Simping for Eurydice
Sep 03, 2021 8:06 pm
Would you leave this world for love?
Have you ever been so in love with someone you would have risked anything in the world for them? I’m talking Orpheus and Eurydice kind of devotion. You have? Were you young? This kind of love seems more natural when you’re young and unfettered. If Orpheus had thirty employees and five kids under the age of ten to look after, going to the underworld would have been seen as irresponsible rather than a sign of undying devotion.
I’m picturing Orpheus’ mother talking to him about it, “She’s dead, honey. She was a nice girl, but there are plenty of living fish in the sea.” I can picture his best friend shaking his head and pouring Orpheus a cup of wine. “One does not simply walk into the underworld. Let her go, man.” And, you know, they’re not wrong. It is pretty irresponsible to go to the underworld before your time.
But we admire Orpheus because he’s able to do the brave and irresponsible thing, consequences be damned. And we love that he almost succeeds. We love the idea that bravery and skill could win someone back from the dead. You can't swordfight cancer. So many problems can't be solved, so having one that can be overcome by one man risking it all is the kind of fantasy that survives millenia.
But what if Eurydice was “all dead” instead of “mostly dead” and could never have come back? What if he got past the grim ferryman and the fierce three-headed dog and found out Eurydice wasn’t there, that she was very much alive and living like a queen in Patagonia? What if she was there but didn’t want to return? What if he’d gotten her back but they broke up six months later because he brought up “I went to the underworld for you” in every argument? Guess we’ll never know.
The uncertainty is part of the heroism. In Dryad’s Blade, Kit believes that Fenwick is cursed, and that by going to the Realm of the Faerie, she can save him. But there’s doubt there too. What if she’s wrong? What if it’s really just a psychotic break? What if her goal is unachievable?
She also knows that she’s not the only one who will suffer if she doesn’t return. It's a combination between selflessness and selfishness. Her love for Fenwick outweighs her love for everyone else, even her own life. Who doesn't want that kind of love? Orpheus coming back without Eurydice was not as tragic as if he hadn’t tried to get her at all.
If you want to find out what Kit risks for love, read Dryad’s Blade. It’s the second in the series after Witch’s Jewel (which is free this month) but you don’t have to have read the first one to be able to follow the story. If you have already read it, would you please write a review or two? Reviews really help. Thanks!
A mysterious curse. A deadly dimension. Can she survive another world to save her dying boyfriend? (ebook and paperback)
An amnesiac college student falls headlong into a company of vampire hunters made of ex-cons and fugitives. Will unlocking her memories doom them all? (Free review/sample copy)
Narissa Knight is obsessed with revenge. But when she partners with a handsome, century-old vampire, she wonders if the cost of retribution is too high even for her. (Kindle Unlimited)
What the Lightning Brought (free books)
Gratuitous Cat Photo
Hades and Zinko inspect a snapshot of themselves.