Cassandra and Society

       Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays is a book written by Christa Wolf as a re-imagining of the classic Greek myth, Cassandra. I appreciate that while it was meant to simulate ancient literature in its nature, it was still written modernly so as not to require an extra step of translation. I found it tragic that while Cassandra had foretold the fall of the city, she went unheeded. As is human nature, her society held too much hubris, believing that their city would never fall. Curiously, people tend not to listen to warnings, rather preferring to charge ahead with their own biases. If they had heeded Cassandra's warnings, and put some sort of precautions in place, events might have unfolded differently.

    Another aspect of the novel that struck me was the theme of fate. Throughout the novel, Cassandra has ample time to escape or take her fate into her own hands, yet she doesn’t. Fate is oftentimes portrayed as something inescapable in Greek myths. In a modern sense, this is baffling, as in our everyday lives we are encouraged to make something of ourselves and to pursue our passions and ambitions; we are told that where we come from doesn’t hold absolute bearing over the person we will grow up to be, and that we can achieve our dream lives if we work towards them. In this sense, reading about a steadfast, inevitable predetermined outcome is hard to wrap one’s head around.

    However, the most resounding message of the novel was that of repression. In Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays, the main character is repressed and silenced by society, influenced by Wolf’s own life experiences. It seems ironic that those with foresight of events, such as Cassandra, can do nothing but watch. This spurred me to contemplate how many real life events may have unfolded differently should people have preventative measures before catastrophe struck.