Week 4 Story: Echo & Narcissus

Echo & Narcissus

The story was added to my project porfolio website.

Echo & Narcissus, by John William Waterhouse

Echo was the most beautiful Nymph in all of the world, but there was something even more special about her. She had a magnificent singing voice, and she also was a great orator. People from all over the world came to hear her speeches and divine singing. Even the Gods admired her beauty. Among the celestial beings, there were Goddesses with such beauty, but none could match her angelic voice.

Jealousy arose among Goddesses, and none was more jealous than Juno. Juno was worried that Jupiter would wrong her again, and this time, with beautiful Echo. She devised a plan to get Echo to marry, but Echo rejected all of the suitors presented to her. Echo repeated time after time, "There is no one as beautiful as me, and no one worthy of my marriage."

Juno, getting desperate, for Echo certainly had the attention of Mighty Jupiter, commanded Vulcan to craft a beautiful statue of a man, made of solid gold. She then breathed life into the statue and called it Narcissus. Narcissus was beautiful, as he was crafted with divine perfection from Vulcan's hands, and his heart was made of gold.

When Narcissus met Echo, he immediately fell in love with her. At his sight, Echo proclaimed, "Now there is a man worthy of my marriage. Tell your name, stranger, for I want to hear your voice. If you are to marry me, you must also have a beautiful voice like me." Narcissus tried to speak but he couldn't, in her haste, Juno forgot to give him a voice. When Echo realized that Narcissus did not have a voice, she said, "Pity, such beauty is wasted on someone with no voice. For if you do not have a beautiful voice, then you have no beauty."

At Echo's words, Vulcan raged, for she had insulted his creation. Nemesis, hearing Vulcan's rage, declared unto Echo, "You who think yourself greater than the creation of the Gods, your arrogance will be punished. You will lose your body, and you will learn that beauty does not rest on having a fair complexion. Your voice will change to thousands of different voices, and to make sure that you speak, you will repeat the last words spoken unto you, and you will learn that beauty comes in many different forms."

After Echo vanished, Narcissus looked for her desperately. Narcissus was given a beautiful voice, but he did not use it often. He only used his voice to call for Echo. He found her voice near a Lake. He shouted "Echo!" and Echo would respond. Even if it was with his own voice, his love was so strong that he would cherish her answers. The Lake knew Echo very well, for she bathed in his waters often. The Lake wanted to see Narcissus, so one day when he was drinking water, the Lake showed him visions of Echo on his waters.

Narcissus, captivated by the visions of Echo, withered away by the Lake, looking desperately at his waters. Juno noticed Narcissus and noticed his sorrow. Taking pity on him, she turned him into a flower, who to this day grows by the Lake's shore, with its golden heart overlooking the water.

When Narcissus was turned into a flower, the lake was very sad. Juno asked the lake, "Oh, most magnificent Lake, I know the source of your grief. Tell me, why did you love Narcissus so much?" The Lake replied, "Every time Narcissus gazed upon my waters, deep in his eyes, I could see my reflection staring back at me, and it was beautiful."

Author's Notes:

In the original story of Echo & Narcissus, it was Narcissus who rejected Echo. Narcissus was cursed to love someone who would not love him back, and he fell in love with his reflection. Echo was cursed for deceiving and distracting Juno, while Jupiter was cheating on Juno. I wanted to change the story, making Echo the bad character. Also, the original story has no mention of Vulcan. I wanted to introduce the concept of Vulcan making a magnificent being. In the original story, Narcissus was just a human. I changed it so that he was a divine creation with a heart of gold.

As far as the meaning of the story, it did not change much, except that the characterization of vanity is flipped from the original story. I also added jealousy to the story. Juno is ultimately jealous of Echo; which is why she wants to marry her off. Also, Narcissus does not fall in love with his reflection, but rather the Lake deceives him. We later find out the reasons why the Lake presented the visions to Narcissus. The Lake did not fall in love with Narcissus. The Lake fell in love with the reflection of itself in Narcissus's eyes.

Bibliography:

Story: Echo & Narcissus - Ovid's Metamorphoses I