HECATE
William Blake, The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy, 1795, Tate Gallery, London.
Eric Wang
“The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy”, also known as The Triple Hecate or simply Hecate, is one of the prophetic works of William Blake, an English poet and visual artist. Blake uses watercolors to depict Enitharmon, or Hecate, the goddess of crossroads that is “considered the center of ghostly activities, particularly in the dead of night” (Morford et al, 230), as a trio of characters with a male and a female behind her. Though Enitharmon is believed to be Blake’s creation in his own mythology to express his political and spiritual views (“The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy”), the work has been inspired by many other sources, including Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and the original Greek mythology.
Influenced by Michelangelo, Blake uses pen and ink with watercolor to give the main characters in “The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy” a Roman-sculptural feature. Even though the animals on the background may seem more abstract and unrealistic, the depiction of the human (goddess, actually) figure is very detailed and Romanesque. This influence from Michelangelo can also be seen in most other works of Blake and contributes as the fundamental of his visual arts. (Essick, 13)
Another factor that contributes to the creation of “The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy” is the return popularity of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Macbeth” in late 18th century. The animal contents – bat, owl, snake or frog – come from the verse of the second witch in “Macbeth”,
"Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble." (IV.i)
The depiction of the Hecate as a trio may also be inspired by “Macbeth” in which Hecate is depicted as the three witches. Has been played nine times during the creation of “The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy”, “Macbeth” has had an overall huge impact on it.
Lastly, I believe the original Greek mythology also has inspired the creation of this work. As one of the three manifestations as the goddess of moon along with Artemis and Selene, Hecate is particularly corresponding to the realm of Hades and is “considered the center of ghostly activities, particularly in the dead of night.” (Morford et al, 230). Like “Macbeth”, the three manifestations have given Blake hints on the depiction of the trio characters. And more importantly, Hecate’s significant features of black magic and the underworld serve as the keynote of the painting, which associates with Blake’s political view.
Emilyann Franklin
The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy is a work by William Blake. William Blake created his own mythology loosely based on Greek and Roman mythology. The character of Enitharmon was based on the Hecate from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which is why there are different animals in the painting, it’s a reference to Macbeth. This work is largely different from the original mythology of Hecate, as it depicts her as being a representation of female domination, when in Roman mythology, she is a protector of the household, so a protector of everybody.
The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy depicts Enitharmon, who is Hecate, in the underworld. A boy and girl hide their faces behind her back, making her triple, and surrounding her is a mare, owl, the head of a crocodile, and a cat-headed bat. She is also seen holding a book of magic. This work is supposed to represent a part in William Blake’s own mythology when Enitharmon, “establishes her Woman's World with its false religion of chastity and vengeance: a religion of eighteen hundred years, which is the error of official Christianity” (Damon). Basically, it’s an attack against the patriarchy. The main part of the work in which we see this is how Hecate is separating the boy and girl, who are presumed to be lovers. There are two interpretations of this. One, that Hecate represents institutionalized religion, and spoils their innocent love. And the other is that the goddess is jealous and separates them by making them believe sexuality is shameful and guilt-ridden, as seen by her expression and why the two hide their face behind her. Either way, the central figure separates the two lovers, which falls in line with how Enitharmon wants to “separate male and female in every civilization” (Schiff) so she can enslave mankind through sexual repression.
This is a stretch from the original mythology about Hecate. Hecate is the goddess of ghosts, necromancy, witches, sorcery, and herbal magic. She is also the goddess of roads and crossroads and is a protector of houses, entrances, and gateways. She is a boundary-crossing goddess, so she has the power to cross into and out of the underworld. Hecate is often associated with her cousin, Artemis, who was the virgin goddess. Artemis is seen as a protector of young women, so, Hecate could be too. Since Hecate is a protector of the household and a goddess of witchcraft, in William Blake’s mythology, he interpreted her as to represent female domination. Enitharmon wants women to rule the world and uses her powers of witchcraft to bring men under the control of women through sexual repression. This is largely different from the original Greek mythology, where Hecate is helpful and assists Demeter find Persephone and is not seen as cruel.
Juliann Luu
In William Blake’s The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy (sometimes referred to as The Triple Hecate or Hecate), his character Enitharmon, who is loosely based off of the Greek goddess Hecate, is seen sitting on the ground with various creatures surrounding her. Blake had left this color print untitled, which led to the misnomer of Hecate despite the work most likely referring to Blake’s main character Enitharmon of his fictional mythology. The eighteenth-century painter, printer, and poet created this piece in 1795 using pen and ink with watercolor on paper. While this work is not exactly of Hecate, rather of a character inspired by the Greek goddess, the piece can show how interpretations of Greek gods can change over time and made to suit the creator’s wishes.
The class textbook describes Hecate as “a goddess of roads in general and crossroads in particular, the latter being considered the center of ghostly activities, particularly in the dead of night… triple-faced statues depicted the three manifestations of her multiple character as a deity of the moon…” (Morford et al. 230). As depicted in The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy, Enitharmon is actually a trio of characters, with one female in front, and a female and male sitting behind her. This depiction of three people as one person could explain why scholars had thought the print was actually of Hecate. Blake also could have taken inspiration from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In Macbeth, Hecate appears in front of three witches in the play sitting around their bubbling cauldron. Some animals found in the watercolor and ink print were mentioned in a Macbeth verse: a bat, an owl, and a snake/frog. Hecate, as learned in class lecture “eventually became specifically associated with ghosts, necromancy, witches, sorcery, and herbal magic” (La Fond, “Sex and the Single Goddess: Artemis”). Blake’s filtered version of Hecate as Enitharmon clearly focuses on only some of the original’s traits, ignoring her associations with doorways and crossroads for instance and focusing more on the witchcraft aspect.
Overall, The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy is an interesting portrayal of Hecate. In ancient Greek mythology, her epithets were Chthonia (of the earth/underworld), Enodia (in the road), Propylaia (before the gate), Soteria (savior) and Kourotrophos (child-nourishing). As Enitharmon, she displays the magical aspect of the Greek goddess, and is made to suit William Blake’s anti-Church stance by representing female domination and sexual restraints that limit artistic imagination as shown in the creation of her false religion. It is fascinating how authors and artists will focus on specific traits of a Greek god or goddess, change them completely to make a point, or even revamp them entirely just because of the freedom of creative liberty. Many modern fantasy novels characterize Greek gods (or compose characters heavily inspired by Greek myth) differently from ancient myth and differently from each other – for instance works such as the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, the Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep or The Goddess Test series by Aimee Carter all illustrate altered versions of Greek gods. They may do this for entertainment purposes or to create developed characters with distinct personalities in their work; the gods are adapted to suit the author’s needs. Therefore, it is clear that semi-modern interpretations of Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes have shifted and modern interpretations will continue to shift from ancient myth.
Alexa Conzuelo
William Blake’s The Night of Enitharmon's Joy depicts either his original character Enitharmon, or the Greek goddess Hecate in a fantastical, nightmarish setting, set against a dark background and surrounded by a variety of animals, such as an owl and bat, with her hand resting on a book of magic. The work of art serves as a reflection of Blake’s own political and religious opinions, seen reflected in the portrayal of the Greek goddess. The painting reflects Hecate’s role as a goddess of witchcraft, as portrayed by the animals she surrounds herself with, including the bat and owl, which are seen reflected in Shakespeare’s Macbeth Act 4 Scene 1 where she listens offstage:
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
The introduction of the witches foretells Macbeth’s own doom and serve as a warning for the audience. Similarly, Blake uses his interpretation of Hecate as the goddess of witchcraft to portray her, and her magic in a negative light. Both a painter as well as a writer and poet, Blake published a series of poetic works drawing from the artists’ own personal mythology. In one of the books, Europe: a Prophecy, Blake’s character Enitharmon, based on Hecate, is introduced thusly:
Go! Tell the human race that Woman’s love is Sin!
That an Eternal life awaits the worms of sixty winters
In an allegorical abode where existence hath never come:
Forbid all Joy, & from her childhood shall the little female
Spread nets in every secret path.
In this poem as well the character Enitharmon serves as a warning for the audience, warning that woman’s own love is a Sin and negative, and that women themselves act as nets to trap others. According to Damon, much of the novel Europe: a prophecy is dedicated to Enitharmon, and her establishment of a Woman’s World based on a false religion of Chasity, used to represent a Feminine Will over patriarchal Christianity (125). In this way, Blake’s own opinions of what he perceives as “female domination” comes to light, mainly as something negative. This is a also similar interpretation as that of the witches in Macbeth, who, as witches, are servants of Hecate and pray to her.
Another earlier work of Blakes serves to establish his personal interpretation of the goddess Hecate. Written in 1777, eighteen years before his work The Night of Enitharmon's Joy, Blake wrote the poem Then She bore Pale desire… in which he once again mentions Hecate thusly:
Hate Meager hag Sets Envy on
unable to Do ought herself.
but Worn away a Bloodless Daemon
The Gods all Serve her at her will
So great her Power is[.] like.
fabled hecate
She doth bind them to her law.
In this poem the author is anthropomorphizing certain traits. In this section of the poem Blake is describing Envy, and mentions how, like Hecate, she binds other gods to her will. This is similar to what we learned from our textbook, that of Hecate as a moon goddess with dominion over the realm of Hades, with the power of both fertility and the Underworld, with terrifying powers (Morford et al 231). In both these depictions the goddess is someone to be respected and feared. Perhaps this is a reflection of the author’s own issues with women and the feminine, recognizing its inherent power and yet wary and afraid of it.
Works Cited
Essick, Robert N, and Donald Pearce. Blake in His Time. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978.
La Fond, Marie. “Sex and the Single Goddess: Artemis.” Greek and Roman Mythology. University of Washington, July 2021.
Morford, Mark, et al. Classical Mythology. 11thed., Oxford UP, 2019.
Shakespeare, William, and Rex Gibson. Macbeth. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Tate Gallery. “'The Night of Enitharmon's Joy (Formerly Called 'HECATE')', William Blake, C.1795.” Tate, 31 Dec. 1794, www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-the-night-of-enitharmons-joy-formerly-called-hecate-n05056
“The Night of Enitharmon's Joy.” The Night of Enitharmon's Joy by William Blake, www.williamblake.org/night-of-enitharmons-joy/.
S. Foster Damon, A Blake dictionary: the ideas and symbols of William Blake (Brown University 1965; Shambhala 1979; UPNE 1988) at 125. Index (1979) by Morris Eaves. ISBN 0-87451-436-3.
Schiff, G. (n.d.). The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy. Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly. http://bq.blakearchive.org/36.1.schiff.