The narrator of The Beast in the Jungle describes May Bartram by alluding to figures in Egyptian and Greek history and mythology, such as sphinxes and sybils. As indicated in Chapter 5, these characters reflect May's reticent, riddle-speaking, hint-dropping tendencies:
She spoke as with the softness almost of a sick child, yet now at last, at the end of all, with the perfect straightness of a sibyl. She visibly knew that she knew, and the effect on him was of something co-ordinate, in its high character, with the law that had ruled him.
A sibyl is a figure from Greek mythology who delivered prophecies from the gods. Here, May speaks with the "perfect straightness of a sibyl," but it is important to note that "straightness" refers to her straightforward tone rather than the words she speaks, which are actually quite vague. Here, May seems to possess some sort of unearthly power over Marcher as she describes the nature of his destiny. Much like a mythological figure, she seems mysterious and at times unreal, imbued with the power to deliver important messages to Marcher. Ultimately, though, she cannot express her love clearly enough for him to realize it.
Likewise, in Chapter 4, the narrator describes May as a sphinx:
[...] she was the picture of a serene and exquisite but impenetrable sphinx, whose head, or indeed all whose person, might have been powdered with silver. She was a sphinx, yet with her white petals and green fronds she might have been a lily too—only an artificial lily, wonderfully imitated and constantly kept[...]
A sphinx is a creature with a lion's body and a human's head. In the story of Oedipus, the sphinx speaks a riddle to the titular character and expects him to solve it (otherwise threatening to eat him). When Oedipus successfully solves it, she faints in utter shock. In James's novel, the allusion to sphinxes focuses on the beauty of a sphinx. But, as suggested by the term's literary history, it more importantly symbolizes riddles and mysteries. Furthermore, the main character of James' story fails to solve May's sphinx-like riddles and is figuratively consumed by grief. Much like the allusions to sybils, the references to sphinxes in The Beast in the Jungle enhance the narrator's characterization of May Bartram as a reticent, riddling character who speaks to Marcher in vague mysterious terms.
The narrator of The Beast in the Jungle describes May Bartram by alluding to figures in Egyptian and Greek history and mythology, such as sphinxes and sybils. As indicated in Chapter 5, these characters reflect May's reticent, riddle-speaking, hint-dropping tendencies:
She spoke as with the softness almost of a sick child, yet now at last, at the end of all, with the perfect straightness of a sibyl. She visibly knew that she knew, and the effect on him was of something co-ordinate, in its high character, with the law that had ruled him.
A sibyl is a figure from Greek mythology who delivered prophecies from the gods. Here, May speaks with the "perfect straightness of a sibyl," but it is important to note that "straightness" refers to her straightforward tone rather than the words she speaks, which are actually quite vague. Here, May seems to possess some sort of unearthly power over Marcher as she describes the nature of his destiny. Much like a mythological figure, she seems mysterious and at times unreal, imbued with the power to deliver important messages to Marcher. Ultimately, though, she cannot express her love clearly enough for him to realize it.
Likewise, in Chapter 4, the narrator describes May as a sphinx:
[...] she was the picture of a serene and exquisite but impenetrable sphinx, whose head, or indeed all whose person, might have been powdered with silver. She was a sphinx, yet with her white petals and green fronds she might have been a lily too—only an artificial lily, wonderfully imitated and constantly kept[...]
A sphinx is a creature with a lion's body and a human's head. In the story of Oedipus, the sphinx speaks a riddle to the titular character and expects him to solve it (otherwise threatening to eat him). When Oedipus successfully solves it, she faints in utter shock. In James's novel, the allusion to sphinxes focuses on the beauty of a sphinx. But, as suggested by the term's literary history, it more importantly symbolizes riddles and mysteries. Furthermore, the main character of James' story fails to solve May's sphinx-like riddles and is figuratively consumed by grief. Much like the allusions to sybils, the references to sphinxes in The Beast in the Jungle enhance the narrator's characterization of May Bartram as a reticent, riddling character who speaks to Marcher in vague mysterious terms.
