Orpheus and Eurydice

Joey Uzarski

        There are many ways that common Greek Mythology can be passed down through generations. Storytelling is the most common mode that comes to mind, but what about the other ways that such rich stories are told? The beloved themes of the myth Orpheus and Eurydice are reflected in the movie Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a movie told from the female gaze about when love becomes so painful due to the condemnation of the world around the mythological and movie characters. The feelings evoked of longing and uncertainty are most similar to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, as both works of art demonstrate a painful conclusion to love due to circumstances beyond the main characters’ control.

        In the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Orpheus makes a bargain with Hades in order to win back Eurydice who was cast to the underworld after a fatal snake bite (Morford 361-365).  Orpheus pleads with Hades to let her live and Hades agrees on one condition: that on the journey out from the underworld, Orpheus cannot look back at Eurydice to make sure she is still there. Right before they reach the top, Hades is fearful that Eurydice is not behind him and he glances back; shattering their deal with Hades and his chances of ever having Eurydice back (LaFond 3:45-4:55). Despite the chance in other mythical narratives of Orpheus being successful in retrieving Eurydice, the narrative most appropriate to the movie is one where he fails to retrieve her.

        The implications of looking back, and falling short of experiencing true love in the real world, is a main theme of Portrait of a Lady on Fire. In the movie, a portraitist named Marianne travels to a remote island in France to paint the portrait of a woman, Heloise, for her future husband whom she is in an arranged marriage with. The endless time that the two women spend together and the intent gaze that Marianne consistently maintains on Heloise leads her to fall in love with the subject of her portrait: eventually, it is no longer an artist looking at her subject, but a woman looking at another with a romantic desire (Syme et. al).

        There are few different ways that Orpheus and Eurydice are portrayed in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, both thematically and the cinematography that is used. Once the women fall in love they are confronted with the hard reality that they must be separated. While this climax does not come until the end of the film, there is a society that they are isolated from (analogous to the Underworld in Orpheus and Eurydice). The reality is that Heloise is set to wed. The film is extremely unique in its representation of the LGBTQ+ community because two women being in a relationship is beyond the realm of social acceptability, as the film is set in the mid-1700’s. Nevertheless, I believe that the film is critical because of this representation.

The picture above illustrates a pivotal point in the film when Marianne is leaving the island and takes one last glance at Heloise to preserve the memory of her (Silberstein et. al). Heloise is glowing in a white dress with darkness surrounding her, a reincarnation of Eurydice in the final moments that Orpheus looks back on their journey up from the underworld. The film left me, and many other viewers stunned, just like the myth. It leaves one to wonder why Orpheus could not have simply trusted that Eurydice was at his heels. Similarly to the myth, the movie left me begging that the two women be able to explore their romantic relationship. It was a humbling reminder just as love has the ability to bring two people together it may also tear them apart.

        The retelling of the tragic narrative of Orpheus and Eurydice in Portrait of a Lady on Fire leaves the audience yearning for the pairs to be united once again. Tragically, that is not how the two narratives end; and we are left grasping what may never be possible because of the world that surrounds the two sets of characters. This Greek myth is masterfully told and the film leaves a legacy, just like the myth, that lets viewers empathize with the heartbreak analogous to the ages-old tale of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Juno O’Neill

The only certainty in life is death; and yet throughout human history, we humans have struggled with the idea of death–both of the physical body and of the memory of ourselves, the image we put out into the world. For centuries, humans have made tales of immortal beings that contrast the effervescent nature of man, but many tales of mortals have become just as undying. Although their physical bodies may not be able to persist, their memory does, and this is no different with the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. Their love and tragedy have persisted for centuries, and have seen countless retellings. But perhaps the one retelling that truly captures their spirit lies within the musical Hadestown, and its ability to not only remind us of the tragedy of this tale, but the love that has kept it alive for so long.

The central tragedy of both the musical and the original recounting of the myth by Ovid is the tragic young death of Eurydice, whether newly wed and unable to live out her married life, or unwed, as in the musical, unable to have the wedding she dreamed with her lover, Orpheus. With Ovid, we are given insight into the tragic fate of young Eurydice by the bad omen seen at her wedding:

Hymen… did not smile or bless the pair or give good omens. Even the torch he held kept sputtering with smoke that drew tears and would not burn despite vigorous shaking. The outcome was even more serious than this ominous beginning. (Morford et al., 348)

But with Hadestown, no such omen is given to us. Instead, the first song of the musical “Road to Hell” simply starts off with telling us that the story we are about to hear is a sad and old one (De Shields et al., 4:40). The simple infamy of the tale is enough to remind us of Eurydice’s fate, and to begin to set us up for the tragedy we are about to witness.

        But despite Eurydice seemingly being damned from the beginning of having an eternal fate centered around her cycle of death and failed rebirth, this tale in and of itself is not so set in stone. Marie La Fond mentions that there is a possibility that versions exist in which Eurydice’s rebirth is successful (5:03-5:14), and even Hermes himself while narrating in “Road to Hell” says “Whether or not it turns out well / Maybe it will turn out this time” (De Shields et al., 2:33). And while Hadestown ends with Orpheus looking back to Eurydice, thus dooming her to die once more, in a way, each retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice actually grants Eurydice life once more, or even better, immortality, through the words sung or written or danced or painted. In fact, in “Road to Hell (Reprise)”, the entire song is focused on speaking about how timeless and eternal the myth is–how despite the sadness that comes with it, there is a hope, a spark, each time the tale begins that things will be different, a hope that Eurydice and Orpheus can finally make it out of the Underworld, together. A hope that their love will be strong enough to overcome the finality of death; and even when Orpheus doubts, or he yearns to see his beloved and gives in to the need to look at her and see her in the flesh, the simple fact that the tale is being told is enough to keep him and Eurydice alive, at least for the next generation.

Works Cited

De Shields, Andre, et al., “Road to Hell.” Hadestown (Original Broadway Cast Recording), Sing It Again Records, 2019. Spotify, https://open.spotify.com/track/5S6O5UYDS2dxVTY7JSF9xy?si=683cffb032bd4213

De Shields, Andre, et al., “Road to Hell (Reprise).” Hadestown (Original Broadway Cast Recording), Sing It Again Records, 2019. Spotify, https://open.spotify.com/track/2GMLTm3qlHmKkHnQA3wuRn?si=26bf0e25b8b24211

La Fond, Marie. “Magical Mystery Tour: Orpheus and Orphism.” Greek and Roman Myth. University of Washington, January 2022, https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1514816/pages/lesson-6-video-lectures?module_item_id=14661602. Accessed 10 February 2022.

Morford, Mark, et al. Classical Mythology. 11th ed., Oxford UP, 2019.

Silberstein, R. (2020, February 20). Portrait of a lady on fire taps ancient mythology for a modern statement on Love. Cinema76. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.cinema76.com/home/2020/2/20/portrait-of-a-lady-on-fire-taps-ancient-mythology-for-a-modern-statement-on-love

Syme, R., Brody, R., & Lane, A. (2020, March 4). "Portrait of a lady on fire" is more than a "manifesto on the female gaze". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/portrait-of-a-lady-on-fire-is-more-than-a-manifesto-on-the-female-gaze