Project.” For a year I have also been unable to stop talking about and occasionally posting about the musical “Hadestown.” However, I realized yesterday as I listened to the musical for the first time in many months that I have never analyzed The Myth of Persephone as it exists in “Hadestown.” Yes, “Hadestown” is actually about The Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice but because the musical elevates the characters of Hades and Persephone to main character status and their relationship, and more specifically the changes that their relationship has gone through over time, is such a prominent feature in the musical as it is a foil to the relationship between Orpheus and Eurydice, The Myth of Persephone had to be addressed at least a little for context.

The “Hadestown” version of The Myth of Persephone is actually one of only two that I’ve seen where Demeter, Persephone’s mother, is entirely absent. I don’t just mean she isn’t physically in the show, but she is only alluded to twice and one of those times is a play on words that is clearly meant to evoke the more common versions of the myth without necessarily addressing her directly. That “joke” time is from Hades in “Chant” when he says, “Someone grateful for her fate/Someone who appreciates/The comforts of a gilded cage/And doesn’t try to fly away/The moment Mother Nature calls.” Obviously, Mother Nature is Demeter in this scenario but in this kind of Demeter-less universe Hades could just be more vaguely gripping about Persephone’s job and how she has to leave him to bring about spring and how he wishes he had someone who could stay with him all year round. In Greek Mythology the true Mother Nature is actually not Demeter but Gaia, who is actually the grandmother of Hades and Demeter, but that’s another path this argument could go down. Either way, the comment is more of a shout out than a direct addressing of the presence of Demeter in the “Hadestown” universe.

The second time Demeter is mentioned is much more direct but mentioning her almost doesn’t relate to the myth at all. In “Epic III” later on in the show, Orpheus is trying to convince Hades to let him and Eurydice leave by reminding him of what it was like for him to be young and in love by painting the image of the first time he saw Persephone “in her mother’s garden.” The fact that Persephone was in her mother’s garden in this scenario is not particularly significant to the story aside from the fact that it conveys the idea that Persephone was younger. She was young and therefore still lived in her mother’s garden: symbolically unwed.

Any discussion of the actual Myth of Persephone is completely absent of Demeter and any other players who sometimes feature in the myth like Zeus, Hecate, Hermes, and Helios. Orpheus lays out the myth very broadly in “Epic I” when he says, “Lady Persephone half of the year was bound to stay down in the Underworld.” There is no mention of Hades kidnapping her, no mention of pomegranate seeds, no mention of Demeter causing winter, and no mention of deals made.

Whenever Persephone discusses the formation of her relationship with Hades it is always very positive and seems to lack complications or any kind of deals. In “Chant” she says to Hades, “I recall there was a time/We were happy, you and I/In the garden where we met/Nothing was between us yet.” Early on in the show, this evokes the idea of a mutually formed relationship that has only soured with time. Persephone gets more explicit about it (ha) in “Chant II” when she tells Eurydice the specifics under the guise of giving her advice,

“Love was when he came to me
Begging on his bended knee
To please have pity on his heart
And let him lay me in the dirt

I felt his arms around me then
We didn’t need a wedding bed
Dark seeds scattered on the ground
The wild birds were flying around

That’s when I became his wife
But that was in another life
That was in another world
When I was a young girl.”

The story of her marriage is simple through her explanation: they met, later he asked her to marry him, they had sex as a consummation of their marriage, and that is what started the arrangement of her spending half her time in the Underworld. Without Demeter to fight for half her time while her husband claims the other half, the implied narrative is very different.

In this narrative, we can assume that the world’s nature state is one of winter and that it is through the work of Persephone specifically that we have seasons. Her decision to marry the King of the Underworld meant that she was committing herself to him, and as such, must give up some of her time to be with him in order for them to have a real marriage. You could say this is still sexist, like the original narrative can be, but realistically Hades has a higher status as an older god and a king and actually would be completely unable to abandon his job as King of the Underworld to spend time with her. His job is constant, which is why Hades is often portrayed in more original-myth-accurate media as being overworked and tired a lot. While there are no flowers or warm weather in Persephone’s absence, there is not a complete destruction of order like there would be if Hades left his job to spend six months with his wife. People be dying always.

This also kind of allows Persephone’s dual nature to be fully shown in a way a lot of myths neglect because of Persephone’s usual lack of agency. It is not Demeter that brings on cold and death in winter but Persephone herself through her choices. She was draw to the darkness in Hades, “hungry for the Underworld” as she calls it, and thus became a force of death herself half the time when she isn’t a force of life. In “How Long” she reflects on the cyclical nature of her job and really, the necessity of the life and death cycle that her marriage to Hades causes with a kind of acceptance.

Ultimately, the “Hadestown” version of The Myth of Persephone may be one of the best ones even if it’s one of the least accurate as it lacks basically all the major iconic components of the myth. I’ve complained in the past about how Demeter often ends up becoming the most focused on character in the Myth of Persephone with Persephone often given little development or even regulated to an object to be bartered for. When you remove Demeter from the narrative, Persephone increases in both importance and agency and the true nature of her character and what makes her so interesting is revealed.

“Hadestown” is so brilliant, I can barely even deal with it.

2018 Potentially Oscar Nominated Movies

I feel like every year I go into writing this post thinking there were a few good movies that really made the year worth it, but this year I'm just underwhelmed. I saw a lot of good movies; I'm not denying that. The problem is very few movies really affected me. My "Loved" list is short this year. Looking at last year's "Loved" list, I'm actually kind of sad by how much better those movies were than the overall list this year, but I don't know. Maybe I'm missing something here.

Also, I actually don't have a "Movies I Don't Care About" list. I can't find any really nominated films that I just don't want to see. I just went ahead and watched them all for better or worse.

Movies I Still Need To See:
* A Fantastic Woman
* God's Own Country
* The Square

Movies with a + were not nominated for Oscars.

Previous Years: 2017 2016  2015  2014  2013  2012  2011


Movies I Loved:

Get Out: It's kind of sad to think that I saw this at the beginning of the year and barely anything has come close to being this good.

The Shape Of Water: Although here's a contender. I love this movie and kind of love everything Guillermo Del Toro has made. I just have an issue with the pacing or something? And I do with all his movies. Maybe I just want more so they seem to go too fast.

The Florida Project: Sad thought: this is one of the best movies of the year but it NEVER would have been nominated for best picture because of what it's about. 

I. Tonya: Speaking of movies that should have been nominated for best picture and weren't. Normally I'm not a particular fan of biopics but this one is unique and crazy well-acted.

Lady Bird: This one was nominated for best picture and it is solid even if it gives me horrible high school flashbacks.

Wonder Woman: This is basically a perfect superhero movie in every single way.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Sorry. This was amazing, and haters can leave.

The Disaster Artist: A good story, well told. 

Coco: A kid movie about death is so my jam. I also cried deeply.

A Ghost Story+: This was one of the best movies of last year that no one saw. No pun intended, but there are scenes of this movie that continue to haunt me.

Your Name+: What a strange oversight that this film wasn't nominated for best animated film. I mean I'm glad Coco is going to win with no real competition, but this movie is astoundingly good.


Movies I Really Liked:

Mudbound: Not sure how the narration worked for me but man, this movie is compelling.

Three Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri: Martin McDough movies are all good to me, but this one kind of felt like his weakest. Great characterization, as is true of all his films.

Call Me By Your Name: This movie is very pretty and appeals to the senses well but a voice in the back of my head kept talking about how Elio is only 17, and it made watching the movie difficult at times.

Dunkirk: The cinemotography is great, but there was something about the structure that did not come together for me.

Baby Driver: The use of music was amazing. Very fun.

The Big Sick: Everything good you've heard about this movie is accurate. It's got the humor and sads in the right amounts.

Raw+: Twisted premise, good use of music, good cinematography and direction. I expect good things from this director.

Detroit+: This film was a stressful experience, and I was on the edge of my seat.

Gook+: A fine independent film.

Lady Macbeth+: I love the quiet horror of this movie.

Ingrid Goes West+: This might be the most 2017 film of the year.

The Killing Of A Sacred Deer+: Not as good as last year's "The Lobster" but still quality weirdnss.

A Quiet Passion+: Good biopic. Funnier than expected too.

A United Kingdom+: I'm a sucker for historical films and Rosamund Pike and this was a pretty feel good movie.

Their FInest+: See above minus Rosamund Pike.

Thor: Ragnarock+: I'm checked out of Marvel films for the most part but I watched this one because it was funny and because I would bang basically everyone in the cast. Worth it, but I did have a very low quality download of it so i kind of feel like I may need to watch it again.


Movies I Liked:

Darkest Hour: Joe Wright is a great director and the performances in this movie are great, but overall this movie is wildly unmemorable. 

Beauty And The Beast: There was a lot of not-good about this movie ("Be Our Guest" is cringe) but it's very pretty and Luke Evans killed it.

Girls Trip+: When I laughed, I laughed like mad. They lost me at the potty humor. The end was beautiful though.

The Beguiled+: I love creepy Victorian stuff and studies in power. Like Girls Trip this one is kind of in between "Really Liked" and "Liked."

Atomic Blonde+: I have no idea what the plot was, but I want to make love to the aesthetic of this movie.

I don't feel at home in this world anymore.+: I've been told I look like Melanie Lynsky. That has nothing to do with the film, but I don't have much to say about the film. It's quirky and enjoyable.

The Girl With All The Gifts+: This movie started strong and kind of got weaker as time went on. The ending was quite a twist though.

Score+: This is a perfectly competent film about movie scores.

Descendents 2+: Watched this on bad movie night. It's the gayest movie I've ever seen and deep down I love it, but it's not good.


Movies I Thought Were Okay:

Phantom Thread: What was this exactly? I feel like Paul Thomas Anderson made one decent film (There Will be Blood) and everything else has just been meh. This film was pretty visually but too long, and it took way too long to reach anything resembling a point.

The Post: This movie was fine, yay Meryl Steep and all that, but Spielburg puts me to sleep even more as time goes on. I feel like this got a best picture nomination because of clout and timeliness more than anything else.

Lady Bloodfight+: This was a bad movie pick that ended up not being bad. It was just like a female Blood Sport.


Movies I Didn't Like:

Fifty Shades Darker+: Looking back, why did I even watch this?

Wish Upon+: This was a bad movie night pick. Highly amusing.

Turf War+: Also bad movie night. Also highly amusing.