#LitLove: A Feminist Look at Persephone

The #LitLove series is a bimonthly collaborative blog event with Topaz, AnQi, Christina, and myself, wherein we each express our literary love for different books under the same overarching theme/topic/author. For a more detailed backstory, take a look at the first #LitLove post.

This month, we're switching gears and celebrating our love for Greek myths. After all, folklore is no less a worthy story than novels or poetry, isn't it?

So who is Persephone, anyways?

Oh, no one special. Just Alyssa's FAVOURITE GREEK GODDESS OF EVER.

Persephone is the daughter of Demeter, the harvest goddess, and Zeus, who is supposed to be married to Hera but whatever. One day, Hades "abducted" Persephone down to the underworld. (Some sources say Zeus was in on the plot, strangely.) Naturally, Demeter was extremely displeased and decided that winter was coming.

In a rare bout of common sense, Zeus decided to command Hades to return Persephone so Demeter would bring back spring. But because Persephone ate the pomegranate seeds of the underworld, by some strange logic of Greek gods, she must return to the underworld and Hades during winter.

Source: old unreliable me. Because I know this myth far too well.

Okay, so why do you like her story, Alyssa?

1. It's not a tragedy. I mean, take a look at her story, and it starts off pretty miserable: dad decided to let his brother abduct you (seriously, Zeus, what the heck) to the underworld, mum mopes around and sends the (above?)world into winter. Clearly Persephone is a badass for ending up on top of her situation.

2. There is so much nuance in Persephone's story. Like the idea of womanhood, in how the pomegranate seeds stain her lips red and she can't ever truly leave the underworld (or her husband) again.

Here's the question, though: did Persephone taste the seeds of her own will? Because if she didn't, and Hades forced or tricked her into it, this is actually a pretty scary metaphor. Especially when you consider he wants to marry her. In that case it becomes an awfully Grimm story with that cautionary-tale vibe.

I shall not apologise for that pun.

But let's say she did. Let's say she ate the seeds (how do you eat seeds anyways?) because she wanted to stay in the underworld (and with Hades). Let's say she ate the seeds so that the other gods couldn't manipulate her again. Let's say she ate the seeds to be a queen. It may be wishful thinking on my part—but I much prefer this interpretation.

3. Excuse me, queen of the freaking underworld.

Me whenever Persephone is brought up in normal conversation.

Persephone has even inspired me to a retelling idea.

NaNo's always a great time for plot bunnies to try and distract me. So I have a Hades/Persephone retelling, a boy with a silver tongue and a girl with a golden touch, a throw me to the wolves and i shall return leading the pack vibe, the aftermath of a revolution, and this little gem:

We become monsters for the ones we love. They might love us back, if we were not monsters.

(But no, it's still not romance. I cannot romance, and yes, that is a verb and I'm a writer.)

Sound interesting? Stay updated on my progress of my villain!Persephone retelling here:

Stay updated on Alyssa's Persephone retelling!

Who is the most awesome Greek goddess, blookunity? (Go away, Aphrodite.) How has Persephone inspired you?

Don't forget to check out everyone else's posts:
AnQi: Arachne and Athena
Christina Im
Topaz Winters

#LitLove: Ariel by Sylvia Plath

The #LitLove series is a bimonthly collaborative blog event with Topaz, AnQi, Christina, and myself, wherein we each express our literary love for different books under the same overarching theme/topic/author. For a more detailed backstory, take a look at the first #LitLove post. This month, we're delving into the lovely writings of Sylvia Plath.

So who is Sylvia Plath and why does Alyssa love her?

In Wikipedia's words: Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer. ... Plath is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for her two published collections, The Colossus and Other Poems and Ariel. In 1982, she won a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for The Collected Poems.

In my words: Basically my writing inspiration, except she does a lot more poetry than prose.

Sylvia Plath simply writes the most gorgeous words. There is no debating this. I have a Tumblr tag devoted to her, and really, her words are far too exquisite. A good Plath reading session for me alway ends with screams and keyboard smashes and marriage proposals.

Today, we are talking about Ariel, one of Plath's many poems.

read Ariel by Sylvia Plath here >>>

I chose to spotlight this instead of other works, such as her only novel The Bell Jar, or my personal fav, Widow, because of how dreadfully difficult analysing this was.

First month of school, and already such an IB student. *sighs* Go me.

My first thought: ooh it's like the fairytale.

This poem does convey a very strong sense of drowning and the loss of control under the sea. See here:

Black sweet blood mouthfuls,
Shadows.
...
And now I
Foam to wheat, a glitter of seas.

There was quite the vibe like a dark fairytale retelling. And when you consider the story, where Ariel longed to be in the human world, the crushed and trapped vibe the poem gives off isn't surprising at all. It even fits with Plath's own history of depression, given how gloomy it is.

Apparently, I was off the mark.

According to Shmoop: the name is a reference to The Tempest.

In Shakespeare's The Tempest, there's a spirit called Ariel. Unlike Caliban, Ariel is a kind-hearted, compassionate being, and serves Prospero gladly, although he does have his eyes on liberty. Before Prospero and Miranda arrived on the island, Ariel was imprisoned and freed by Prospero.

Still, there was that trapped feeling, right? I wasn't that far wrong.

Ariel is actually about Plath's experience falling off a horse.

To quote the Internet:

okay ... that sounds fake but okay ...

I mean, I'm not saying there isn't textual evidence. There are a few lines that do suggest falling off a horse:

How one we grow,
Pivot of heels and knees!—The furrow

Splits and passes, sister to
The brown arc
Of the neck I cannot catch,

And those previous interpretations of losing control, well, I guess we could take it more literally as losing control of the horse. But at the same time? If we're talking context, Plath's history of depression might let us factor this poem into more than one unfortunate event.

In the end, I don't think it really matters which interpretation you subscribe to. Bask in the words, drink them in, and smuggle them into your heart. Perhaps that is all we need.

(This is why after writing this post, I have an intense desire to write a Little Mermaid retelling. Stop me. I have to go to school.)

What are your thoughts on "wrong" literary interpretations?

And don't forget to check out everyone else's posts!

Topaz Winters: The Applicant
AnQi Yu: The Bell Jar
Christina Im: Lady Lazarus / Witch Burning

Read more murder and madness in my monthly musings to you! (Also, bonus alliteration.)

#LitLove: Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart

The #LitLove series is a bimonthly collaborative blog event with Topaz, AnQi, Christina, Taylor, (nicknamed ATTAC by Christina) wherein we each express our literary love for different books under the same overarching theme/topic/author. For a more detailed backstory, take a look at the first #LitLove post. This month, we're delving into the darker writings of Edgar Allan Poe.

Pssst, thank you to all the amazing grasshoppers who filled in my commenting system survey! If you haven't yet, mind taking like 1.4 minutes to fill in a 3-question survey? Takeout all around!

Who is Edgar Allan Poe, really?

In Wikipedia's words: Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.

In my words: Guy with terrible hair who writes dark horror short stories or poems normally fixated around an unattainable/dead woman. Beautiful words, terrifying imagery.

With such a delightfully morbid author, I had no trouble picking out one of the creepiest short stories he wrote, The Tell-Tale Heart.

It's a short story about a person who is trying to convince you he's not mad while at the same time telling you how he brutally murdered someone. Extremely convincing.

The Tell-Tale Heart in a nutshell:

"I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad?"

"Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing."

I love how intimately the narrator speaks to the readers. The most dangerous (and hence the best) villains are the ones who don't see their actions as wrong, their mindsets as warped. Our main character starts of telling us how he is not mad, but in such an unsettling manner that we can't help but doubt him.

His sweeping generalisations just seem to hook themselves in your mind. I heard many things in hell. Madmen know nothing. Poe is a master of manipulating fear, and pathetic as the narrator soon becomes, you can't help but cower a little at the force of his conviction.

"Yes, he had been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions: but he had found all in vain. All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim."

"But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound. This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard through the wall."

Poe being Poe, of course, death is prominent throughout this story. Our narrator murders an old man with an "evil eye", but continues to hear his victim's heartbeats. Undermines the "I'm not mad" routine a little.

But see how beautifully death is portrayed. Death stalks, he envelops. The heart beats on, muffled. The visceral images reel you into the story, slowly, until you live the story right by our not-quite-right-in-the-head MC.

"Oh God! what could I do? I foamed --I raved --I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder --louder --louder!"

"Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! --here, here! --it is the beating of his hideous heart!"

The police come around to investigate the murder. Our dear friend holds up for a little while, but soon cracks under guilt. We're never really told that's the case, but the repeated emphasis on how the victim's heart beats on, the increasingly shrill tone of the narrator (yes, it gets shriller, just read those quotes out loud) — it's all too clear our narrator isn't half as composed as he claims to be.

The Tell-Tale Heart is a heartrendingly beautiful story of madness and murder. (Two of the three in my motto, what more can you ask?) It's a story that taught me so much about the unreliable narrator, the way guilt creeps up on even the most unrepentant villains, and how easy it is to break a person. An evil eye. A beating heart. Au revoir.

And don't forget to check out the others' posts:

Topaz Winters: The Bells
AnQi Yu: Annabel Lee
Christina Im: The Masque of the Red Death
Taylor Lynn: The Raven

What's your fav Edgar Allan Poe story/poem? Thoughts on Tell-Tale Heart?

Twitter-sized takeout:

• .@AlyssaC_HK gushes over the gorgeous murder of Poe's Tell-Tale Heart. (Click to Tweet)
• In July's #LitLove, @AlyssaC_HK raves over Poe's Tell-Tale Heart. (Click to Tweet)

Read more murder and madness in my monthly musings to you! (Also, bonus alliteration.)

#LitLove [3]: Feminist Juliet and Paris Appreciation

The #LitLove series is a bimonthly collaborative blog event with Topaz, AnQi, Christina, Taylor, (nicknamed ATTAC by Christina) wherein we each express our literary love for different books under the same overarching theme/topic/author. For a more detailed backstory, take a look at the first #LitLove post. This time, we're doing the obligatory Shakespeare post.

Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's best known plays, frequently appearing in literature syllabi. Depending on who you ask, it may be a racy love story, a hook-up between two teens that lasted for three days and killed five people, or the play where people are looking for feels in all the wrong place.

I'm in the last category. My favourite characters are Juliet and, shockingly enough, Paris. But first, Juliet:

Headcanon: Juliet is a feminist and fighting for her own liberation.

In her first appearance, Juliet seems the orthodox girl, not at all denying her marriage. But in the next scene, a guy is actually interested in her and not her fortune and she takes that chance. In the balcony scene, she proposes marriage to him.

Marriage is really the only way for Juliet to escape her father's authority in the situation, and Romeo's head over heels for her. It's an amazing chance and the realist in me applauds her for taking it. It's also really clear that Juliet takes the initiative in their relationship. 

And she defends their relationship. She defends it to Paris, whom I personally like, and snarks at him in such a gloriously brazen manner. She defends it to her parents, she defends it literally to death-sleep.

Oh, and let's talk about that potion. Her father literally threatens to disinherit her, her mother and her nurse abandon her, and what does Juliet do? Take matters into her own hands. Instead of whining and moping and killing people like Romeo. She fights for her liberation, for her only hope at freedom and love. Juliet isn't a lovestruck teenager, she's a woman taking back control of her own life. (Tweet this!)

Headcanon: Paris would have been Juliet's happy ending. (tweet this)

Let's make it clear: Paris is not a very nice person. Not. He lays claim to Juliet's face and love the very first time they meet. He makes it pretty clear he's marrying him because she's rich and pretty.

Paris is no Romeo, to throw himself 120% in love and forget everything except the girl. Paris is no Juliet, to go up against the patriarchy and make a stand. But here's why Paris doesn't understand privilege: he has it.

Picture a young man, kin to the ruling prince. Of course he feels entitled. But after he chooses Juliet, he commits himself to loving her. He doesn't send a servant to Friar Laurence, he goes himself. He—if clumsily—flirts with Juliet when they meet.

And when he thinks Juliet is dead, he keeps vigil for her. He could broker a new contract with any lady in Verona, but he remains the only person to mourn at Juliet's grave. When Romeo comes, apparently to desecrate the tomb, he defends her grave with his life. His dying words are for the girl he loved—not passion, like Romeo, but courtly, dutiful love.

Imagine if they'd married. Fiery, brazen Juliet commanding her meeker husband. Juliet is pragmatic and intelligent, she would've educated Paris. And if he would die for her, then in another life, he might give her sovereignty in their household. They may not be lovers, may not be husband and wife, but they would be king and queen, joint monarchs.

A marriage between Juliet and Paris would have been parent-approved, and Juliet would still be her own person. Yes, the family feud would go on, but five fewer people are dead, and my darling Juliet has her happy ending.

(I've actually got a Tumblr post on why Paris ranks on my top ten fav characters.)

BUT. But I don't ship them together. I ship Juliet with eternal happiness, because that's what she deserves. Paris isn't the one she chose and I'm up with that — Paris is only a what-might-have-been.

Is Juliet a feminist? Would Paris be a good match for her? Share in the comments!

And don't forget to drop by the other #LitLove posts!

Taylor: A Midsummer Night's Dream
AnQi: Macbeth
Christina: Othello

If you love books, subscribe here for bonus readerly takeout right in your inbox!

#LitLove [2] Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The #LitLove series is a bimonthly collaborative blog event with Topaz, AnQi, Christina, Taylor, (nicknamed ATTAC by Christina) wherein we each express our literary love for different books under the same overarching theme/topic/author. For a more detailed backstory, take a look at the first #LitLove post. This round of #LitLove is reserved for Roald Dahl.

Graphic by Christina. Isn't it gorgeous?

I'm doing one of his most popular works: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In case you haven't read it, (side note: where is your childhood?) it's about how Charlie, a poor downtrodden kid with a loving family wins a chance to visit an mysterious chocolate factory owned by a mysterious Willy Wonka. Accompanying him are four brats whose names I don't remember. I do remember their miserable endings, though. Whoops, spoiler!

In classic middle-grade book style, the bratty kids all get their comeuppance. This, by the way, is a good thing, because you will hate those annoying brats so damn much. Roald Dahl masterfully builds up your hatred for them and makes you cheer when they meet their deserved end — or do they?

One of my favourite things about Roald Dahl is that the villain's fate is grisly or at least quite horrifying. Here, all the other four kids are just that: kids (if rather whiny). And yet they're 1) sucked into the pipes, 2) turned into a giant blueberry, 3) thrown into more pipes by squirrels, and 4) shrunk down to a tiny size. It's this chilling, disproportionate retribution that really defines Roald Dahl. And it's why to this day, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory still has a special place in my mind.

I know. I'm wacko.

The movie adaptation

One of the reasons I did this for #LitLove is that I wanted an excuse to watch the movie. I know there are like thousands of adaptations, but I wanted to watch a very specific one: the one with Christopher Lee. I didn't really like Tim Burton's remake of Alice in Wonderland, but I decided to try it anyways.

And, you know, it sort of ended up like Alice in Wonderland. Obligatory Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter appearances. Like ... it didn't have the dark feel. Also: backstory. (But since backstory means Sir Christopher Lee, whatever.) Bottom line: if Honest Trailers or Cinema Sins got their hands on this, you wouldn't want to watch it. And the Roald Dahl feeling didn't translate well. But it's quite entertaining. (Plus, Sir Christopher Lee.)

Bonus: Lamb to the Slaughter

Random review of one of Roald Dahl's more insane short stories! It's about how a detective's wife kills him and tries to escape the blame. It's ridiculously funny and ridiculously gruesome at the same time, in the vein of Roald Dahl's other works. Basically my reaction was just "oh." and then "Ohhhh." and then "What the heck" and then "What the heck?? This is awesome!" and then "I know. I'm wacko." It's a very classic crime fiction-y short, and one of my all-time favs. If you love his MG novels, you'll love this too.

All right, that's enough from me! What was your favourite part of Chocolate Factory? Did you like the Tim Burton adaptation? And have you read any of Roald Dahl's shorts? Let us know in the comments, and don't forget to check out everyone else's #litlove posts:

Topaz Winters: Danny the Champion of the World
AnQi Yu: The Witches
Christina Im: Matilda
Taylor Lynn: The BFG

Love Roald Dahl? Click below to tweet about this post:

• Much #LitLove for Roald Dahl: morbid childhood memories via @AlyssaC_HK.
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: @AlyssaC_HK's childhood fav due to grisly fate of the baddies.

    

Kate DiCamillo Appreciation: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

No, this isn't a book review. Far from it. It's a long, gushing post about how awesome Kate DiCamillo is.

First things first: this is a collaborative post between Topaz, AnQi, Christina, Taylor, and myself. Essentially, AnQi tweeted about the word "chiaroscuro", which prompted The Tale of Despereaux feels, which prompted general Kate DiCamillo feels, which prompted this five-way fangirl post.

Yes, I put in two graphics. Because both Christina and Topaz made graphics and I suck at decisions.

For those of you who haven't read it (HOW DARE YOU), The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is the story of how a china doll rabbit who doesn't understand love is parted from his owners repeatedly until he does understand love and reunites with the daughter of his now-adult first owner. I first read it because my mum bought it. No sweet story here, sorry.

Here's why you should read it if you haven't, or fangirl if you have:

1. CHINA. RABBIT. DOLL.

"Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a rabbit who was made almost entirely of china. He had china arms and china legs, china paws and a china head, a china torso and a china nose. His arms and legs were jointed and joined by wire so that his china elbows and china knees could be bent, giving him much freedom of movement.

His ears were made of real rabbit fur, and beneath the fur, there were strong, bendable wires, which allowed the ears to be arranged into poses that reflected the rabbit’s mood — jaunty, tired, full of ennui. His tail, too, was made of real rabbit fur and was fluffy and soft and well shaped.

The rabbit’s name was Edward Tulane, and he was tall. He measured almost three feet from the tip of his ears to the tip of his feet; his eyes were painted a penetrating and intelligent blue.

... The china rabbit was in possession of an extraordinary wardrobe composed of handmade silk suits, custom shoes fashioned from the finest leather and designed specifically for his rabbit feet, and a wide array of hats equipped with holes so that they could easily fit over Edward’s large and expressive ears. Each pair of well-cut pants had a small pocket for Edward’s gold pocket watch."

I know this is a really long quote, but damn. These are the first few pages of the book, and goodness, younger me SO wanted a china rabbit for myself. Scratch that, re-reading this excerpt still makes me want one, even knowing this isn't entirely the point of the story.

And what's better: Edward Tulane snarks. He is condescending and snarky and he will make you laugh so much until his world falls apart and he breaks and so will your heart. And then the ending will mend you all over again. THE FEELS.

2. FAIRYTALE. SUBVERSIONS.

It's not a retelling per se, but like The Tale of Despereaux, the book draws heavily from the traditional fairytale. In the story, we have the story of a princess. Who is turned into a warthog. And not kissed by the prince. And just killed. No happy ending. Can you imagine how much that terrified my younger self and how much it impresses my present self?

AND. AND. DiCamillo manages to subvert her OWN fairytale in this, because Edward Tulane sort of gets a bittersweet-ish happy-ish ending (children's book, guys) that made me melt into a puddle and die. Aaaaah.

3. And the adults.

You know how in some children's books the adults are either full-blown evil or clueless? Well, NOT HERE.

The illustration under fairytale is Pellegrina, Edward's owner's grandmother, and she's the one who tells the in-story fairytale. She's like a little creepy and seems to know what Edward is thinking and feels like the typical prophesying hag, but she's so delightfully creepy. And at the same time not really malicious. Aaah.

Then we have Nella and Lawrence, a fisherman and his wife, the first picture under this section. Also Bull, a tramp. All of these are adults who care for Edward, and they're so nice and understanding and eeek. Yes, this post will involve a great deal of these useless sounds.

And last of all, we have a doll-mender (spoiler) called Lucius Clark. Now, I know his name sounds evil, but he's not. He genuinely has a passion for dolls and such, I think, not to mention immense skill. He isn't the Good Samaritan type, but he's not evil or immoral or even amoral. He's pretty fair. Also, he indirectly helped Edward to his semi-happy ending on two counts so he has a bit of leeway. But, y'know, he's STILL AWESOME.

Yay, I forewent exclamations for caps.

4. Illustration goodness.

I ... really dunno what to write here. The illustrations are to die for, and you've seen them above, and I don't want to make this an overly long post, so I'll just wrap up with one more:

And don't forget to check out all the other DiCamillo books of our childhood:

Topaz Winters: The Tale of Despereaux
AnQi Yu: Tiger Rising
Christina Im: Because of Winn-Dixie
Taylor Lynn: Flora and Ulysses

What's your favourite DiCamillo book? Have you got any other children's books that have stayed with you even after childhood? Let us know in the comments!

By the way, the five of us are considering turning this Literary Appreciation Series into a link-up, but it really depends if you guys are interested; so do let us know via comment or any other way if you would like to participate!

Note: All photos have been linked back to the source; if they're incorrectly sourced or you'd like me to remove them, please contact me here.