Using his supreme sculpting skills, Pygmalion sought out to create the ideal woman. He isolated himself in his castle and began to create his masterpiece. Yet, after weeks of work, the final result was nowhere near his expectations for the perfect woman. So, he started over.
The king constantly looked for ways to improve his creation. He looked to perfect every single detail of the sculpture in the hopes that it would turn out better than the last. Yet, after more weeks of work, the sculpture was still not good enough.
Over and over, the king labored through every detail of his canvas, desperately trying to achieve his goal. However, months passed to no avail, and the king felt more alone each and everyday.
A year after his project began, he had made no progress. He sat alone, surrounded by a dozen unfinished sculptures with no end in sight.
"Why??" Pygmalion pleaded to the gods. "Why must you torture me like this? Why will you not allow me to find the one thing I have been looking for my entire life?"
Suddenly, a bright light emerged before him, forcing Pygmalion to turn away. When the light dimmed and the king looked back, the Queen Venus had appeared before him in a flowing, bright red dress. He stood in awe for a minute, but his dumbfounded glare returned to one of anger.
"So now you've arrived to save the day?" Pygmalion said sarcastically. "After I've pleaded for help for months? Why will you not help me in my pursuit of the woman of my dreams?"
Venus chuckled. "You have not learned a thing about love, have you?"
"What do you mean?" asked Pygmalion, taken aback by the goddess' response.
"Love is not about finding the perfect woman because there is no such thing. Love is about finding the perfect woman for you."
Author's Note
When I was writing this story, I wanted to throw a little twist in the story from the anthology website. As a result, I thought about what it would be like if Pygmalion struggled to create the perfect woman from the original story. I enjoyed writing from that perspective and exploring Pygmalion's struggle in his fight for love. I also wanted to incorporate elements from other stories that I read in the anthology. For example, I ended the story with my attempt at a moral, resembling those at the end of Aesop's Fables. This not only allowed me to end the story with a sort of ethical lesson, but also left the audience with a little cliffhanger so that they can imagine how the story might have ended themselves.
Bibliography. "Pygmalion" from Metamorphoses by Ovid, translated by Tony Kline (2000). Web source.
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| A sculpture based on Jean Léon Gérôme depicting Pygmalion and his love, Galatea. |
Hi Sam!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your story! I feel like the twist that you put on the story of Pygmalion falling in love with his sculpture added a lot of modernism and flare to it. Rather than having love fall into his hands, he was told by Venus that he had to find it himself after struggling for so long, which I feel like can even be related to real life.
Hi Sam!
ReplyDeleteI love your story! I think that this story has a lot of hidden meanings that are so beneficial for us to take away. You did an amazing job in explaining the agony that Pygmalion felt because he couldn't find his perfect woman. My favorite part of your story is how you ended with the quote that stated how there is no such thing as a perfect woman, rather there is only the perfect woman for him. Good work!
Hey Sam,
ReplyDeleteGreat story! I liked how you added your own unique twist to the story. This version definitely has more of a life lesson to it than the original. I think it rings true that in real life people are always looking for the perfect person and grow frustrated. I think the best part of your story is how applicable it is to real life.
Sam, dude, this was a super clever twist! I am completely taken aback by how this story ended. Almost cheated in a way! haha Anyways, I think it's awesome the way that you had Pygmalion not get the girl he want, but to also make it a moral story??? that's wild.
ReplyDeleteSam, you did a fantastic job at this story! I liked how you added in a moral at the end of a story. I am a big fan of symbolism, and this ethical allusion to morals helps give a view of symbolism in my eyes. I really enjoyed your twist too because I definitely that Pygmalion would ge the girl that he wanted, so that was a very exciting twist to see.
ReplyDeleteHi Sam!
ReplyDeleteI also wrote a retelling of the Pygmalion story, so I was excited to read yours! I think the twist was really interesting; it's like a totally different story now. I do like the idea of Pygmalion struggling to create what he thinks is the ideal woman, but I think the story could benefit from a little bit more at the end. Good luck with the rest of the semester!