In what has in recent years become fiction's most crowded genre, Stone Blind is the latest in a series of retellings of Greek myth for the modern audience. Although the list of authors who deal in retellings of classical myth appears to grow longer by the year, Natalie Haynes stands out as the preeminent and exceptional pen amongst some very fine volumes.
In her latest work, she sheds new light on one of the most enduring, famous and feared characters of the ancient world. Haynes’ subject is Medusa: born a mortal, though of divine parentage, Medusa is both human and beautiful. The only echo of her divine ancestry is betrayed by the wings on her otherwise human feet and her immortal sisters, the Gorgons, Stheno and Euryale. Although known to many readers as the ‘monster’ slain by Perseus, son of Zeus, and depicted in films such as the 1981 Clash of the Titans, or the 2010 reboot of the same name, this book offers us a different interpretation. The basic premise is the same as the mythical tales: Medusa is raped by Poseidon but as the act happened in the temple of Athena, the goddess of wisdom takes vengeance on Medusa for an act which was not her fault. Medusa is transformed by the goddess into a Gorgon. Gorgons were considered terrifying creatures, with tusks, scales and wings. At once, instinct would tell us that Medusa is now viewed as the ‘monster’ we have come to know from other cultural depictions, and this is where Haynes’ narrative genius appears most strikingly.
In most iterations, it is Perseus, son of Zeus, who is depicted as the hero, who must save his mother from a terrible marriage by capturing the head of a Gorgon and Medusa, as his fearsome, inhuman adversary. In this manner, Stone Blind destroys this narrative and rebuilds it anew. Medusa is a victim of circumstance, who displays kindness, courage and generosity, who loves her sisters even though their appearance terrifies others, while Perseus is a spoilt, whiny and vindictive bore. The way in which Haynes elegantly portrays this code switch is through the use of chapters told from different points of view. Each chapter in the narrative is dedicated to the perspective of a mortal, immortal or mythical being. Most of the characters in the work are female and this lends a fresh and engaging narrative to the ‘Perseus-centred’ perspectives of old.
The narrative's most informed and interesting point of view, entitled Gorgoneion, is told from the point of view of Medusa's disembodied head. Playing brilliantly with the established narrative, it offers the reader the chance to see Perseus from Medusa's point of view. On the first page, we are asked to consider that Perseus is not all we have been led to believe: ‘But it is enough. Enough to know that the hero isn't the one who's kind and brave or loyal. Sometimes – not always, but sometimes – he is monstrous.’
As the question of whether Perseus is the villain has been posed, it is at the feet of the narrative to prove this charge and this it does brilliantly. Before Perseus acquires the Gorgon's head, he is self-centred and petulant. This is mainly played out in acerbic and often witty dialogue between Athena and Hermes (who are sent by Zeus to aid Perseus) and their semi-divine relation.
Once Perseus acquires the head of Medusa, however, he becomes petty and vengeful. As the Gorgoneion grants its owner the power to turn anything or anyone to stone, Perseus now possesses a powerful weapon and wastes no time in deploying its phenomenal power. In one instance, he turns a shepherd to stone for refusing to give him shelter for the night. Later he turns the Titan Atlas to stone, because he is turned away from his palace.
At the end of the work, Perseus rescues the princess Andromeda. When he asks to marry her, it is telling that Haynes has Andromeda's parents, Cepheus, and his wife, Cassiopeia, express their deep unease about the match, calling Perseus both vain and dangerous.
Overall, the narrative ends where it should, Perseus shows his character by settling a quarrel at his wedding to Andromeda by turning her uncle Phineas and his followers to stone. At the insistence of the other gods, Zeus allows Athena to take the Gorgoneion from Perseus before he does any more irreparable damage. The narrative ends with the head of Medusa as part of the armour of Athena, victim and aggressor bound together. Ultimately Stone Blind reveals that the manner in which we apportion praise and status can often be no more than the reflection of the author. Haynes notes that ‘as the story is always told, she [Medusa] is the monster. We'll see about that’, and she is correct, as Stone Blind shows Perseus to be a cruel, vicious and self-serving creature, while Athena is petty, vain and jealous, despite her immortality. The narrative suggests that it isn't always the characters that shape a narrative but the angle from which you view them which matters most. Haynes’ newest narrative proves this brilliantly.
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