The story of Narcissus has been a great inspiration for people from different fields, from art and literature to philosophy, psychology and sociology.
This is because it contains many elements that have strong roots in our lives. Like love, beauty and self-identification.
I will try to present a new perspective on the history of narcissus and illuminate things that everyone takes for granted. In my opinion, these myths are a kind of code or letter from people with good insight to anyone who is willing to think about them and look for the key that is hidden between the lines.
About the book
It is almost impossible to say which version of myths is the original, since they reached us through various sources. I based my article on a version from Metamorphose's book 3. The author's full name is Ovidius Naso. He was born on March 20, 43 BC. in Sulmona, now known as Abruzzo. He went to school in Rome and traveled to Greece to complete his studies.
Metamorphoses is a continuous poem in fifteen books. It is his longest work and contains various stories related to a common theme, which is the Transformation (metamorphosis).
The stories are sometimes linked by a geographical location or a common character.
For example, Tiresias had a prophetic vision and gave answers (error-free answers) to people who wanted to know the future or fate of their loved ones.
We see him in different stories, and also the story of how he foresaw, is just before the story of Narcissus. Narcissus' mother, Liriope, consulted him to know the future of her beautiful newborn, and Tiresias said that Narcissus would live to a very old age only if he never gets to know (discovers, recognizes) himself.
History of Narcissus
She was a water nymph. She gave birth to Narcissus after Cephisus (river god) impregnated her with force in a winding stream and almost drowned her.
By the age of sixteen, Narcissus had already gained many admirers of both sexes, but he had little feelings for girls as much as for boys. Consequently, one of his admirers raised prayers to the great heavens. A Nemesis cursed Narcissus for loving himself and failing in his great love, as the prayer said.
He expressed his rejection of the lover of Echo when she tried to squeeze him with a very important sentence. He said:' I may be dead before you throw your dreaded links around me' .
Narcissus was walking in a deep forest as he bent down to drink from a silvery pool. Afterwards he saw his mirror image and was enchanted by his charm. He could not speak. He lay down to look deeper.
Narcissus did not want food or water. He stood there trying to catch the shadow, knowing that it was him, but at the same time it was not. It's like when two lovers say we're one. Narcissus said:" I am he, I guessed it, and I am not fooled by my own image ". He knew he was going to die. Narcissus died weakened and melted by love, and his body was transformed into a flower with white-rimmed petals around a golden heart.
How Salvador Dali interpreted the story of Narcissus
Metamorphosis of Narcissus (Métamorphose de Narcisse) is an oil-on-canvas painting by Salvador Dali, in which he interpreted the story of Narcissus.
At first glance, you will notice the existence of some elements that did not exist in the story. The hand holding the egg, the chessboard with the sculpture, and the dog next to the giant hand. We see how the hand has a very similar shape to the body of Narcissus. In addition to the egg instead of the head. During the transformation, his body was the vehicle that brings the flower of Narcissus, his immortality to this world.
Dig deeper
From all this we see many things to think about. First of all, we have the mysterious connection between water and Narcissus.
- He was the son of a god river and a water nymph.
- His mother became pregnant in the water.
- His water reflection was his remorse, and he died and transformed beside the water.
- The water helped him recognize himself and feel love he had never had before.
The second thing is reflection. Echo reflected Narcissus' voice or words, and she had an actual body. But narcissus rejected her for a reflective image that had no body!
We can not say that Narcissus never saw the reflection in the water before, while trying to drink on another occasion. But the special thing about this pool is its clarity, ' Where there was never a shepherd, there were no goats, nor cattle or leaves or animals or birds '.
It reflected a pure image of Narcissus where he saw his true self, his smiles and tears, his enthusiastic eyes. He fell in love with the purity of his image. And what multiplied his feelings was the reflection of the love he saw in the water.
Metamorphosis between destiny and choice
The subject of metamorphosis is present in most myths and religious stories. There are many people who have become something else like rocks, different animals, or even a constellation, or they have just lost their sense or got an additive.
Like Tiresias, he lost his sight but gained foresight. Or Echo, who lost the ability to say his own words. This often happens because they annoy someone with great power as gods, and perhaps in cases where they have no real choice.
This image of helpless little creatures who have no say in how their lives will be, the boat of fate takes them where they want to go, and they never manage to escape it.
The metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa
We see how it changed in the literature, in the story of Kafka when the character Gregor Samsa was transformed into a monstrous pest (a giant insect), and this did not happen because of any curse from a powerful creature, but because of the choices he made under the pressure of feelings he had for his family.
He chose to sacrifice the life he wanted, to pay their debts. The pest is an unclean animal that is not suitable for sacrifice.
Gregor Samsa did not do well for them. He died, and they left the girl's body to throw it away, and they went to enjoy the day.
Something inside him became rotten as a consequence of his choice, so it began to expand until he found himself transformed.
Why him, not others?
What made Narcissus reject all his admirers and fall in love with himself? Some will say that there is a curse, even if there is a gift in every curse ... a cure if you remove it.
Let us take the example of the story of Tiresias. The gods saw his vision. At the same time, it gave him foresight and access to know the future of people and also to live 7 times more than an ordinary person can.
So his transformation was not so tragic, nor was Narcissus.
A vengeful wish was the cause of Narcissus' pain, but in the end he became immortal. Narcissus saw more than the reflected image, and it made him realize something. After all, he saw it in the water and we noticed how he had a very strong connection with water.
When he likened Echo's arms to terrible chains, Narcissus gave us the reason why he did not take any lover. Fear and chains tell us briefly how Narcissus saw others' love for him:a prison of fear. When we love someone, we try to own him for fear of losing him.
But when love touched Narcissus free spirit, he had no thoughts of revenge or bad wishes and did not shout with bad prayers. He wanted to escape himself, away from his body. His love was pure, just like the pool, but he preferred death to a life of pain.
Cultural significance in anthropology
The relationship between Narcissus and our current society can be summed up in three words:narcissistic personality disorder.
What we have from Narcissus today is simply his name, which was linked to a personality disorder. The term narcissism, as Freud said in his article, is taken from a clinical description and was chosen by Paul Näcke in 1899 to denote someone who treats his body in different ways to achieve complete satisfaction.
But this notion was developed over time, and we now find in DMS V the narcissistic personality disorder is a personality disorder with a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by excessive feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration and lack of empathy.
From another angle, if we are talking here about Narcissus 'obsession with his reflection, this era would be Narcissus' time. People are becoming more and more obsessed with their photos and videos that are shared on the internet. We show what we have, and we seek admiration in the form of "views, likes and shares", and it is a closed loop. The more you get views, the more you succeed in the eyes of society, the more you will stay there and desire the illusion.
The hidden key in the story of narcissus?
Apparently the story of Narcissus will give us more questions than answers, but the first thing that came to my mind is:Are we at a time when Narcissus and the outside world are our pool? We are charmed by everything we see. We want the illusion. Especially in our time with all the social media and people who share every detail of their lives.
If you think about it, we can not see ourselves with our two eyes. We can see some parts of our body, but we go through our lives and see the world around us and others. Even when we want to see ourselves, we see a reflection in a mirror or on another surface on the other side of us ... as if it were someone else.
If I define myself from a reflection I see on the other side, I will always identify with everything I see there.
How can I know that my reflection is not distorted by how I see others and how I see society? Just as Jean-Paul Sartre said: 'people living in society have learned to see themselves in the mirror as they appear to their friends'.
the conclusion
If Narcissus saw how he appeared to others, how could this be a means of knowing himself? Or does the clarity of the pool mean that it cleanses all the veils that society puts on him?
If I ask if everyone is okay
From mirror to mirror,
No vanity is displayed:
I'm looking for the face I had
Before the world was created.
WILLIAM BUTLERÅR
When I look back on my childhood, I always see that I try to imitate girls in my class. I could not be like them and I lost myself in the way. In fact, I did not know that I had a self to lose, I just wanted it and be like them ... to fit. I do not know why, but it reminds me of Narcissus when he looked at his mirror image. The only difference is that I was looking for a reflection.
It's like trying to find yourself in a mirror, but ignoring or forgetting your being, perhaps from a lack of self-awareness, being unaware that there is something reflected, something essence, your basic cause you can use to build this image you will show to the world, it is like a state of permanent hypnosis.
References
GREEK MYTH AND GREEK MYTHOLOGY
TODAY'S STORY
Trace mythology through time and place