Orpheus gazes at Eurydice
The Gaze – it’s the climactic moment – when Orpheus turns and looks at Eurydice and seals her fate forever. Why did he turn? Could he not wait one more moment to see her? Feeling the sun on his own face, did he not realize that she was not out yet? Was it ambivalence or a change of heart? One thing’s for certain, all the power of Eurydice’s fate rested in Orpheus’ gaze.
There are many ways of analyzing myths, but one of the messages in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice is of gender roles and how we see each other. Ruhl said about Eurydice, “Rarely does anyone look at Eurydice’s experience. I always found that troubling – she’s the one who dies and takes a journey before Orpheus, but we don’t really see her experience… I’m interested in her voice, a voice that hasn’t been heard before.”[i] Ruhl set out to change Eurydice from an “object” – the object of Orpheus’ gaze and even his love – to an active “subject” – someone who is actively deciding her own fate.
In all the older versions of the story (written by men, I might add) Eurydice is little more a victim. She is usually mute. She is always seen, but is never the see-er.[ii] How do we see each other? There is the feminist claim that our society is skewed for men to do the looking and the women to be seen. I think Ruhl’s Eurydice gives us food for thought on this topic.
Let’s look at the final “Gaze” moment in the script. Orpheus is walking out of the Underworld, not looking back. Eurydice has just said goodbye to her father and is conflicted about leaving him. The stage directions read:
Orpheus walks slowly, in a straight line, with the focus of a tight-rope walker.
Eurydice moves to follow him.
She follows him, several steps behind.
THEY WALK.
Eurydice follows him with precision, one step for every step he takes.
She makes a decision.
She increases her pace.
She takes two steps for every step Orpheus takes. She catches up to him.
Eurydice. Orpheus?
HE TURNS TOWARD HER, STARTLED.
ORHEUS LOOKS AT EURYDICE.
EURYDICE LOOKS AT ORPHEUS.
THE WORLD FALLS AWAY.[iii]
Eurydice gazes at Orpheus
Ruhl has given all the power of decision into Eurydice’s hands. “She makes a decision” is a key moment, after which she hurries to catch up with him and startles him into looking. She looks back. His look was involuntary, hers was not.[iv]
Will you agree with her choice? You’ll have to come and see the play to determine that. But agree or not, Eurydice did the looking this time around. Her fate was in her own hands.
[i] Schmidt, Heidi. Ruhl’s Women. Thesis. May 2010. Web.
[ii] Bruzelius, Margaret. “HD and Eurydice” Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 44, No. 4, (Winter 1998) p 447-463 Hofstra University
[iii] Ruhl, Sarah. Eurydice. New York: Samuel French, 2008. Print.
[iv] Schmidt, Heidi. Ruhl’s Women. Thesis. May 2010. Web.
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