Lamia, seductive and monstrous

Seen above is Lamia, the Serpent Woman by Anna Lea Merritt. Be wary of her beauty, for she means to consume you. In mythology, Lamia is a mistress of Zeus and her affair with him angered Hera so much that she transformed Lamia’s children into monstrous beings. Grief-stricken, Lamia devours any child she finds, thus … Read more

Monstrous Women

I was recently in a bookstore that had a special section devoted to boxed sets of books packaged with their movie adaptation. A little girl picked up Frankenstein and handed it to her mother, who rolled her eyes. “You don’t want that. That’s for boys.” I assume the mother had never heard of Mary Shelley. … Read more

Waterhouse and Transformations

After my post about Clytie changing into the sunflower, I’ve been pondering transformations. Lamia is perhaps my favorite example of a dramatic transformation.  Based on the poem by John Keats, Waterhouse depicts Lamia after she has transformed from serpent to woman.  I adore the vivid imagery of Keats’ poem (She was a gordian shape of … Read more

Lamia Broadcast

In my previous post I mentioned the adaptation of Keats’ Lamia on BBC Radio 4. The broadcast can be purchased and downloaded from AudioGo.  Thank you Cathy Baker for sharing the link with me!  I downloaded and listened to it and it is a beautiful reading and a perfect way to start my morning.

Lamia

I just discovered that in January there was an adaptation of Keats’ Lamia on BBC Radio 4.  I’m sorry that I missed that.  Lamia is one of my favorite works, here are two passages I enjoy the most. (You can read the complete poem here) Lamia has vivid imagery: “She was a gordian shape of … Read more