As for queens, they are either hated or forgotten. She already knows which option suits her better. Let her be hated forever.
This is a Greek mythology retelling focusing on Clytemnestra, wife of King Agamemnon of Mycenae, sister of Helen of Troy, cousin of Penelope of Ithaca (Odysseus’ wife). She is typically portrayed as an evil queen, but this story describes how she was wronged and betrayed, and then enacted her revenge in the name of justice.
”It is noble to be gentle, to save others from pain. But it is also dangerous. Sometimes you have to make life difficult for others before they make it impossible for you.”
The writing is fine and I was enjoying the story, but in the end it seemed rather anticlimactic to me. She waited a long time for her revenge, so long that she winds up with a whole lot more that needs avenging, and then she finally does and that’s the end.
“Listen to me,” Clytemnestra says. “Gods do not care about us. They have other concerns. That is why you should never live in the shadow of their anger. It is men you must fear. It is men who will be angry if you rise too high, if you are too much loved. The stronger you are, the more they will try to take you down.”
Overall, though, this was a deft narrative that offers a different way to consume some of the most famous stories of Ancient Greece, with a strong theme of feminism throughout (princesses of Sparta do not meekly submit to the wills of others!)
Jessica Crawford 