| abstract |
The prevalence of the male-hegemonic narrative, a dominant societal influence that has perpetuated power differentials, is evident throughout the history of Western civilization. Male supremacy, normalized and reinforced over the ages, has found a significant sphere of influence in mythology. The sustained narrative of Western mythology, particularly the Medusa myth, stands as a potent example of patriarchal expression: the threatening female mortal monster who can turn men to stone. This powerful imagery, referenced historically, further reinforced a patriarchal script of masculinist ideals. This androcentric narrative that has been in place since the early Greco-Roman era, into the Middle Ages, and modern-day provides a means to explore, analyze, and question the misogynistic male writing that is vividly expressed in mythological depictions. Disrupting the storyline, feminists have taken ownership of the Medusa myth to challenge traditional interpretations, known as feminist revisionist myth.
Grounded in feminist theory and inquiry, this research focuses on the representation of Medusa in patriarchal and feminist outputs as symbolic rhetorical agents, the latter as a means of feminist reclamation from the hegemonic interpretation of the mythological figure. This scholarly exploration highlights the 15th-century writer Christine de Pizan as one of the first feminist authors to transform the Medusa myth into a positive female model in her allegorical work, The Book of the City of Ladies. In the modern era of fourth-wave feminism, the rhetorical landscape of feminist discourse has expanded in dismantling the foundational ideals of patriarchy, with Medusa being reclaimed and reimagined in various cultural products such as fashion, arts, film, social media, and literature. Contributing to feminist theory, this dissertation is a conceptual springboard for understanding the relevance of Medusa depictions, patriarchal and feminist, as historical and cultural constructs, especially feminist revisionist mythmaking.
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