Jason in particular is well drawn, showing early signs of his Euripidean social-climbing sliminess. We see Jason and Medea, Hercules and Hylas, Callisto, Peleus, Theseus and many others. In fact, that’s what marks the difference between Atalanta and the other strong female characters in the novel: the others look for men to dominate or manipulate so that they can live comfortable lives within a patriarchal society, while Atalanta exists completely outside that society.Īs with many myth retellings, one of the joys of this novel is the well-known mythical characters who drift in and out, sometimes barely glimpsed but still familiar. She doesn’t rely upon men either she regards most of them with suspicion, a few with interest, and one or two with passion, but she doesn’t see them as necessary to her happiness in the same way that her freedom is. Despite her closeness to Artemis, she’s not foolish enough to rely upon the goddess as a protector: she has seen first-hand that the gods can be cold and capricious, and all she wants from Artemis is the chance to prove herself. Saint’s Atalanta, abandoned on a mountainside because her father wanted a boy, cared for by bears and raised by Artemis and her nymphs, grows up with a unique view of the world. If anybody deserves their own novel, Atalanta does – and Saint’s treatment of her does not disappoint.
She doesn’t need any rewriting to make her into a female role model: she’s always existed in ancient art and literature as a fearless woman famed for being faster, stronger and more adventurous than even the greatest male heroes. That’s why I was delighted when Jennifer Saint chose Atalanta as the subject for her next myth novel, following Ariadne and Elektra.Ītalanta has always been one of my favourite mythical women. Instead, I turn to myth for adventure: I like the improbably exotic lands, the fearsome monsters, the bold deeds of morally questionable heroes.
But that’s why I tend to avoid reading tragedy – personally, if not professionally.
Greek tragedy, of course, is pretty much non-stop gloom, punctuated by tension, betrayal, suicide, incest and/or maiming, before a bit more gloom to round things off and female characters are often on the receiving end of the worst treatment tragedy has to offer. What I don’t love about feminist myth retellings is the Gloom.Īs a ProfessionalClassicist TM, I do have to acknowledge that the Gloom has classical roots. I love the beautiful covers that take Greek vase motifs and make them sparkly (not that I’m superficial or anything…!). I love walking into a bookshop and seeing the popular enthusiasm for novels featuring Medusa, Ariadne, Pandora, Circe and Elektra. I love the current trend of feminist (or female-centred) myth retellings.
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