Week Two Story: Pygmalion and Purity
Pygmalion has always been a hopeless romantic, but none of the women he has encountered are able to measure up to his high standards. Until one cool summer’s night, when Pygmalion decided to take a walk to the island's beach. On the beach he tried to clear his head and desperately hoped he would be able to find some type of inspiration for his next work of art. He looked up and gazed at the full moon and was in awe of its ivory white glow.
He then started to head back to his house when all of a sudden, in the distance, he could see a woman’s figure in the moonlight. She was just standing in the sand, staring off into the sea, while the waves came crashing into her feet. Pygmalion approached the woman and asked, “Is everything all right?” She jumped and turned around quickly, as she did not expect to encounter anyone this late on the beach. Pygmalion stopped in his tracks and said, “I did not mean to startle you. My name is Pygmalion, and I was just surprised to see someone out on a night like this. I’m sure you heard about the strange events that happen on a full moon.” The woman blushed and replied, “I was just getting some fresh air and you know you can't always believe everything you hear. My name is Purity by the way.” Pygmalion asked Purity if he could walk her home, but she declined and said, “But you may walk me to the boardwalk instead,” which was a few miles down the beach. As they walked and talked Pygmalion could not find one imperfection or flaw in Purity. He had finally found his perfect woman!
With no time to waste he grabbed Purity’s hand and confessed his love for her. She too could feel their strong connection, but she had a secret. Ever since she could remember she had been cursed. On a full moon was the only time she could feel alive, because as soon as the full moon goes away and the sun rises she becomes frozen into an ivory statue. After hearing this news, Pygmalion looked into Purity’s eyes and vowed to break this curse and then he passionately kissed her. They walked hand in hand back to his artist's studio. Their they spent their remaining hours really getting to know each other. Then with the first gleam of sunlight from the rising sun, Purity become cold and frozen into an ivory statue.
The next few weeks Pygmalion tried everything to break the curse. He wrapped the statue with enchanted dresses, magical jewelry, he even tried kissing the statue, but nothing worked. Feeling defeated he went to the Temple of the Goddess Venus and made an offering and prayed for a way to break Purity’s curse. Venus heard Pygmalion’s prayer and decided to take pity on him and showed him in a dream the answer to his prayers. The next morning he hurried off to town for some supplies. Then he returned to his artist's studio where Purity’s statue stood. He then placed a crown on the statute's head. There were three flowers on this crown that Pygmalion lit on fire one by one. When all three flowers started burning, all their unique aromas began to intertwine in the air, and Purity came back to life! Pygmalion had fulfilled his promise and he was finally able to be with the woman of his dreams. The next day they got married and that night there was a full moon and they had a festival for the whole town to come out and be merry and of course give thanks to Venus for helping Pygmalion break the curse.
Kissing in the Moonlight. Pixabay.
Author’s Note:
The story Pygmalion from Ovid's Metamorphoses translated by Tony Kline, is about a man who creates an ivory statue and then falls in love with it. Then on the day of Venus’s festival he prays for a bride like his ivory statue. When he returns home he is shocked to find his ivory statue has came to life. He marries her and the goddess Venus attends their ceremony. Shortly after Pygmalion and his wife have a son named Paphos, which is the same name as the island they all live on. In my story Pygmalion falls in love with a real woman who is cursed with turning into an ivory statue. Also, I named the girl Purity because to me the color ivory represents pureness. Furthermore, instead of Venus just making the statue come alive like in the original story, I had Venus give Pygmalion the tools to break the curse in the form of a dream. This is because I wanted Pygmalion to be the one who physically breaks the curse. I didn’t just want Purity to come alive on a whim. I wanted to portray the idea that in order to get what you truly want, you and only you can be the one to make your dream a reality. In the story Pygmalion had to be the one to put in the effort to get what he truly desired, the love of his life.
The story Pygmalion from Ovid's Metamorphoses translated by Tony Kline, is about a man who creates an ivory statue and then falls in love with it. Then on the day of Venus’s festival he prays for a bride like his ivory statue. When he returns home he is shocked to find his ivory statue has came to life. He marries her and the goddess Venus attends their ceremony. Shortly after Pygmalion and his wife have a son named Paphos, which is the same name as the island they all live on. In my story Pygmalion falls in love with a real woman who is cursed with turning into an ivory statue. Also, I named the girl Purity because to me the color ivory represents pureness. Furthermore, instead of Venus just making the statue come alive like in the original story, I had Venus give Pygmalion the tools to break the curse in the form of a dream. This is because I wanted Pygmalion to be the one who physically breaks the curse. I didn’t just want Purity to come alive on a whim. I wanted to portray the idea that in order to get what you truly want, you and only you can be the one to make your dream a reality. In the story Pygmalion had to be the one to put in the effort to get what he truly desired, the love of his life.
Bibliography
“Pygmalion” from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline (2000). Web Source.
This was an amazing story, Sydney! You did a great job of tying in the original story while adding enough of a twist to make it your own. I also love that you used the name Purity as it is a perfect symbol for the color ivory. Your story kept my attention the whole time and made me excited to read your stories in the future.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
Great story Sydney! I actually did my writing on Pygmalion too! I feel like we all were really caught by that story because it's such a traditional fairytale! I really liked your take on it and the little details you added to make it your own! You added a lot more character to the women in the story which was awesome to read! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Sydney!
ReplyDeleteI like the choice of setting in your story, the walk on the beach to clear his head is perfect. Your descriptions are so vivid and you use such wonderful vocabulary that I can imagine the scene perfectly with the waves crashing into the feet of the woman’s figure. I like how you named the main character purity instead of keeping the original name in the story because it makes your story more unique and stand out more from the original. Your story is so captivating, I found myself gasping when I found out about Purity’s curse that turns her into an ivory statue. Your story makes me want to keep reading more and more. I like the moral of your story more than the original story. I definitely agree that he should work for it rather than just be granted a soulmate out of ivory. This story makes Pygmalion much less creepy in my eyes.