Ariadne
by Jennifer Saint
*Spoiler warning*
Ariadne is a novel written about the eponymous mythological figure written by Jennifer Saint in 2021. I group it with the flurry of recent novels on classical characters like “Circe” by Madeline Miller (2018,) “The Song of Achilles” by Miller (2011,) and “Ithaca” by Claire North (2022.)
It gives a point-of-view perspective to pivotal events of Ariadne’s life and does the same with Ariadne’s younger sister Phaedra.
Ariadne and Phaedra are shaped and moved by other mythological figures such as Theseus, Minos, Pasiphae, the Minotaur, Daedalus, and Dionysus.
The reader begins with Ariadne in her father Minos’ palace. We see the scorn leveled at her mother, Pasiphae, and the cruel, calculating actions of Minos. Daedalus is the sole sympathetic character to the young princess.
Theseus, the traditional hero, arrives to save his fellow Athenians, and both Cretan sisters become infatuated with him. Perhaps because of the difference in their ages, Ariadne is 18, Phaedra 13, Theseus escapes with only Ariadne after defeating the Minotaur.
Separated by the Mediterranean and a web of lies told by Theseus and Dionysus alike, the sisters ignore each others’ fate until many years have passed. During this time, Ariadne has aged and wisened. Phaedra, however, still has a girl’s heart.
Though they still love each other, Ariadne cannot dissuade her younger sister from making a terrible gamble, a gamble that will lead them both to conflict and grief.
As the story is told from women’s perspectives, the unending cruelties of Greek mythology are bare for anyone to see. Saint touches on themes of family, justice, suffering, love, honor, and desire. Through the retelling, it seems the Hellenistic world was not made for women, no matter how strong or wise they became. Or at least the stories that survive do not celebrate women as equals to men.
As I said in my recent review of Circe by Miller: Ariadne is like butter spread over a piece of stale bread. The ‘bread,’ the structure is already there, with limited nutritional value. It represents what everyone already knows about the figure of Ariadne. Saint adds the ‘butter.’ That which is filling, wholesome, and delicious.
I’m pleased that the two books, read within a few months of one another, describe some of the same characters. My ability to remember and distinguish them from other classical figures has been reinforced exponentially by reading the two books nearly on top of each other. That is one of the main reasons I will read the other recent mythological novels listed above.
Anyone who likes a light, quick read; or who is interested in Greek myth would enjoy Ariadne by Jennifer Saint.
Did you read Ariadne? What do you think? Have you read one of the other feminist takes on Greek myth? What am I missing?