Feminist retelling of Medusa for children?

March 8, 2019 9:01 PM

Youngest has a fairytale show and tell and has picked Medusa, in part from a conversation about this statue of Medusa slaying Perseus. I'm putting together a short reading list for her and running into a void.

She independently reads at a 7 year old level and comprehends at a 10-12 year old level (dyslexia). I've got the basic story, Perseus and the Gorgon and three retellings now, Medusa's Stony Stare, Say Cheese, Medusa, Medusa Tells All, but they still put the blame on Medusa's vanity or that she 'tempted' Poseidon, or decided to use the curse to hurt people deliberately, making her a monster who deserved to be slain. (Say Cheese, Medusa doesn't but is very much a total mishmash although cute.)

I'd like to find a retelling where Medusa's myth is retold to emphasise the deadly weirdness of the Greek Gods, Medusa's own agency and preferably where Poseidon is a supporting character at most. Sexual assault clearly isn't going to feature in a children's book, but there has to be something less openly misogynistic.

posted by dorothyisunderwood to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

I only know this from checking the TVTropes page on Medusa, but evidently the Goddess Girls series may be pitched at about the right reading level and includes an installment called Medusa the Mean, reviews/previews of which suggest Medusa is portrayed sympathetically. It's not a retelling of the myth, but some plot points appear to nod in the direction of the source material and hint strongly that the reader should try and see the character from her own point of view.
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:54 PM on March 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

Carol Ann Duffy.
posted by holgate at 9:59 PM on March 8, 2019 [1 favorite]

Volume 8 of the comic book Lumberjanes might have something useful? It's not a re-telling of that specific story, although they do talk about various highlights in the life of Medusa. Mostly it's the Lumberjanes hanging out with Medusa's niece Ligo and getting a different perspective on the whole Gorgon scene.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 1:28 AM on March 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Update: she was told not to use Medusa because it didn't qualify as a fairytale, although a classmate was allowed to use Matilda... There was extensive email exchange and it boiled down to her retelling being "not in line with the school's values" as it involved violence. She chose The Runaway Princess, a retelling of Donkeyskin, which I pointed out was a story of animal cruelty and incest, but hey, still beats violent self-defence apparently. She did get to wear her sparkly tiara at show and tell so she was pretty pleased. We saw some Medusa statues on holiday later on by coincidence and I was very pleased to hear her telling the story of Medusa in different versions to her friends and also to have her explore retelling stories and making books by herself.

There's definitely a story opportunity here for children's publishers!
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:07 PM on April 8, 2019