ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2023.11.015
Lacanian Reflection on the Tale of Narcissus and Echo in Ovid’s Metamorphosis
Yaqin Xu
Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
*Corresponding author: Yaqin Xu
Published: December 22, 2023
Abstract
Metamorphosis is one of the most important works that explains Greek mythology. It portrays a splendid series of gods' and fairies' stories, one of which narrates the entanglement of a fairy and a mortal. In this story, Echo, a fairy who was in love with the mortal Narcissus, was not just transformed, and Narcissus' death was more than just an end. This paper analyzes a tragic event in Ovid's Metamorphosis from the perspective of Jacques Lacan's "The Other," enabling a philosophical interpretation of the underlying tragic essence of the calamity. In fact, Echo's loss of self to a mere sound testifies to her escape from the symbolic Other. Narcissus' death results in an eternal split in the desire for the Other. The failure to penetrate such a illusory divide led to his death as a naive avoidance. The resurrection underground after his death illustrates the absurdity of Narcissus' nature, i.e., being the other of oneself.
Keyword
Ovid, Metamorphosis, Lacan, Narcissus
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Copyright
© 2023 by the author(s).
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How to cite this paper
Lacanian Reflection on the Tale of Narcissus and Echo in Ovid’s Metamorphosis
How to cite this paper: Yaqin Xu. (2023) Lacanian Reflection on the Tale of Narcissus and Echo in Ovid’s Metamorphosis. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 7(11), 2233-2236.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2023.11.015