Reading Ovid in the #MeToo era : a feminist reception of rape scenes in the Metamorphoses

Date
2020-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The 21st century seems to a continuation of the incurable plagues which have pained our society for decades: gender-based violence, rape, and the sexual assault of women. The recent uprisings of international and South African movements such as #MeToo and #AmINext resulted in the exposure of sexual predators like Jeffrey Epstein, Larry Nassar, and Harvey Weinstein, and in the South African context Bob Hewitt. These movements also cast light on the immense problem of influential men who abuse their power to rape and sexually assault females – much like the god Apollo in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, who rapes his mortal victims from a position of immortal power. There are roughly fifty scenes in the Metamorphoses where a kind of rape culture is clearly identifiable. The omniscient narrator, however, seems to question the conduct of the perpetrators by casting them in the roles of cruel antagonists, and the female victims as sympathetic characters. Assuming that the rapes and sexual assaults in Ovid’s Metamorphoses are to some extent a reflection of his contemporary society’s attitude towards women, this study argues that Ovid’s unique retelling of myths illustrates that he is indeed a proto-feminist as he challenged the patriarchal standards of his time. Using the framework of second and third wave feminism, as these movements placed their focus on rape and pornography, selected rape scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses are analysed from a feminist point of view to investigate to what extent the speaker may be seen to question the reigning male-dominated view that women are dispensable. The findings of this investigation show that Ovid places a focus on the female victims’ suffering, and gives a “voice” to the victims which, in earlier versions of the myths, these females did not have. Thus, as the #MeToo movement has provided a platform for modern-day rape victims to finally tell their stories, Ovid’s sympathetic approach to the rape victims in the Metamorphoses – including his unprecedented focus on their narratives – allows the veil of silence cast by patriarchy to be lifted.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die 21ste eeu bleik om ‘n voortsetting te wees van die ongeneesbare siektes wat ons samelewing al vir eeue lank teister: geslagsgebaseerde geweld, verkragting, en seksuele aanranding. Die onlangse opstande van internasionale en Suid-Afrikaanse bewegings soos #MeToo en #AmINext het tot die ontbloting van seksuele misdadigers soos Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein, Larry Nassar en die Suid-Afrikaanse Bob Hewitt gelei. Verder het hierdie bewegings ook lig gewerp op die internasionale probleem van invloedryke mans wat hul magsposisies misbruik om vrouens te verkrag en seksueel aan te rand – net soos die god Apollo in Ovidius se Metamorfoses wat sy slagoffers vanuit ‘n posisie van onsterflike mag verkrag. Daar is rofweg vyftig tonele in die Metamorfoses waar elemente van ‘n verkragtingskultuur duidelik is. Die alwetende verteller bleik om die gedrag van die seksuele misdadigers te bevraagteken deur hulle as wrede antagoniste uit te beeld en die vroulike slagoffers as simpatieke karakters. Die veronderstelling dat die verkragtings- en seksuele aanrandingstonele in Ovidius se Metamorfoses tot ‘n mate ‘n weerspieëling is van sy kontemporêre samelewing se houding teenoor vrouens ondersteun die stelling wat hierdie studie maak: dat Ovidius se unieke oorvertellings van mites aan dui dat hy wel ‘n proto-feminis is, aangesien hy die patriargale standaarde van sy tyd uitgedaag het. Aangesien beide Tweede- en Derde-golf feminisme se fokus op pornografie en verkragting is, word die raamwerk daarvan gebruik om ‘n seleksie van verkragtingstonele uit Ovidius se Metamorfoses vanuit ‘n feministiese perspektief te analiseer. Die doel van hierdie analises is om ondersoek in te stel na die omvang van die spreker se bevraagtekening van die patriargale siening dat vrouens onmisbaar en misbruikbaar is. Die bevindings van hierdie ondersoek wys dat Ovidius ‘n fokus plaas op die vroulike slagoffers se lyding, en dat hy aan hulle ‘n “stem” gee – een wat hulle in vorige weergawes van die mites nie gehad het nie. Net soos die #MeToo-beweging ‘n platform gee aan hedendaagse slagoffers van verkragting en seksuele geweld om hul stories te deel, laat Ovidius se simpatieke benadering tot die vroulike slagoffers van verkragting en seksuele geweld in die Metamorfoses – insluitend sy ongekende fokus op hul narratiewe – toe dat die sluier van stilte wat deur patriargie oor hulle gegooi is, gelig word.
Description
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2020.
Keywords
Ovid -- Metamorphoses -- Criticism and interpretation, Feminist theory in Classical Mythology, Women -- Violence against, Mythology, Classical -- Poetry -- History and criticism, UCTD
Citation