Two Abandoned Women From Different Eras- Emma Henry
Esch is reading Edith Hamilton’s Mythology for her summer reading, and she continually makes references to the story of Medea. After reading Hamilton’s telling of “The Golden Fleece” and poring through Ward’s novel, choose a moment in the novel when Ward draws a connection between Esch and Medea either implicitly or explicitly. Include the passage from the novel and explain why you think this mythological allusion is important at that point in the text. What does the allusion reveal about character, setting, central themes?
"I am slapping him, over and over, my hands a flurry, a black blur... I slap so hard my hands hurt 'I love you!' 'Esch!' The skin on his throat is red, his scar white. 'I loved you!' I hit his Adam's apple with the V where my thumb and pointer finger cross. He chokes. 'I loved you!' This is Medea wielding the knife. This is Medea cutting. I rake my fingernails across his face, leave pink scratches that turn red, fill with blood." (204)
The allusion to Medea in this passage is important because it refers to Medea killing Jason's new wife that he abandoned Medea for. In the myth, Jason tells Medea that his promise of marriage after she saved him was foolish and that she should feel lucky that he persuaded the King of Corinth to merely exile and not kill her when she said she wanted to kill Jason's new wife. After Jason tells Medea that she must leave and he offers her some gold out of pity, she refused and he says her stubborn pride always kept them apart. This angers Medea further and drives her to kill Jason's bride with a flaming dress. This connects to Esch beating Manny up because she too is taking revenge for being abandoned after Manny walks away from her and tells her she can't prove her baby is his because she is "a slut". In the myth, Jason's bride represents Jason's unfaithfulness which is why Medea decides to go after her instead of Jason. Manny, however, has only abandoned Esch because he doesn't want the responsibility of a child so she chooses to go after him since his thoughts are where the abandonment has arisen from. This reveals to readers that Esch, like Medea, is willing to take revenge for the injustices others have done to her. It also shows to readers that Esch, like Medea, is willing to give up on her loved one when he gives up on her. This is an important development in Esch's growth as a character because it proves she will no longer be submissive, like she has constantly been for Manny and Randall's other friends, and challenge the notion her society has placed upon her that women must be devoted and dutiful, even to those that hurt them.
This is an oil painting of Jason and Medea entitled Jason and Medea. It was painted by John William Waterhouse in 1907 and depicts Medea creating the ointment that will make Jason invincible while he yokes the bronze bulls and fights the skeleton warriors by order of Aeëtes.
Image Sources:
https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-william-waterhouse/jason-and-medea-1907
http://www.punditcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Types-of-Natural-Disasters-Features-and-Examples.jpg
"I am slapping him, over and over, my hands a flurry, a black blur... I slap so hard my hands hurt 'I love you!' 'Esch!' The skin on his throat is red, his scar white. 'I loved you!' I hit his Adam's apple with the V where my thumb and pointer finger cross. He chokes. 'I loved you!' This is Medea wielding the knife. This is Medea cutting. I rake my fingernails across his face, leave pink scratches that turn red, fill with blood." (204)
The allusion to Medea in this passage is important because it refers to Medea killing Jason's new wife that he abandoned Medea for. In the myth, Jason tells Medea that his promise of marriage after she saved him was foolish and that she should feel lucky that he persuaded the King of Corinth to merely exile and not kill her when she said she wanted to kill Jason's new wife. After Jason tells Medea that she must leave and he offers her some gold out of pity, she refused and he says her stubborn pride always kept them apart. This angers Medea further and drives her to kill Jason's bride with a flaming dress. This connects to Esch beating Manny up because she too is taking revenge for being abandoned after Manny walks away from her and tells her she can't prove her baby is his because she is "a slut". In the myth, Jason's bride represents Jason's unfaithfulness which is why Medea decides to go after her instead of Jason. Manny, however, has only abandoned Esch because he doesn't want the responsibility of a child so she chooses to go after him since his thoughts are where the abandonment has arisen from. This reveals to readers that Esch, like Medea, is willing to take revenge for the injustices others have done to her. It also shows to readers that Esch, like Medea, is willing to give up on her loved one when he gives up on her. This is an important development in Esch's growth as a character because it proves she will no longer be submissive, like she has constantly been for Manny and Randall's other friends, and challenge the notion her society has placed upon her that women must be devoted and dutiful, even to those that hurt them.
This is an oil painting of Jason and Medea entitled Jason and Medea. It was painted by John William Waterhouse in 1907 and depicts Medea creating the ointment that will make Jason invincible while he yokes the bronze bulls and fights the skeleton warriors by order of Aeëtes.
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At the end of Salvage the Bones, Esch reminds me most of a powerful wave. Throughout the book, tensions about Manny, her pregnancy, her father, and Katrina build and build upon Esch, turning her life into a growing surge. As stress and her crumbling life finally become too much, she eventually crashes. This crash, a wave a fury, is released on Manny when he refuses to believe Esch's child is his. She shows her raw power and anger by attacking Manny. After the crash, Esch's anger subsides like a wave and is replaced by a keen understanding that Manny no longer matters to her and she must continue on like the endless waves on the shore.
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Image Sources:
https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-william-waterhouse/jason-and-medea-1907
http://www.punditcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Types-of-Natural-Disasters-Features-and-Examples.jpg
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