New Bodies in an Ecological Crisis: the Unforeseeable Future in Ovid s Metamorphoses

Boom, Frank van den

In recent decades, Ovid’s Metamorphoses has received a surge of newfound interest. The Latin epic still proves to be relevant to some fundamental problems of the present. One such problem is the ecological crisis, and the Metamorphoses are garnering more and more attention by ecocritics and environmental theorists alike. In a crisis induced by human’s destructive behavior toward the nonhuman in a relationship based on capitalist exploitation, a literary work that blurs the lines between human and nonhuman embodiment is a useful instrument for rethinking human’s relation to the environment. On another level, Ovid’s presentation of the world as a collection of perpetually changing bodies has provoked comparisons to modern conceptualizations of history and future. Thinking through these comparisons is of urgent importance in a time when the uncertain future of humanity looms ominously over our heads. Furthermore, in the various stories of Ovid’s epic, metamorphosis often comes as a...Show moreIn recent decades, Ovid’s Metamorphoses has received a surge of newfound interest. The Latin epic still proves to be relevant to some fundamental problems of the present. One such problem is the ecological crisis, and the Metamorphoses are garnering more and more attention by ecocritics and environmental theorists alike. In a crisis induced by human’s destructive behavior toward the nonhuman in a relationship based on capitalist exploitation, a literary work that blurs the lines between human and nonhuman embodiment is a useful instrument for rethinking human’s relation to the environment. On another level, Ovid’s presentation of the world as a collection of perpetually changing bodies has provoked comparisons to modern conceptualizations of history and future. Thinking through these comparisons is of urgent importance in a time when the uncertain future of humanity looms ominously over our heads. Furthermore, in the various stories of Ovid’s epic, metamorphosis often comes as a response to critical and violent situations, which can invite us to reconsider how we approach our own crises. With this in mind, Francesca Martelli writes, “the manifold ways in which the Metamorphoses answers to different areas of contemporary environmental discourse make this a text that speaks to some of the most pressing existential concerns of our own time.” I will propose here a line of interpretation that elucidates the work’s contribution to a frame of mind conducive to a cogent and viable response to the ecological crisis.Show less

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New Bodies in an Ecological Crisis: the Unforeseeable Future in Ovid s Metamorphoses