Ismene: The Journey Back

by Christine Emmert

Ismene is the last survivor of her family, cursed by the gods and man. She is fleeing from her tyrannical uncle, Creon, taking shelter with Tieresias, the blind prophet who lives in the hills above the city-state of Thebes. Tieresias sends her to hide in the one place Creon cannot follow—the Kingdom of Death. Once there, Ismene is reunited with her father, Oedipus, as well as her mother and siblings. Sheltered by Hades, King of Death, she falls in love with this dark god. By the time she is recalled to the earth by Tieresias, she has accepted the fact that her destiny is unique and will redeem the honor of her family.

123 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2005

About the author

Christine is a writer, actress and director whose work in theatre has spanned over fifty years. Her work has been published and performed throughout the English speaking world. She maintains an active career in her three areas of interest -- presently rehearsing THE WHALES OF AUGUST while
working on new works. She lives presently in Pennsylvania with her husband, Richard, who often joins her in these creative ventures.

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A moderately good novel, the broad contours of which are grounded in Greek mythology. However, the actual plot of the novel is entirely Emmert's invention. I read this because I am working on a play about Ismene, on whom virtually no information is available. She appears as peripheral in the mythology surrounding the house of Laius, but it isn't really clear what happens to her after Antigone's death, except that she is murdered by Tydeus. I'm interested in her because she is the one member of this family who never seems to have her perspective given in the myth/drama cycles.

However, Emmert's novel dispenses with Ismene's murder by Tydeus, and instead invents a long and eventful life for her. Ismene and Tiresias are left to resist Creon's rule over Thebes. In trying to save her, Tiresias sends Ismene first to the underworld, where she falls in love with Hades, and then to the island of the Amazons to have her baby.
I guess the weakest component of this novel is that the plot seems simply to resolve itself with basically no help or involvement from Ismene. At the end of the novel, Creon simply dies, so Ismene can come home. I mean, the whole plot is driven by the danger Creon poses to her, but there aren't any real moments where it feels super dangerous. We don't see any real narrow escapes or anything. There's no action to convey the danger. For instance, before she goes to the Amazons, Creon's soldiers show up at Tiresias' cave. Ismene and Xerxes (a small child who travels with her to the Amazonian island) hide in a back room of the cave, and the next thing we know Tiresias is showing up because the soldiers have followed his tip and gone the wrong direction. But we get no actual sense of danger or suspense from the scene.