Henry James | THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY “‘Well, you’re not in love with her, I hope.’’How can that be, when I’m in love with Another?’’You’re in love with yourself, that’s the Other!’” — Henry James | THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY mythology, recursion, glamourNatasha JoukovskyJanuary 25, 2018Henry James, Portrait of a Lady, Narcissus, love, self-love, 2Comment
Herman Melville | MOBY DICK “And still deeper the meaning of that story of Narcissus, who because he could not grasp the tormenting, mild image he saw in the fountain, plunged into it and was drowned. But that same image, we ourselves see in all rivers and oceans. It is the image of the ungraspable phantom of life; and this is the key to it all.” — Herman Melville | MOBY DICK glamour, mythology, recursionNatasha JoukovskyApril 30, 2017Narcissus, mirror, mimesis, water, simulacra, 1Comment
Ovid | METAMORPHOSES “As he triedTo quench his thirst, inside him, deep within him,Another thirst was growing, for he sawAn image in the pool, and fell in loveWith that unbodied hope, and found a substanceIn what was only shadow. He looks in wonder,Charmed by himself, spell-bound, and no more movingThan any marble statue.He sees his eyes, twin stars, and locks as comelyAs those of Bacchus or the god Apollo,Smooth cheeks, and ivory neck, and the bright beautyOf countenance, and a flush of color risingIn the fair whiteness. Everything attracts himThat makes him so attractive. Foolish boy,He wants himself; the love becomes the lover,The seeker sought, the kindler burns. How oftenHe tries to kiss the image in the waterDips in his arms to embrace the boy he sees there,And finds the boy, himself, elusive always,Not knowing what he sees, but burning for it,The same delusion mocking his eyes and teasing.Why try to catch an always fleeting imagePoor credulous youngster? What you seek is nowhereAnd if you turn away, you will take with youThe boy you love. The vision is only shadow,Only reflection, lacking any substance.It comes with you, it stays with you, it goesAway with you, if you can go away.” — Ovid | METAMORPHOSES glamour, mythology, recursionNatasha JoukovskySeptember 11, 2016mimesis, Ovid, Metamorphoses, metamorphosis, Narcissus, art, simulacra, 1Comment