Sirens and Gender

I. love. sirens.

But what statement are they making in the context of Homer's narrative and gender dynamics? And how does our modern representation of sirens differ from the classic greek siren?

I was super excited when in Chapter 12 we got to the part of the Odyssey with the sirens in it. I've always thought that sirens were so creepy, the idea of a song so alluring and so desirable that you would do anything and forget all logic in order to seek it out and hear it. Sirens are so powerful, no physical strength can withstand them While I was actually reading the chapter, I was surprised by the fact that their song contained real words. It wasn't just a melody, they were singing directly to Odysseus and addressing him, not only using how beautiful their song was but using flattery and bribery to get him to come to them. I was torn as to if or if not I liked this, hearing the words of the song got rid of some of the mystery of the siren, but it also made them seem even more creepy, that the siren could get into your head and know exactly how to tempt you.

Another thing that I knew before reading the chapter but I just think is so fantastic is that the sirens aren't mermaids like they are in our more contemporary representation of them, they're BIRDS! If you look at some of the classical sculptures of them, they're not just ladies with winds. They're full out birds, just their heads are the heads of women. Honestly, I love this because to me at least it makes the men even more stupid and vulnerable to want to go to them. You're being seduced by a bird?! Comic genius. Yet, the lack of objective physical appeal of the sirens is an even bigger testament to their power, and that's cool too. But I did read that apparently, it's a thing that if someone hears a sirens song and doesn't die the sirens throw themselves into the water and die. So that's a bummer. I kind of root for the sirens tbh.

Okay though back to discussing the gender dynamics in the Odyssey and how sirens fit in. Siren's are the ultimate representation of the magical seductress archetype we've seen in both Circe and Calypso. Both of these women are powerful and "seduce" Odysseus (though he didn't seem to need much convincing). Both of these women, though they're fairly kind of Odysseus, don't earn the love of Odysseus in the same way that Penelope does. Penelope is in many ways the opposite of these women. She's a little bit tricky in her weaving scheme but other than that she doesn't have any exceptional power, certainly not any magical power. As well, she's chaste and faithful in her wait for Odysseus. According to the rules of the book, Odysseus treats them all justly. Circe and Calypso and even the sirens are interesting distractions, but they won't ever be worthy of Odysseus' full devotion, and we are supposed to see this as correct. These women deserve less than Penelope because they are powerful sexy women and it doesn't really matter because Penelope is always the endgame.

loving labyrinth

When I was about 10 years old I first watched a movie that has become one of my very favorites.
It’s called Labyrinth and it’s a bizarrely wonderful 80’s kid's movie and if you’re unfamiliar with it,
it has everything you could ever want in a movie. Corny acting, David Bowie, a dog, muppets,
musical numbers, and a bratty protagonist. It’s an absolute masterpiece that has become a cult
classic and though I know some of it is objectively terrible, I will defend it to my last breath.

Maybe some of you have seen this movie, but in case you haven't, here’s a basic plot run down.
The movie opens with 15-year-old Sarah Williams (played by a young Jennifer Connelly) reciting to
herself a passage from her favorite book, Labyrinth (very dramatic). She soon realizes that she is
late to babysit her baby brother and runs home in the rain with her adorable sheepdog Merlin.
There she fails to communicate with her dad and stepmother, fighting with them both and overall being
a bratty teenager. Her parents leave and after about 45 seconds she gets fed up with her crying
brother and starts reciting things from her beloved Labyrinth book. In this, she recites a group of
words that make goblins come and steal her baby brother. Jareth the Goblin King (David Bowie)
shows up and is a real creepo but tries to tell her to forget her baby brother and live happily ever
after. She says no way Jose and he agrees to let her have her baby brother back if she solves his
Labyrinth in 13 hours.

So here we get into her real quest through the labyrinth. She meets several allies on the way.
She meets Hoggle who is a dwarf, Ludo who is a very sweet bigfoot style monster who is friends
with rocks, and Sir Didymus who is an anthropomorphic fox/knight who rides on the back of
aforementioned adorable sheepdog. Sarah passes many tests of the labyrinth.
She makes friends with her allies and together they storm Jareth’s castle until she goes to
face the goblin king alone, declaring that he has no power over her and beating him. She returns
home and realizes that she really does care about her brother and all is well. Though,
Sarah’s friends from the Labyrinth appear in her mirror and are sad to say goodbye to her,
reminding her that they’ll be there should she need them. She reassures them that she does
need them and will need them every once in a while. They proceed to have a dance party.

Pretty classic Hero’s Journey. She stumbles from her ordinary world into an extraordinary one and
ends up mastering both.

Okay, so maybe not so brief. I really love this movie and there are a million things I wish I could
explain better and in more detail to make you understand what a cinematic marvel it is.

But if you wanted to know all about the movie, you could just watch it (and you definitely should).
Watching this movie again made me really think about why I love it and why I connected with it so
deeply when I first watched it. Thinking back to who I was, this movie helped articulate the identity
crisis of growing up that most kids feel. While Sarah has a very physical hero’s journey, she also has
a mental journey as she seeks to balance “kid” stuff and “teenager” stuff. The ending of the movie
is that most obvious example of this metaphor where Sarah articulates that she is done with this
adventure, but she will still need her fantasy friends throughout her life. She strikes a balance
between growing up and keeping her love of fantasy and childhood. Another scene is from the
“trials” part of her adventure. A junkyard gremlin muppet tries to trick her by luring her into a copy
of her bedroom so she will be distracted from her goal of getting her baby brother back. The junkyard
muppet lady reminds her of how much she loves her toys but Sarah declares that “it’s all junk” and
breaks free to get back on her path. The scene is scary as hell, but it’s not subtle at all. This movie
so clearly shows a struggle to see responsibility and break free of childhood, but the message of
the movie isn’t that you should grow up it’s that you should use your childhood to assist you
but not to control you.

I loved this. I saw this insolent but still likable girl who was struggling to grow up and it let me justify
taking that transition as slow as I wanted, it showed me the value in childhood even as you age out
of being a “kid”  I could use “kids stuff” to my advantage and in fact this movie told me how special I
was for the childhood wonder I had (and boy did I like to be special at that age).

Also, on a more meta level, my love of this movie was an act of defiance against growing old. It’s for
kids, it’s silly and childish and I loved it. I allowed myself to love a silly childish thing. It wasn’t a “good”
movie and it wasn’t in “good” taste of me to like it, but I did because I wanted to and nobody could
stop me. I felt my power through Sarah, taking back the agency I had in my own growing up.

Also, it’s just a work of art. Go watch it.