66 pages • 2-hour read
I, Medusa
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Themes
Content Warning: This section contains discussion of rape and sexual harassment, domestic violence, emotional and physical abuse, and enslavement.
The Construction of Monstrosity to Silence Survivors
I, Medusa offers a feminist retelling of the myth of Medusa by giving her a backstory from her own point of view. The novel traces how Medusa evolves from an inexperienced, naïve young woman to a survivor of sexual violence and abuse. Throughout her arc, the novel examines the construction of monstrosity to silence survivors.
Medusa begins the novel as someone quick to trust authority figures like Athena, whom she assumes must have her best interest at heart. Medusa tells the skeptical Ceto that Athena is wise and good, not the monster that Ceto makes her out to be. Ceto responds with a warning: “That’s the curious thing about monsters […] The worst ones don’t bother hiding in the dark” (117). Ceto’s words challenge Medusa’s still naïve notions of monsters: While monsters are considered evil figures on the margins of society, Ceto knows the inverse is often true. Her warning draws attention to how abusive people can sometimes hide behind social status, prestige, and a seemingly good reputation to disguise their deeds or deflect attention away from them.
As Medusa discovers, the label of “monster” is often used to silence survivors of abuse instead of the perpetrators. For instance, Athena punishes Appolonia by deeming her “unchaste” and a woman of poor judgement instead of holding the soldiers to account for the rape, flinging Appolonia to the fringes of society. Medusa faces a similar outcome after Poseidon rapes her. Instead of holding Poseidon to account for the crime, Zeus and even Athena turn against Medusa, whom they are quick to regard as responsible. Athena turns Medusa into a monster as punishment, with no one daring to come close to her to hear her true story. Poseidon benefits from the transformation of Medusa because it silences her. Branded impure, monstrous, and terrifying, women like Apolonia and Medusa are denied a voice. Their experiences reflect how survivors of abuse often face blame and shaming instead of the support and justice they deserve.
Maheer’s lion is another example of a survivor turned into a fearsome object. Initially, Medusa fears the mighty beast, till she notices its “mouth bound with rope” (46) and its iron collar fastened with long chains, evidence that the “monster” is nothing but an animal in captivity. Later, when she meets the lion again, unmuzzled and free, it does not attack her. Meddy talks to the lion, saying the lion is not a monster, “only what they made you” (445). Now that she has been turned into a “monster,” Meddy knows the truth behind the construction of monstrosity.
The Insidious Role of Manipulation in Power Dynamics
I, Medusa examines the role emotional manipulation plays in creating a power imbalance, making it easier for a perpetrator to exploit a target. The process of creating trust only to break it is now known as grooming: Even though the text’s characters do not use the contemporary term, it is clear that Poseidon systematically manipulates Medusa to make her more vulnerable to his abuse. Through Poseidon’s treatment of Medusa, the novel spotlights the insidious role of manipulation in power dynamics.
Poseidon’s subtle but methodical manipulation first becomes apparent in how he disguises himself a young boy in Athens to win Medusa’s trust and have her lower her guard. After he reveals his true form, Poseidon praises Medusa to distract her from thinking critically about his deceit, calling her mortality a gift, something that gods spend their “eternities searching for […] vitality, real and precious life” (246). For Medusa, who often feels burdened by her mortality, the words make her feel special, as she reflects how, “never in my life has anyone—even Theo—made my mortality seem like something beautiful” (246). Poseidon thus overwhelms her with the impression that he is the one who understands her best. Since only Poseidon appears to cherish Medusa’s deepest self, she begins to trust him wholeheartedly, which the god eventually exploits.
Poseidon’s words, gestures, and actions are calculated and performative, honed by thousands of years of experience. In a particular sequence, he acts the part of the unhappy husband to elicit Meddy’s sympathy, telling her with a “significant look” that he is sure she knows how unhappy an arranged marriage can be. Meddy, who fears her parents will arrange a match for her, immediately identifies with Poseidon, thinking of his terrible marriage as “tragic” (339). The “significant look,” the emotional appeal to Meddy, the demeanor of the love-starved husband, are all parts of Poseidon’s performance meant to endear him to Medusa. As Stheno and Euryale tell Medusa, Poseidon “orchestrated every encounter. He knew exactly what strings to pull, what words to say, because he is old and you are young, and because he knew he could take advantage of you” (379).
The novel also shows how manipulation can be a part of non-sexual power dynamics. Athena manipulates Medusa into seeing her as a wise, just mentor, precisely so she can control Medusa. Even after Athena has cursed her, Meddy feels the lingering effects of Athena’s emotional control. When Athena tells Meddy at the novel’s end that her rage is beautiful, Meddy hates how “[she] still crave[s] her praise like a starved dog craves a morsel of meat” (443). Meddy’s response shows how she has been shaped by authority figures alternatively lavishing and withdrawing affection. Nevertheless, Meddy ultimately rejects Athena’s final offer, showing how resistance can help survivors reclaim their agency.
Survival and Identity Forged Through Resistance
While women in the text inhabit a deeply patriarchal, violent world, they often seek to assert their agency in different ways. Through the experiences of Ceto, Medusa, and her sisters, the novel celebrates survival and identity forged through resistance.
Throughout the text, tension exists between power-hungry males and females who threaten systemic power structures by their defiance. Phorcys is enraged by Ceto’s resistance to his fawning over the treacherous Olympian gods, and responds by physically abusing her. While Phorcys punishes Ceto because she challenges his authority, Ceto continues to resist Phorcys by speaking out against his decisions and nurturing the sea monsters the Olympian gods want her to shun. Later in the same chapter, she warns Medusa against trusting Athena. At the novel’s end, it is implied that Ceto, reverting to her ancient form, sends finned creatures to guide a castaway Medusa back to her island. Ceto also resists the authority of her husbands and the Olympians by preserving the memory of her lost children.
Medusa’s character arc is the novel’s most significant example of survival and personal regeneration through resistance. While Medusa begins the novel as an inexperienced adolescent anxious to please the authority figures in her life, she gradually learns to stand up for herself. When Kallisto touches her hair without her permission and bullies her, Medusa defends herself. Later, after Athena curses her over Poseidon’s rape, Medusa learns to embrace her power as a “monster” instead of passively accepting her marginalized status. When Athena attempts to turn her into a weapon at the novel’s end, Medusa stands firm, refusing to compromise herself for the goddess’ approval.
The text also emphasizes solidarity between women as an act of resistance crucial for survival. Women banding together is a radical action, since patriarchy depends on competition among women to function. Meddy and her sisters reject the narrative of warring women from the very onset, functioning as pillars of strength for each other. After Meddy’s transformation, it is her sisters who tell her how to seize power in a fraught world: “Power is not given. It is taken,” (382), Stheno tells Meddy, implying that the oppressed have to fight for their rights.
Finally, the greatest act of resistance in the text is reclaiming narrative agency for women. Women’s stories have always been suppressed, yet they persist in memory, songs, and subtext. Stheno and Euryale are determined to remember Meddy’s truth, reclaiming her narrative. In contemporary times, Medusa herself has come to represent powerful female rage, defying the label of “monster” afforded to her over the millennia.
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