Song of Songs, Narcissus, and Mirror Stage

Song of Songs:

I noticed that both parties frequently use fruit to describe their feelings of love and desire for each other. At one point during Song of Songs 4:13-14, Solomon compares his lover to pomegranates, fruit, henna, nard, saffron, calamus, cinnamon, incense trees, myrrh, aloe, and fine spices within the course of a few lines. It’s somewhat of a common practice to use fruit and flowers to describe desire in a delicate, modest manner, especially in the bible. I’m inclined to believe that this use of symbolism originated from the story of Adam and Eve, where the apple tree and the fruit were used as symbols for desire.

A book like this is on the raunchy and scandalous side for a religious book like the bible, but many people interpret Song of Songs as a portrayal of the relationship between God and the church or God and the individual rather than Solomon and his lover.

Ovid’s Myth of Narcissus:

Narcissus is a story I’ve heard before, but I’d never taken the time to have a closer look. Throughout the story, both central characters find a love that is out of their reach, and the unfulfilled desire ultimately leads to their demise. The myth of Narcissus depicts love and the aftermath of love through somewhat of a cynical and dark lens.

I found it interesting that Echo could selectively echo speech. Instead of echoing everything, she only echoes the ends of sentences that convey her feelings. However, this wasn’t sufficient enough to make Narcissus understand her intentions, so upon revealing herself, Narcissus rejects Echo and runs away. Initially, Echo is elated at the discovery of her new love, but after Narcissus’ rejection, “she concealed herself in the woods, hiding her shamed face in the shelter of the leaves and ever since that day, she dwells in lonely caves.” (p. 84)

Echo originally had a body, but when she became reclusive, the pain of unrequited love riddled her with insomnia, weight loss, and decay until there was nothing left of her, save for her voice. A similar end came to Narcissus, who found himself unable to leave his reflection, even to perform those important functions like eating and sleeping, until, “he was worn and wasted away with love, and slowly consumed by its hidden fire.” (p. 87)

Despite Narcissus’ disregard for Echo’s feelings, Echo still grieved for him. Her love was strong enough to make her forgive him and turn a blind eye to the past, which is something I find myself doing and something I see in other people.

I found it remarkable that both characters fell in love, found it to be out of reach, and allowed it to physically destroy them. Narcissus loved something that he could never have this made his love infinitely stronger. If someone feels as though they are lacking something, it’s far more enticing to obtain the object or person they feel that they lack because the sense of fulfillment is much greater. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “You want what you can’t have.” This holds true not only in literature, but in reality as well. It almost seems as though it’s in human nature to desire what we lack and in doing so, submit ourselves to self-inflicted torture. 

Lacan’s ‘Mirror Stage’:

In the Mirror Stage, Lacan describes how infants initially form their concept of I by recognizing their own reflections.  I saw a parallel to Narcissus in the sense that in both cases, the individual is basing their identity on a reflection of themselves.

The Ideal-I, an individual’s perception of the perfect version of himself or herself, is a representation of ego and generally cannot be obtained. The infant will feel lacking and continue to strive to achieve the Ideal-I, much like Narcissus recognized his reflection as something that was unattainable, but still strived to merge his real self and the reflection due to his sense of shortcoming.