Disguised Pickup

The next readings are actually two stories intertwined into one. It begins with the story of Pomona and Vertumnus. Pomona doesn’t accept any suitor and so Vertumnus tries to win her heart. He tries everything possible from dressing up as an old woman to a fisherman but nothing seems to work. He finally gets caught in his foolishness and decides to tell her the story of Myrrha. Myrrha is also a girl who wouldn’t accept any suitor. Aphrodite had had it and told her love would come to her no matter what. It turns out Myrrha had  some kind of sick Oedipus Rex syndrome and was actually waiting for her father because no one else seemed qualified enough to suit her. So the nurse maid arranges everything so that Cinyras gets set in a trap to have sex with his own daughter. She told him that a pretty girl wanted him that was the age of his daughter but he could only have her blindfolded. So Cinyras agreed. On the third night they spent together Cinyras took off the blind fold and gets so angry he tries to drown her. She was terrified and ran away. Like the endings to most of the stories in Metamorphosis it was said she turn into something else a tree or dissolved into tears. Once Vertumnus finishes his story Pomona tells him to take off his idiotic costume. When he did Pomona finally saw the god of springtime and she finally allowed herself to have a suitor. This story to me was very interesting. The story of Myrrha reminded me very much of Oedipus Rex. Both end badly when they find out who they really are. It is interesting to see how many versions of this story have been made. There is even one called “Edipo Alcalde” that takes place in Colombia in the suburbs. It is very interesting to see all the parallels based on one story. The Pomona and Vertumnus story made me laugh because it reminded me of The Big Bang Theory. Howard Wolowitz tries every disguise possibly just to get one girl. One time he puts fake tattoos on his arm to meet Goth girls. Another time he dressed up as Robin Hood at a costume party and everyone mistook him for Peter Pan. He has tried everything from Indian accents to cheesy complements. He reminded me of Vertumnus because Vertumnes also tries everything he can to get Pomona.