A Touch of Ruin

While many of the ancient Greek myths operate on the device of personification, some function as an allegory containing a message or philosophy informing the listener about the nature of the world. In the original myth, Persephone’s abduction by Hades, for example, is an allegory that offers a rationale for the turn of seasons as a compromise, or negotiation, between the forces of life and the forces of stasis or decay. All growing things—as embodied by the young goddess or maiden—are subject to a cycle of maturity, harvest, withering, and, often, rebirth.

St. Clair’s novel touches on this allegory from a different angle, suggesting that the realms of light and dark are not separate but rather easily traversed or blended. Just as the Upperworld of growth, accomplishment, and the pursuit of pleasure is not without its danger or pains, the Underworld is not entirely a place of doom, decline, or agony. Through pairing her young goddess with the lord of the underworld, St. Clair’s allegory suggests that to be fully self-realized and mature, a person must acknowledge both the positive aspects of their character—the impulses toward growth, care, ambition, and connection—as well as the darkness, the impulses toward harm, solitude, or activities that cause pain.