Evelyn Jiang, Period 7, 10/17/2022

Evelyn Jiang
10/17
Period 7
Modern Mythology 2023

As we moved through the Greek Mythology unit, the story of Pandora’s box stood out to me.
Specifically, why did Zeus trust Pandora with the jar? How come she’s portrayed as not being
able to withstand temptation, although Epimethus similarly couldn’t withstand Pandora, who
was a gift from Zeus? The most obvious answer would be, “The writers were misogynistic.” As
we discussed in class, women were often the scapegoats. They were made an example out of to
teach lessons through these stories. This didn’t come as a surprise to me, but after class /
discussion, I pondered how stories that painted women in a negative light affects today, during a
time period where feminism is much more prevalent. Additionally, how relevant is it to use tales
such as Adam and Eve to justify beliefs that are against other issues?

Through a feminist lense, it is easy to draw the conclusion that the story clearly shows that the
author believes that women are weak, emotional, and more susceptable to temption. But after
class, after learning more about the history of the patriarchy, there is a greater dimension to the
topic: why this even exists in the first place. We learned about how men wanted to ensure that
their heirs were 100% theirs, and it became a matter of possession and a source of pride for
them. Now, how does this affect today’s issues? On the news, we regularly see conservatives
supporting anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-feminist campaigns, and they sometimes reference the Bible.
I’ve heard of the “It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” argument, but how relevant is this
considering the story mainly talked about temptation and not sexuality? Additionally, Eve was
shamed for giving in, so why is now twisted to make her look better? Could Pandora’s box be
twisted to support similar agendas? It could totally support an anti-feminist cause, but could it
be twisted to also evidence the anti-LGBTQ agenda? I believe that while old tales should be read
and can provide a basis for certain morals, it should not be impressed upon by others, and
certainly find no place in laws. My critical perception of mythology changed to also incorporate
how stories affect today, and how they can be altered to support a cause.

Learning this can be applied to both movements throughout history and other mythology works.
For instance, how come it took so long to make any progress with women’s rights? Is it because
most lawmakers firmly believed in works that were against women? Yes, there is separation of
church and state explicitly stated in the Constitution, but we see even today politicians
referencing religious texts. Of course, everyone will read some sort of old text from thousands of
years ago, highlighting a sexist sentiment, but they shouldn’t be taken literally. I believe
mythology should be a window to what people at the time believed in, and not necessarily
something we should reference just because it’s been around for a long time. That would
stagnate any progress made in social issues, and would ultimately be detrimental to groups who
were portrayed in a negative light in the past.