Abstract

Both Greek and Latin texts regarding the Danaids are rife with gestational imagery and vocabulary. This textual focus on chthonic, symbolic aparturience coheres with both Greek and Roman perceptions of femininity. Women in both cultures were socially mandated to marry, have children, and confine themselves to the domestic sphere. The Danaids’ refusal to participate in this system would have been viewed as a breach of cosmic order, and a punishment that grounded the sisters in their 'traditional’ femaleness would have been viewed as a solution to such a breach. While early modern visual adaptations of the Danaid myth lack gestational iconography, these symbols and themes return in Belle Époque and Victorian renditions. This renewed gestational emphasis coheres, as the then-titans of British and French society aired concerns about womankind’s domesticity, femininity, and maternal nature, echoing the sociological tastemakers of Ancient Greece and Rome. Waterhouse’s depiction of the Danaids is perhaps the most sympathetic depiction, even though it subtly supports the sociological systems put on critique. Waterhouse’s sympathies may stem from his relationship with his wife and may be related to the contemporary and local moral panic regarding abortion induction.

Degree

College and Department

Humanities; Comparative Arts and Letters

Rights

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