Ovid in Rushdie, Rushdie in Ovid: A Nexus of Artistic Webs

Abstract

Ovid in Rushdie, Rushdie in Ovid: A Nexus of Artistic Webs IOANNIS ZIOGAS Itmayseemridiculously romantic, butI wasactually strengthened bythehistory ofliterature. Ovidinexile, Dostoyevsky infront of thefiring squad,Genet injail - andlookwhatthey did:theMetamorphoses , Crime andPunishment ,everything that Genet wrote is prison literature. I thought, Well, ifthey cando it,I canhavea go atdoing it. - Rushdie, ParisReview interview, January i, 2008. TAwo thousand yearsafter theemperor Augustus relegatedOvid to thefringes of thethenknownworld, SalmanRushdieseestheRoman poetas a sourceofcourage forhim.IncludedwithDostoyevsky's most-readnovel and Genet'sso-calledprisonliterature, theMetamorphoses is not simplya learnedand colorfulmythological compendiumof metamorphic tales,but - Rushdie'sline - a subversive work that bespeaks the crime and punishmentof the artist. Rushdie'sengagement with Ovid is farfrom"ridiculously romantic"and starts yearsbefore thenotorious fatwa . Inthe seventies and eighties, whenmostclassicalscholarsthought of Ovid as a playfuland naivepoet who had no interest in politics,Rushdiewas a keen readerof the deeplypolitical natureofOvid's work. Thereis an intricate literary and politicalnexus between Ovid and Rushdie:first, theekphrasisofeighteen shawlsin Rushdie'snovelShame(publishedin 1983), based on Ovid's Arachneepisode;thenRushdie'sadaptationofArachneas a way ofinterpreting theMetamorphoses , Shame becominga way intoOvid's own performance. Finally, one ofRushdie's centralconcerns,whichhe sees in Ovid's career,is thepoliARION 19. 1SPRING/SUMMER 20II 24 OVIDINRUSHDIE, RUSHDIEINOVID ticsofcensorship, whichI willfocuson inthelastsectionof thispaper. I. RANIAND ARACHNE through an overarching studyoftherelationship between shameand violence,Shameportrays thereligiousand political upheavalduringthebirthof a country called Peccavistan .The country ofsin(Peccavistan)can be easilyidentified withPakistan,whichis oftentranslated as "theland ofthe pure."1The riseand downfallofIskanderHarappa and the militarydictatorshipof General Raza Hyder occupy the mainpartofthenoveland are actuallythethinly disguised storiesofZulfikarAli Bhuttoand GeneralZia ul-Haq. Despiteitsliterary value,2or perhapsbecause of it,thenovel was bannedinPakistan. Critics have pointed out that women are crucial to Shame'snarrative.3 Genderbecomesa platform of political critiqueina novelwhichfilters nationalhistory through two competing family dynasties; "thewomenseemto havetaken over,"saysthenarrator, "theymarchedin fromtheperipheriesofthestory to demandinclusionoftheir owntragedies, historiesand comedies" {Shame, 173)A Althoughtheyare repressed, secluded,and imprisoned, thewomenofthenovel arealwayspowerful. One ofthesourcesoftheir poweristhe abilityto givetheirown femaleaccountof themale-dominated arena of politicalrivalry. Rani, widow of the fallen tyrant IskanderHarappa, exemplifies the power of female narrative as she givesherversionof herhusband'srule by weavingeighteen marvelousshawls. After theexecutionofIskander, Rani and herdaughter Arjumandare exiled and confinedunderhouse arrestforsix years.Duringtheseyears,Rani completeshershawls,"the mostexquisitepiecesshe evercreated"(200). In thebeginning ,CaptainIjazz, thechiefwarderofthewomen,had deniedRani needlesand thread,butRani "shamedhimout of thatquicklyenough." "What do you suppose?" she asked loannis Ziogas 25 him,"WillI hangmyself, perhaps,bya noose ofembroidery wool?" (200). This rhetoricalquestion, rightbeforethe ekphrasisof the shawls, alludes to the last part of the Arachneepisode in Ovid's Metamorphoses . AfterMinerva strikesArachne'shead withher shuttle,the weaver hangs herself bya noose (non tulitinfelixlaqueoque animosa ligauit / guttura,Met. 6.134-35). Thus, Rushdie sets Rani, whose nameconceivablyseemsto pun on aRANea , against thebackground ofOvid'sArachne. 5The widowofthefallen tyrant evokesthespider-woman fromOvid. The woolen noose,commonto bothArachne'sand Rani's stories,symbolizesartand punishment simultaneously. The former is not just thereason forthelatter, it also provides the material.The materialof a weaver'sart,thread,provokesthepoliticalestablishment and turnsoutto be thetool of a self-inflicted punishment. Likewise,when Ovid in his Tristiaenvisionsan epitaphengravedon his tomb,he cites hisown witas thecause ofhisdeath(ingenioperiiNaso poeta meo; Tr.3.3.74). In Shame, Rani's eighteenshawls are describedas "an epitaphof wool" (201),6 and in her last shawlsheweaves "thehardearthofherexile" (205). Rani and Arachnedo not incurpunishment just because theircreationsare provocative,but also because of their shockingrealism.Rani's shawlsrevealin luriddetailthedebaucheries , tortures, and corruption ofthedictator Iskander Harappa. Rushdie'sthorough description oftheimagesconveysthedisturbing effect ofRani'sembroidery; thenarrative forcesgraphicdepictionsof lustand torture on thereader. Perfection and accuracyare emphasizedrepeatedly. Rani's shawlsare "perfect"(200) and we are toldthatsheweaves thedisemboweledbodyand thetearin thearmpitthrough whicha man'sown hearthad beenremoved"withan accuracythatstopped the heart" (205). The heartsof the beholdersstop as theyview thetorn-outheartof thevictim: theaudiencesubjectedto therealismofRani'sartsharesthe pain of Iskander'spoliticalopponents.Similarly, thethrust of Arachne'stapestryconsistsof uncompromising realism 26 OVIDINRUSHDIE, RUSHDIEINOVID and flawlessaccuracy.?The weaver deceivesher audience intothinking thatthetransformed Jupiter is a real bull and thepowerofherskillbreakstheboundariesbetweenartistic depiction and reality.8In the end, neither Minerva, Arachne'srival,norJealousyherself can finda flawin her work(Met. 6.129-30). Arachneand Rani do notusethemagicalrealism9 oftheir embroidery just to create perfectartifacts.Instead, their graphicimages aim at shockingand shamingtheiraudiences . PatriciaJohnsonarguesconvincingly thatArachne's tapestrydepicts scenes of graphic sex.10 The gods turn themselves intoanimalsinorderto deceiveand rapevirgins, and the diction of the ekphrasis leaves no doubt that Arachnecatchesthegods inflagrante . For instance, thegirl portrays...