The story of Echo and Narcissus is a tale of two transformations. The beginning of book 3 is a narration of the rape of the nymph Liriope by Cephisus leading to the birth of Narcissus. A prophesy given by Tiresias indicates that the life of Narcissus would be both long and happy on condition that he does not come to the point of self-realization under the phrase:
“…Yes, if he never knows himself…” (Ovid, 2010)
Thereafter, he came across a nymph by then name Echo who fell in love with him. This nymph was under a curse that he could only speak the last words that other people uttered. This curse was pronounced upon her by Juno. The words of Juno to Echo were
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“…The tongue that made a fool of me,
Will shortly have shorter use,
The voice will be brief hereafter…” (Ovid, 2010).
However, Narcissus rejected her move and in the process, she hid her body which wasted into thin air and what remained of her was her voice only.
Through the curse of Nemesis, Narcissus was cursed because of his mockery of other beings and the condescending over other people’s feelings. The curse was pronounced that
“…So he may love and never win his love…” (Ovid, 2010).
As a consequence, Narcissus fell in love with the reflection he produced in a water-pool. He later realized that it was his own reflection and he would in no way be with himself. Narcissus nurtures his suicidal tendencies by staring at himself to the point of wasting away upon being melted by his inner fire. Where his body would be is a flower which is white in color with a gold center. There are two transformations relevant to the title “metamorphosis”. In the first instance, Echo is reduced to her voice while Narcissus becomes a flower. Either hubris or crimes lead to tragic consequences where Echo is meant to only speak the last words because of helping adulterers while Narcissus falls in love with his reflection for being vain and derisive.
References
Ovid. (2010). Metamorphoses. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company.
