In the story “Narcissus,” Zachary Mason alters Ted Hughes’ “Echo and Narcissus.” Both stories tell of a man named Narcissus, who encounters a woman named Echo, and distances himself from her as he does for other admirers. Narcissus’ arrogance and lack of empathy lead Echo to disappear in which Nemesis, goddess of retribution, punished Narcissus. Nemesis clouded Narcissus’ mind with obsession and grief, which causes Narcissus’ downfall. Although Mason’s rendition of “Narcissus” is similar to that of Hughes’ “Narcissus,” Mason makes alterations to his story to differentiate the two stories. Mason changes the plot and setting, the characters, and the themes. The location of the two stories took place in different locations and time periods. “Echo
…show more content…
In Hughes’ “Echo and Narcissus,” Narcissus trailed away from his “companions” during a hunt when Echo found Narcissus and instantly fell in love with him. During this encounter, Narcissus ran from Echo as she tried to embrace him and stated “[he] would sooner be dead than let [Echo] touch [him]” (72). However, in Mason’s “Narcissus,” Mason alters Narcissus’ encounter with Echo. Narcissus encounters Echo at a party in which she caught a glimpse of Narcissus and simply smiled at him. When he encountered Echo again outside his house, Echo embraced him. As he recoiled and struggled to break free, Narcissus returned the embrace despite his “ostentatious throat clearing” and “exasperated sigh” (Mason, 310). The obsessive behavior Echo displays for Narcissus in “Echo and Narcissus” is displayed by Narcissus in “Narcissus.” Narcissus hardly slept or ate while Echo was gone, just as Echo felt when Narcissus rejected her. Narcissus advice to Echo on “dropping” a relationship (Mason, 311) was reflected by him after trying to figure out why Echo was not speaking with him, and questioned if he offended or neglected her. He kept searching for her until he came upon a “swift and …show more content…
In Hughes’ “Echo and Narcissus,” Tiresias is a blind prophet, who warns Liriope, Narcissus’ mother, of the dangers of Narcissus’ beauty. As Liriope asked Tiresias if her son can “live long with such perfect beauty,” Tiresias replied “Yes, unless he learns to know himself” (Hughes, 69). However, in Mason’s “Narcissus,” “Tiresias” is nameless, but is described as an “old man, a stranger, scars where his eyes had been” who warns Narcissus not to look into mirrors (Mason, 308). Though different, both men in the story warn of Narcissus’ debacle and his ultimate demise. Narcissus is described as hubris, arrogant, and judgmental person in both stories. However, in “Narcissus,” Narcissus was more sympathetic towards Echo than he is in “Echo and Narcissus.” In “Narcissus, Narcissus adopts Echo, shelters her, clothe her, and fed her. However, the approach that Narcissus took when helping Echo was condescending. Narcissus stated that “she wasn’t beautiful” and because of that “she was an empty canvas for [his] brush, and [he] painted her face as [he] painted [his] own” (Mason, 311). Just as Narcissus’ personality was slightly altered, Echo’s personality was altered. She had the same characteristics in “Narcissus” as she has in “Echo and Narcissus,” such as repeating Narcissus’ words “These people…No manners. Very disagreeable” in “Narcissus” (309) and “I’m here” or “Come to me” in “Echo and
In Hughes’ “Echo and Narcissus,” Narcissus trailed away from his “companions” during a hunt when Echo found Narcissus and instantly fell in love with him. During this encounter, Narcissus ran from Echo as she tried to embrace him and stated “[he] would sooner be dead than let [Echo] touch [him]” (72). However, in Mason’s “Narcissus,” Mason alters Narcissus’ encounter with Echo. Narcissus encounters Echo at a party in which she caught a glimpse of Narcissus and simply smiled at him. When he encountered Echo again outside his house, Echo embraced him. As he recoiled and struggled to break free, Narcissus returned the embrace despite his “ostentatious throat clearing” and “exasperated sigh” (Mason, 310). The obsessive behavior Echo displays for Narcissus in “Echo and Narcissus” is displayed by Narcissus in “Narcissus.” Narcissus hardly slept or ate while Echo was gone, just as Echo felt when Narcissus rejected her. Narcissus advice to Echo on “dropping” a relationship (Mason, 311) was reflected by him after trying to figure out why Echo was not speaking with him, and questioned if he offended or neglected her. He kept searching for her until he came upon a “swift and …show more content…
In Hughes’ “Echo and Narcissus,” Tiresias is a blind prophet, who warns Liriope, Narcissus’ mother, of the dangers of Narcissus’ beauty. As Liriope asked Tiresias if her son can “live long with such perfect beauty,” Tiresias replied “Yes, unless he learns to know himself” (Hughes, 69). However, in Mason’s “Narcissus,” “Tiresias” is nameless, but is described as an “old man, a stranger, scars where his eyes had been” who warns Narcissus not to look into mirrors (Mason, 308). Though different, both men in the story warn of Narcissus’ debacle and his ultimate demise. Narcissus is described as hubris, arrogant, and judgmental person in both stories. However, in “Narcissus,” Narcissus was more sympathetic towards Echo than he is in “Echo and Narcissus.” In “Narcissus, Narcissus adopts Echo, shelters her, clothe her, and fed her. However, the approach that Narcissus took when helping Echo was condescending. Narcissus stated that “she wasn’t beautiful” and because of that “she was an empty canvas for [his] brush, and [he] painted her face as [he] painted [his] own” (Mason, 311). Just as Narcissus’ personality was slightly altered, Echo’s personality was altered. She had the same characteristics in “Narcissus” as she has in “Echo and Narcissus,” such as repeating Narcissus’ words “These people…No manners. Very disagreeable” in “Narcissus” (309) and “I’m here” or “Come to me” in “Echo and