Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and the Myth of Persephone: An Ecofeminist Critique

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines Morrison’s appropriation of the Persephone myth in The Bluest Eye to highlight patriarchal exploitation of women and nature, drawing parallels between environmental degradation and violence against women. The myth, which typically symbolizes life, death, and rebirth, is appropriated to critique racial and gender-based violence against African American women, especially in the mid-20th century. I contend that Morrison’s The Bluest Eye reimagines the protagonist, Pecola Breedlove, as a contemporary Persephone, ensnared in a cycle of abuse. However, unlike Persephone, who gains wisdom through her ordeal, Pecola spirals into madness, emblematic of a thwarted mother-daughter redemption arc. Morrison contrasts the myth’s fertility and rejuvenation themes with Pecola’s racial discrimination and self-loathing, epitomized by her desire for blue eyes.