How relevant are Ovid's themes to our own historical moment? Have we resolved issues he raises? Do we still wrestle with them? How might his "Four Ages" be used to describe our progress or lack thereof? What Metamorphoses do you see occuring around you that may have mythic/epic implications?
I believe that Ovid is merely a conduit for the voices and the events of every age, every time, every place. In this human (and arguably deity) condition we all suffer from, we are bound to love, hate, seek revenge, act foolishly, envy, and try to understand the worlds we inhabit. I am inclined to believe that there truly are only 7 original plots, and the world has become very imaginative in ways to change the people (used very loosely obviously) and the places they occur.
In the same way Obama being elected president did not end racism in America, so in the same way too I know that the challenges that Ovid and his characters faced are a constant battle that can never be resolved. No technology ever invented will be enough to overcome the power of desire, be that lusting or loving, nor will it cool the flames of vengeance or the flights of folly. These characteristics, these acts are what make us human. To try to escape it is to become that which we are not. Though it may follow the pattern of human curiosity that we try to understand that which we are not (immortality, death, perfection), I believe it highly improbable that humans will ever be more than just that, human. We may choose to strive for a higher standard of living, pursuing arts and holding ourselves to a code of morality, but at our cores, we are nothing more than bipedal, big brained animals grasping for some semblance of belonging in a universe we will never be able to comprehend.
No comments:
Post a Comment