Trish's Reviews > Galatea

I never liked the story of Galatea. No, that isn't true, actually. I liked the story but not the guy in it.

You see, what kind of man creates the perfect woman out of marble, obsessed with purity and perfection because real-life women have shunted or betrayed him (according to his statement, we never meet them)?!
A weak man, that's who.
Pygmalion is a pig, let's face it. It's why he wanted to create the perfect, virginal, obedient thing for his own pleasure. The problem is that a goddess of all "people" helped him by bringing the statue to life.

This is the statue's, Galatea's, story from her point of view.

Madeline Miller really has a great way of bringing to life this ancient setting and weaving the myths we know and have read with her own thoughts, filling in the blanks, sometimes changing a few details in the process.

I very much loved this version, Galatea and her daughter, and suffered with Galatea through the ordeals brought on not only by her monstrous husband but also the other horrible people who were helping him.

The writing was once again enchanting but also not too oblique, the story itself a feminist take on yet another Greek myth penned by male authors who are so quick to tell you of tragic heroes suffering by the hands of wicked women - but the author still never demonizes men in general as so many feminists do (which drives me just as mad).

So much better than the other short story of hers I read today - might be because of how much I have thought about this myth in the past as opposed to the other.

Sadly, this short story doesn't seem to be available in print anywhere, but if you can, make sure to get your hands on it (you'll get the pun after having read the story).