The Medusa Reader

by Marjorie Garber (Editor), Nancy J Vickers (Editor)

Ranging from classical times to pop culture, this collection will appeal to art historians, feminists, classicists, cultural critics, and anyone interested in mythology.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mythology, Feminism, Theory, Academic, Greek Mythology, Poetry

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

Marjorie B. Garber (born June 11, 1944) is a professor at Harvard University and the author of a wide variety of books, most notably ones about William Shakespeare and aspects of popular culture including sexuality.

She wrote Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing and Cultural Anxiety, a ground breaking theoretical work on transvestitism's contribution to culture. Other works include Sex and Real Estate:Why We Love Houses, Academic Instincts, Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life, Shakespeare After All, and Dog Love (which is not primarily about bestiality, except for one chapter titled "Sex and the Single Dog").

Her book Shakespeare After All (Pantheon, 2004) was chosen one of Newsweek's ten best nonfiction books of the year, and was awarded the 2005 Christian Gauss Book Award from Phi Beta Kappa.

She was educated at Swarthmore College (B.A., 1966; L.H.D., 2004) and Yale University (Ph.D., 1969).

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Tamara Agha-Jaffar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Medusa Reader, edited by Marjorie Garber and Nancy J. Vickers, is a comprehensive anthology of excerpted references to Medusa in literature and art, beginning with Homer in Books 5 and 11 of The Iliad and concluding with Gianni Versace’s selection of her image as the symbol for the House of Versace. The anthology traces Medusa’s evolution from a beauty turned monster into a feminist symbol of woman’s empowerment, rage, and anger at the patriarchy. The selections are organized chronologically and include excerpts from writings of the classics through the Renaissance to the modern era.

The myth of Medusa, her story of rape by Poseidon, decapitation by Perseus, and Athena’s revenge on the victim, is interpreted in a variety of ways throughout the ages. Every aspect of the myth is explored: her rape, decapitation, the snakes in her hair, her ability to turn into stone those who look upon her face, Perseus’ use of the mirror, and Athena’s use of her image on her shield. These explorations take the form of poems, selections from critical essays, psychoanalysis, pictorial images, theatre productions, and political appropriations. The feminist poems and feminist interpretations were particularly interesting since they turn misogynistic readings of the past upside down by claiming Medusa as a powerful symbol of deterrence against patriarchal attacks on womanhood. The collection includes an extensive bibliography for further reading.

Although some of the excerpts were short and needed a clearer context, the work is recommended for its comprehensive exploration of Medusa through the ages, an exploration that reveals as much about each age as it does about the myth.

My book reviews are also available at www.tamaraaghajaffar.com

[Antigone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ms. Garber, a Harvard professor, and Ms. Vickers, President of Bryn Mawr College, have assembled a collection of literary and philosophical writings on the myth of Medusa. And this is pretty much all they've done. Assembled. There is no additional context or editorial guidance here to turn the work into anything more than a file folder with material on the gorgon. One gets the sense they needed all these passages in a single book that they could then assign as required reading for their university students. Which makes it less a book than a tutorial hand-out. It definitely reads like one.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not read every excerpt or piece in this collection--since many of them didn't seem relevant to the project I'm researching. But basically, this is a collection of a ton of documents that mention Medusa, going from ancient Greece up to the modern era. It's an incredibly useful resource for anyone studying the reception of the Medusa myth and trying to understand how this myth has developed over time.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you just want to deep dive into one subject. This was that.

[Jahan J · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it

[Jennpants · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's no secret to anyone around me that I've been obsessed with the story of Medusa for awhile now. This book is, by far, the best resource I've come across. From Freud to Helene Cixous -- this book showcases a wide range of Medusa stories and interpretations. Really, really great stuff.

[Mills College Library]

292.213 M493 2003