Ovids Devaluation of Sympathy in Metamorphoses Essay -- Ovid Metamorp

Ovids Devaluation of Sympathy in Metamorphoses Ovid reveals two similar tales of incest in the Metamorphoses. First, he describes the non-sisterly love Byblis acquires for her twin brother Caunus. Later, he revisits the incestuous love theme with the news report of Myrrha who develops a non-filial love for her father, Cinyras. The two accounts hold many similarities and elicit varying reactions. Ovid constantly tugs at our emotions and draws onwards alternating feelings of pity and disgust for the matters at hand. repeating with a difference in these two narratives shows how fickle we can be in allotting and denying benevolence, making it seem less valuable. Both tales begin drawing forth a sense of disgust for the situation in general yet arousing pity for for each one girls predicament. Ovid clearly labels the love Byblis and Myrrha pursue illegitimate when he summarizes the lesson of Byblis tale stating, when girls love they should love lawfully (Mandelbaum 307) and revea ls that to hate a father is / a crime, but love like Myrrhas is worse than hate (338) before describing Myrrhas tale. By presenting the girls as criminals, Ovid leads us to despise them. He then proceeds to draw out sympathy for Byblis and Myrrha as he describes their unsuccessful attempts to overcome these desires. Byblis dreams intimately more or less Caunus, but when shes awake, she does not dare / to let her obscene hopes invade her soul (308). Myrrha strives she tries she would subdue / her obscene love, but she cannot (339). Right away, Ovid makes us question if these situations deserve our sympathy. Byblis and Myrrha get readers to sympathize with their plight as they orally confess their incestuous passions. They use selective lang... ...d leaves us feeling sorry for Myrrha. Ovid tells this tale of forbidden sin twice to show how inconsistent we are in allotting pity. He begins both tales drawing forth our contempt for the matters at hand, then ends both tales with image s that arouse our pity. Throughout each story, our emotions sway between pity and disgust. Even though incest disgusts us, we sympathize with Byblis and Myrrha as they seek incestuous loves. Byblis broken heart arouses our sympathy, yet Myrrhas fulfilled heart disgusts us. Ovid devalues our sympathy by showing how unstable we are with our emotions. Works Cited Mandelbaum, Allen, trans. The Metamorphoses of Ovid. By Ovid. San Diego Harcourt Brace & company, 1993. Crane, Gregory, ed. Perseus Project. 1995. Tufts University. 6 Oct. 1999 <http//www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup=ov.+met.+init>