MAIDS, MERMAIDS, WITCHES – INSTANCES OF POWERFUL WOMEN IN PHILIPPA GREGORY’S THE LADY OF THE RIVERS
MAIDS, MERMAIDS, WITCHES – INSTANCES OF POWERFUL WOMEN IN PHILIPPA GREGORY’S THE LADY OF THE RIVERS

Summary/Abstract: The mythical world has always been a rich and challenging source of inspiration for artists of all times. Painters, sculptors, writers, poets, musicians, choreographers and film producers have developed a taste for exploring and exploiting to the fullest every possible myth and/ or image of mythological creatures, if they had the chance. The book of fiction that has brought to my attention yet another mythical creature not enough analysed and exploited so far is the first book in Philippa Gregory’s Plantagenet and Tudor series, The Lady of the Rivers. In my paper, I intend to start from the mythical figure of Melusina, a mermaid or snake-related goddess, whose love and life story has been told in various forms throughout Europe, and then discuss the way it is used in the development of Gregory’s historical fiction. Since the novel is constructed around the figures of the Queen of England and, especially, her first lady-in-waiting, the paper may easily focus on the idea of powerful women as drawing their energies from magical sources. In the end, we will attempt to identify the perfect ingredients that contribute to the novel’s success, most likely a combination of a grain of magic, will and intelligence.

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