A Historical Reclamation

Taking back our history, both fictionally and non-fictionally, is increasingly prevalent in the last five years. Groups once pushed to the margins have a spotlight, albeit smaller than a wealthy white man’s, but a spotlight nonetheless. Ideas considered “biological” are being reconsidered; old history is being unearthed and re-examined with fresh eyes; and the third wave of feminism (including intersectionality) is gaining more traction by the proof we bring forth on an everyday basis aiming to free people from patriarchy’s vice-like grip. 

Madeline Miller seeks to revive Galatea, Circe, and several Greek mythological characters through her writing. She is taking the ideas of femininity and the female fatale to make mythology anew. She gives voice to characters that were otherwise secondary and, thus, voiceless. I feel Madeline Miller’s Galatea hits the hardest. For a short story, it packs a punch aimed at the white men who seek to define womanhood and what it is to be a woman. To appreciate what Miller changed to give voice to Galatea, we first must understand the story’s origin. 

Ovid originally wrote the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion in Metamorphoses, book 10, labeled “Orpheus’ Song: Pygmalion” (a partial version of the poem can be found here). Pygmalion is a sculptor based in Cyprus (there is some variation in which he is the king of Cyprus). Disillusioned by the women in his town, he creates a statue of the ideal woman (not named in the poem, but known through mythology as Galatea), embodying all aspects of femininity, entirely inspired by his male gaze. 

“Sick of the vices with which the female sex has been so richly endowed, he chose for a number of years to remain unmarried, without a partner to share his bed.”

Lines 245-248, Book 10, Metamorphoses

Side note*: The women Pygmalion refers to are the Propoetides from the poem Orpheus song: the Cerastae and Propoetides. In which Ovid wrote: “It’s said that they were first to offer their bodies and beauty for sale. Then after these harlots has lost all shame, and the blood no longer ran to their cheeks but congealed as hard as their natures, it didn’t take much of a change to transform them to solid granite.”

*(There’s a lot to break down in this excerpt, so we’ll get back to it later).

In creating a statue of the “ideal” woman, he falls “in love with his creation.” He “kissed it and thought it was kissing him too. He talked to it, held it.”

Essentially, he worshipped the statue he made, thinking an inanimate object would be preferable to a real woman. When a festival for Venus occurred, he asked for the statue to be a woman. Venus granted his wish and gave Galatea (the statue) life. The poem ends with Galatea (whose name is not mentioned in the entirety of the poem) and Pygmalion (whose name is mentioned in the very title of the poem) marrying and having Paphos (there is some discord on Paphos’s sex). 

Where does Madeline Miller deviate? What makes her work a reclamation?

In Ovid’s poem, Ovid focuses on the whiteness, the appearance of purity in Galatea’s skin. 

He talked to it, held it, imagined his fingers sinking into the limbs he was touching, frightened of bruising those pure white arms as he gripped them tight.

Lines 255-258

He successfully carved an amazingly skillful statue in ivory, white as snow, an image of perfect feminine beauty and fell in love with his creation.

Line 249

At the poem’s beginning (the poem starts at line 240 and extends to line 300), Ovid equates whiteness, or the appearance of whiteness, to femininity. Miller changes this by avoiding all descriptions of Galatea. The only physical descriptions Galatea has are the faint silver lines where her belly stretched during her pregnancy, her “swollen” feet, and “I was slow and fat from a year of lying in bed.” Otherwise, there is no physical description of Galatea, and, in the absence of a description, she is proving multiple points: 

• Physical description does not need to be present in a story to tell a story. 
• Ovid described Galatea as “an image of feminine beauty.” Beauty is subjective to everyone. By avoiding description, Miller gives her character the unique ability to be relatable and appear different to everyone. 
• There is no ideal femininity. 

The only moment of beauty described is when Galatea describes others’ reactions to her: 

Everyone looks at me because I was the most beautiful woman in the town. I don’t say this to boast because there is nothing to boast of. It was nothing I did myself. 

page 12, Galatea by Madeline Miller

In identifying this, Galatea is dispelling pretty privilege. Pretty privilege is the idea that individuals meeting societal beauty standards are more likely to have economic, social, and political advantages than those less attractive. However, it is not a privilege to be deemed as a sexual object, as is the case of Galatea. Pretty privilege can cause more alienation from peers and coworkers than once thought. 

The main difference between Ovid’s retelling and Miller’s retelling is the perspective. Ovid chooses to write from Pygmalion’s viewpoint, focusing on the passion Pygmalion felt in his creation and romanticizing it. If Galatea were a woman, not a statue, at any point in the following description, Pygmalion’s actions would be considered sexual assault. 

Pygmalion fondled that longed-for body again and again as he gently stroked and explored. 

Line 291, Book 10, Metamorphoses

By Ovid describing Pygmalion’s fondling for almost fifty lines of poetry, he is romanticizing assault (though it was not deemed as assault back then).

Miller tells the story from Galatea’s perspective. She places her in a sick home to add character and push the story along. Galatea’s placement in a hospital plays a few roles:

• The nurse, Chloe, acts as a foil to Galatea. She aids the doctor and, indirectly, Pygmalion in controlling Galatea. 
• Chloe also acts as a woman suffering from internalized misogyny. When Galatea approaches her regarding her health and life, Chloe disbelieves her. 
• The doctor and nurse characters act as society. For, often, it is not just a boyfriend, husband, or partner holding a woman back from her dreams or wants but civilization itself. 
• She is bringing to light a history not so distant from our time — “troublesome” women placed in psychiatric wards for their inability to conform.

“That’s enough,” he said, in that voice that meant he was going to send for the tea. The tea is the thing they give me when I won’t lie back, and I hate it, for they sit beside me until I drink it all, and then my head aches and my tongue hurts and I piss the bed. 

Page 5, Galatea by Madeline Miller

Miller depicts Pygmalion as he is — a man fed up with women and expects a passive object instead of a person.

Would it have not been easier to marry a girl from the town? I asked. Those sluts, he said, I would not have them. 

Page 5, Galatea by Madeline Miller

I don’t think my husband expected me to be able to talk. But it does seem foolish that he didn’t think it through; how could I not both live and still be a statue? I have only been born for eleven years, and even I know that. 

Pages 10-11, Galatea by Madeline Miller

Throughout the text, in Ovid’s poem and Miller’s short story, Pygmalion is obsessed with ideas of purity, virginity, and control. He seeks to be everything to Galatea, even to the detriment of his child, Paphos. Miller takes Ovid’s need for dominance further, playing on beauty standards — hairless, thin, youthful, essentially a child. 

“Ah!” I closed my eyes. “I wish I could see it, darling. What is it of?”

“A girl.” 

“It will be beautiful,” I said. “Is she for one of the men in town?”

“No,” he said. “I’m tired of those. This one is for myself.” 

“How wonderful,” I said. “I hope I may see it when you are finished.”

“Maybe,” he said…

“How old is the girl?” I asked. 

“Ten,” he said. 

I expected him to say, “young.” When I had once asked him how old he meant for me to be, he had said, “A virgin.” 

Pages 7-8, Galatea by Madeline Miller

I conceived that very first time, a moment after I was born. 

Page 11, Galatea by Madeline Miller

Pygmalion essentially sees women and girls by their sex, by what they can offer a man, not as human with thoughts and feelings. By including this description, Miller is playing on Pygmalion’s (and some men’s) need for control and shamefulness within their women partners. Ovid wrote Pygmalion with the same sentiments. A “fallen” woman, an “impure” woman, does not blush with shame during intercourse. 

Then after these harlots has lost all shame, and the blood no longer ran to their cheeks but congealed as hard as their natures.

Line 240, Book 10, Metamorphoses

Galatea, innocent and newly born, blushes as Pygmalion touches her for the hundredth time. Ovid romanticizes “shame,” blushing, and purity in women.

She felt his kisses and blushed; then timidly raised her eyes to the light and saw her lover against the sky.

Line 295, Book 10, Metamorphoses

How does this make Pygmalion an incel?

Incels, or involuntary celibates, are heterosexual men who blame their lack of success in romantic/sexual relationships on women. Their blame augment into other realms of their life, leading them to blame women for almost any hardship or misfortune.

Here are some common characteristics within the manosphere:

Characteristic	Metamorphoses by Ovid	Galatea by Madeline Miller
Misogyny	X	X
Racism	X	X
Sexual objectification	X	X
Sense of sexual entitlement	X	X
Self-pity	X	X
Hostility		X

How does Miller’s Galatea hold up to the Bechdel-Wallace test?

Galatea passed the Bechdel-Wallace test just barely. Although Galatea has conversations with the nurse, she is only referred to as “the nurse” by Galatea. It is not until the doctor states the nurse’s name that the story passes. Additionally, Pygmalion keeps her social realm small, leading to more conversations with men than women. Despite this, the Galatea passes. 

Number of…	Amount
Conversations with a woman/girl	3
Conversations with a man	7
Conversations about a man	3
Times Galatea thinks of/discusses pregnancy	3
Times Galatea apologizes	3

To determine whether Galatea passes other tests, her motives must be explored. Throughout Miller’s short story, Galatea describes her life the past eleven years and her struggle to find freedom (away from Pygmalion) with her daughter Paphos.

Test	Pass	Fail
Bechdel-Wallace Test	X
POC Bechdel Test	X	X
DuVernay Test	X	X
Native Bechdel Test	X	X
Mako Mori Test	X
Raleigh Becket Test		X

Because Madeline Miller chooses not to describe Galatea’s appearance, she leaves it to the reader to determine her description; thus, it is up to the reader to decide whether Galatea passes the POC!Bechdel Test, the DuVernay Test, or and the Native Bechdel Test.

Galatea slightly passes the Mako Mori test in that she develops independently from Pygmalion. She wants to be free of Pygmalion and save her daughter Paphos. After a failed runaway attempt, she does what she can to ensure her and her daughter’s freedom. She develops her own sense of self despite Pygmalion’s abuse and control. It is within her daily rebellion that she establishes her will.

Galatea does not pass the Raleigh Becket test because Pygmalion is obsessed with keeping control of his wife (Galatea) and his daughter. His resentment towards his daughter’s birth, and Galatea’s love for her, that leads him to craft a replacement statue of a ten year old girl. Miller implies Pygmalion is a groomer. He is so infatuated with control and “purity” that he resorts to making a child-statue for his pleasure. Pygmalion’s sexual objectification of Galatea leads to the failure of Galatea in the Raleigh Becket test.

Would I read Galatea again?

Absolutely! There are more themes and social commentary than I had time to list within this post. To research for this post and develop my theories further, I turned to the following sources:

• Bechdel-Wallace Test
• Britannica’s Pygmalion
• Ovid’s Forbidden Love
• Galatea by Madeline Miller
• Metamorphoses by Ovid
• Incel Psychology
• Incel Characteristics