Last week was framed by interesting cultural events. On Tuesday, I attended the Walla Walla Symphony concert. They performed Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, embellished by graphic novel back projections depicting the story of his wife, Alma Maria Schindler. On Thursday, I dropped in at the Walla Walla Library open house, a show-and-tell event concerning the pending remodel/renovation. But in between those happenings, I took part in a webinar that converted me from appreciative reader to fangirl.
Please tell me being a fangirl has nothing to do with fan dancing!
Really, Lily? Given your theatrical interests, I think you would appreciate the great Sally Rand (1904-1979), an American dancer and actress famous for the skillful deployment of her ostrich feather fans. She led a wild life and had a varied career, which included flying herself to many performances (she was a licensed pilot, too!). You can learn more about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Rand You can also check YouTube for footage of her performances.
But, I digress.
So what is a fangirl, anyway?
According to the website dictionary.cambridge.org a fangirl is:
“a girl or young woman who is a fan of someone or something such as an actor, a type of music, a piece of technology, etc.”
A young woman?
I’ll overlook that remark, Lily, because I believe the key concept of fangirldom is the enthusiasm one feels for the “someone or something.” In my case, it is the novels of Classics scholar, Madeline Miller.
I first encountered Miller’s work when I was preparing my presentation “Myth Taken Identities.” I mostly talked about my own reasons for using Greek mythology and members of the Greek pantheon in my “G” series. But, as it was a library presentation, I also wanted to mention the work of other authors who’ve done likewise. Madeline Miller’s award winning novels Song of Achilles and Circe, retellings of classic myths, are at the absolute top of my list.
Circe: A good reason to become a fangirl!
Both dive deeply into the personal histories, thoughts and feelings of the main characters. What life throws at them is highly relatable and often funny. The run-up to Circe’s decision to turn Odysseus’s rapacious crew into pigs made me laugh out loud. But there’s so much more to these books about who we love, and what love is, and how women who know how to do powerful things are often marginalized by patriarchal society (aka the witch thing).
You read those books a couple of years ago. What triggered your fangirl reaction at this late date?
Thanks for reeling me back, Lily. Last Wednesday, in between Tuesday’s concert and Thursday’s open house, I attended a Zoom webinar by Madeline Miller herself! It was a last-minute thing, courtesy of my friend Rebecca who sent a “do you know about this?” message. The presentation was part of Whitman College’s Classics Lecture series. “Circe and Literary Witches” was not to be missed! At the end of my work day I pivoted into webinar mode:
Fangirl desktop, set for the Madelyn Miller webinar!
Her telling views the Circe myth through a feminist lens. In the classics, Circe is a cameo in the life of Odysseus, as told in Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Miller flips the focus and tells the life story of Circe, instead. She explores the question What is it that makes someone a witch, in contrast to someone being a divinity?
Divinities are born to it, full-blown gods and goddesses with all their powers in place who don’t have to work for it. Since they are immortal, they suffer zero consequences for the ills they inflict on others. As such, they are stagnant figures who experience neither personal growth nor the development of empathy.
Witchcraft is a knowledge and discipline that must be learned. What are the properties of different herbs? How do you cast a spell and what does it cost you? A witch is someone who has more power than society thinks she should have. They are threatening because they know things that those in power do not.
Miller cited human history for instances of what happens to women with power, or who otherwise exist at the margins of society. Fear of witchcraft was used to kill marginalized women (midwives, women who lived alone, old women, poor women) who fell outside accepted societal lines. I found myself hoping the current administration doesn’t start hunting down childless women with cats.
What? Who would do such a stupid thing?
Hang around another 51 years, Lily, and you’ll find out.
Divinities, being static in their abilities and lacking empathy, can create chaos for the rest of us but they cannot change or grow. Circe, though a god, desires to be more human: to be changed by life and experience. This makes her an outcast. She is isolated and marginalized by the other gods.
I find this background on Miller’s book extremely interesting. Several things to explore in Book Six of my “G” series occurred to me during the webinar. A major takeaway is her advice to question, question, question who and what your protagonists are.
Circling back to the fangirl reaction, I plan to send Madeline Miller a letter, thanking her for sharing her writing process and insights. I read a lot of books by a lot of people for a lot of reasons, and every so often a gem rises above the crowd. For all writers, famous or obscure, the work is mostly done in isolation. Even the best will appreciate a letter about making an impact on someone else’s life.
My mother remembered that when she was a little girl her mother went to see Sally Rand out of curiosity and was horrified to discover that she left her gloves behind in the theater. She did not want it to get out that she had attended such a scandalous performance!
Oh dear, I hope she survived the gossip that may have followed! No doubt your maternal lineage is where you got your penchant for Attractions. . .