The Wave
A Literary Analysis of "Orpheus Girl"
Krotos Aronson
By
About the Writing
In the retelling of the classic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Brynne Rebele-Henry takes a bold and poignant approach in her novel "Orpheus Girl." Set in a small, conservative town in Texas, the story follows Raya, a young girl raised by her grandmother after her mother pursues a career in Hollywood. Raya's journey intertwines with that of Orpheus as she navigates her forbidden love for Sarah amidst the harsh realities of conversion therapy. Drawing parallels between the struggles of the mythological figures and her modern-day characters, Rebele-Henry explores themes of love, sacrifice, and redemption in a powerful and heartbreaking narrative.
The Writing
Kro Aronson
Ms. Tobin
English 10
13 September 2023
Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry vs. Orpheus and Eurydice
The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is a tear-jerking tragic myth that many directors have turned into musicals, TV shows, and, in this instance, a book. Brynne Rebele-Henry decided to take this myth and turn it into a tale of two lesbian lovers trapped in a conversion camp, desperate to escape. Raya is a girl in a small, conservative town in Texas. Her mother left to become a Hollywood star, so Raya has been raised by her grandmother. Raya falls in love with a girl named Sarah, but since being gay is considered a sin in this area, their parents send her and Sarah away to a conversion therapy camp. Sarah often says she will be like Orpheus and save her lover from this hell. This connection, though, isn't the only similarity between the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and this book. Orpheus Girl is a beautiful parallel to the tragic story of Orpheus and Eurydice.
The first parallel is between Orpheus and Raya. Both Raya's and Orpheus's parents were performers, and neither of them knew the parents very well. Raya's mother got pregnant at 18, and three years later, she left to pursue stardom. Orpheus's mother was the muse Calliope. She didn't interact much with Orpheus because she was busy with her godly duties. A second similarity is that Orpheus and Raya are taken in by "ancient"Â figures.Â
For Orpheus, it was the god Hermes; for Raya, it was her grandmother. Unfortunately, Raya and her grandma did not have as sweet a relationship as Hermes and Orpheus. Raya also shares similarities with Hermes. Raya was born with extra bones in her back that she often calls "her wings."Â She has frequent nightmares of real wings growing from her back. Hermes is frequently associated with wings, as he is the messenger god with wings on his feet that allow him to travel quickly. This detail isn't particularly crucial to the story, but it seems worth noting, given that Hermes and Orpheus are so close. The final similarity between Orpheus and Raya is their loneliness before they find their lovers. They both come into themselves when they find their soulmates.
Raya and Sarah had a similar love-at-first-sight situation to how enamored Orpheus was to Eurydice. He saw her beauty and wanted to marry her immediately. Raya and Sarah fell in love instantly as well. It just took them several years to admit their feelings were romantic. Unlike the couple in the myth, the two girls had to keep their love a secret. For a while, they claimed their kisses were to practice for the boys. This excuse, however, could only keep them in denial for so long. "Sometimes when I see Sarah, I feel something like love twisting in my stomach, but I always push it back down, try to swallow it"Â Rebele-Henry (16).Â
Sarah finally admits to Raya that she loves her, and although Raya is scared at first, she eventually realizes she feels the same way. Raya and Sarah stay together through stolen kisses in school bathrooms and the safety of Sarah's bed. Naturally, though, all good things must come to an end. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice Sours is told by a man who wants to take Eurydice for himself. He chases the couple for days, and when they finally feel safe, a viper bites Eurydice, and he dies. Raya and Sarah ran metaphorically to escape their guilt and fear. Like Orpheus and Eurydice, when they finally feel safe being together in Sarah's bed, a friend of Sarah's brother catches them doing- Let's say, less-than-PG things. He then calls them out publicly at a school party and tells everyone what the couple is doing. As a result, Sarah is sent away.
This news destroys Raha, so she jumps into the depths of hell and goes to the same conversion camp where Sarah is. "It's then I decide that I'm going to descend into the depths of hell just like Orpheus and save the girl I love"Â - Rebele-Henry (60). Orpheus and Raya both risk their lives to save the people they love. While in hell, Orpheus begs Hades, the god of the Underworld, to free his love, and after playing him a song, Hades agrees to release Eurydice. In Orpheus Girl, Raya wins over one of the staff members, Char, who lets Raya, Sarah, and their friend Jason run free. Raya and Sarah aren't the only characters similar to mythological figures.
When writing the book, the author decided to write that Hyde, the man who runs the conversion camp, is a representation of Hades, but Char seems much more similar. Hyde is an evil man who hides behind a sweet tone and "good intentions"Â but causes nothing but harm. Hyde shares many more similarities with Thanatos, the god of death. Thanatos reaps the souls of mortals and sends them to the Underworld. He is not evil but has become so desensitized to his job that he feels no remorse, sending mortals to endless suffering. Hyde, similarly, feels no remorse for putting innocent children through literal torture.Â
On the other hand, Hades never really wanted to be in charge of the Underworld. It was just the job that was handed to him by his brothers. Char also never wanted to have this job. Char was sent to this camp when she was young because she was also a lesbian and has been tortured to the point that she feels trapped by this place. Char had a Persephone as a girl, from whom her parents took her away. Without her Persephone, like Hades, Char has no purpose in life and stays at this camp, causing people like her to feel the same pain she had to. Luckily for the protagonists, she realizes that she wants Raya and Sarah to be able to live the life she never lived.
"'Hyde called, and the authorities will arrive shortly. I don't know what will happen then, but there's time for you both to get out.'Â She speaks almost mechanically, and she's paler than usual. 'This is my last chance, I mean, to make things right. To try to, anyway.'"Â (Rebelle-Henry 152)
Char lets the girls go because of the guilt she feels. Hades freed Eurydice because he saw Orpheus's pain without Eurydice and could empathize with it because it's how he felt every spring when Persephone left. These characters realize how they can save someone else from feeling the same pain they felt.
Orpheus Girl is a tragic story similar to a famous sad myth in many ways. Raya experiences strife similar to Orpheus's, both in her childhood and her relationship with Sarah. Char feels the same pain Hades does, working in a place that causes so much pain and loving someone they aren't supposed to love. This painful story teaches people about the real-life hell that is conversion therapy and the awfulness that is homophobia in the South. It is beautiful and ugly simultaneously and a masterpiece of a book.