The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer

I find ancient myths fascinating -and a good retelling extra so. I've read some of the retellings published as part of The Myth Project. However, the retelling I want to talk about today is not part of that project, but an individual work of art. The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer is a retelling of the myth of Persephone and Hades.

In the Ancient Greek mythology Persephone is the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, and Zeus, the king of all gods and goddesses. She is abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld, and brought underground to the world of the dead against her will.

Ok, yes, but what if it did not happen quite like that after all? What if Zeus was a cruel bully, who enjoyed telling lies and destroying lives? What if one of his tricks were to bend the truth by reversing the genders of gods and goddesses in the stories humans told in the temples? What if Hades, lord of the dead, was in fact a woman?

Persephone has lived with her mother Demeter a sheltered life far from Mount Olympus and the other gods and goddesses. Her life changes when she witnesses Zeus violate her love Charis, one of the nymphs living in Demeter's forest. Not only does Zeus rape Charis, he also changes her into a rosebush. Persephone is devastated and even more so after she learns that Zeus is in fact her father.

Zeus commands Persephone to attend a party on Mount Olympus and reluctantly she does as she's ordered to do. In the party  there is also a mesmerising, black eyed woman.

"I looked up at her, and I was lost in the black of her eyes, and I did not see her take my hand, but I felt her hold it, as if it were meant to be in the cage of her fingers, gently cradled.
"Hello," she said, her voice softer than a whisper. I blinked once, twice, trying to shake the feeling I had heard her speak before -perhaps in a dream.
And then, "I am Hades," she said.
My world fell away.
Hades...Hades, the lord of the underworld...was a woman.
"But, but..." I spluttered, and she watched me with catlike curiosity, head tilted to the sound of my voice as I attempted to regain my senses. "They call you the lord of the Underworld. I thought-"
"It is a slur," she breathed." [p. 41]

Afraid of what will happen to her if she obeys Zeus' command to come live at Olympus, Persephone later flees to the underworld, where she finds not only refuge and a place to heel, but friendship -and love. Zeus, however, is not giving up so easily and Hades knows exactly what kind of lies he will tell:

"They believe I'm a man, Persephone, a cruel one. When they know you are here, when they piece together Zeus' furtive whispers, they will believe that I...took you, kidnapped you-" Hades voice faltered and I drew her close to me, my arms encircling her neck.
"Hades-"
"If I am a man, Persephone," she insisted, her mouth agains my hair, "and I have taken you against your will, they will say that I raped you..."
I held her closer still.
"...and that I forbid you to leave." [p. 177]

I loved every page of this book. I loved the innovative way Diemer had taken the ancient myth and turned it into its head. The writing was beautiful, the love story larger than life (well, what else could it be between two goddesses :)) and, as I already mentioned on Twitter a few days ago, after reading The Dark Wife I will forever think of the three-headed monster Cerberus as a goofey, little puppy! This novel is recommended reading for anyone enjoying retellings of ancient myths or wanting to read a beautifully told lesbian love story.

I borrowed my copy of The Dark Wife from the library, but Sarah Diemer has been so generous as to put the novel online for free. You can read The Dark Wife here.