Death and the Maiden

As we discussed in class there are many ways to interpret “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” but after doing a little bit of research I found out that Oates had the “Death and the Maiden” folktales theme in mind when writing this short story. Knowing that Oates had the old “Death and the Maiden” folktales in mind does change how interpret the text. It could be argued that Oates used the death and maiden folktale of Hades and Persephone to inspire this shorty story.
 

Hades was the God of the underworld and Persephone was the daughter of Zeus (Hades’ brother) and Demeter. Persephone was a virgin and is known as the goddess of grain, agriculture, and fertility. Hades saw Persephone and fell in love with her. He wanted her to himself and he knew that Demeter (Persephone’s mother) would never approve of the marriage so he decided to abduct her while she was gathering flowers on a plain in Sicily. Hades arrived on a four-house chariot and took Persephone into the Underworld before anyone could notice. Persephone did resist and call for help, but before anyone noticed she was already descending into the chasm. It is said that when Hades swooped down to collect Persephone that he “scooped her up with one arm, and literally and figuratively deflowered her—leaving the plain scattered with blossoms of every color.” Demeter searched the earth for Persephone and after a whole year she finally found out where she was and began convincing Hades to let her go. He agreed to let her go, but Persephone had not eaten anything while in the underworld and when it was time for her to go Hades begged her to just eat something before she went home. Anyone who eats anything from the Underworld is forced to live there. Because of Hades trickery Rhea, the mother of Zeus, Demeter, and Hades decided that Persephone is to live in the Underworld for six months out of the year and has the freedom to live with Demeter for the remainder of the year.

Much like Persephone, Connie was a virgin and also was a representation of fertility. There is a definite connection between Connie and Persephone, especially knowing that this story deals so much with Connie’s sexuality and that Persephone is the goddess of fertility. Both girls are taken against their will and are both seen as sexual objects. Also, both girls were reluctant to be taken with these men and both made attempts to call for help, both being unsuccessful. Arnold Friend comes to collect Connie in his gold jalopy and is successful in taking her with him before anyone can notice, just as Hades abducted Persephone in his chariot before anyone could notice. The similarity that stuck out to me the most was the connection between Hades literally and figuratively deflowering Persephone and the “figurative” rape of Connie “she felt her breath start jerking back and forth in her lungs as if it was something Arnold Friend was stabbing her with again and again with no tenderness.” This quote, much like the one regarding Persephone’s rape is filled with sexual references and tells us what has and will happen to these girls. Both men in this story have no regard for the girls, only their own wants and needs and both take the girls to a different world. Hades takes Persephone to the Underworld while Arnold takes Connie to “land Connie had never seen before and did not recognize except to know that she was going to it.” Both of these stories can most definitely be qualified as “Death and the Maiden” stories.

There are some obvious differences in the “Death and the Maiden” folktale of Hades and Persephone and Connie and Arnold Friend, but the two stories definitely have some major similarities and it seems that Oates did indeed have this story in the back of her mind while writing “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”