Whatever you want me to be

Editorial Assistant and Illustrator Katrina Wang muses on the murky myth of the siren.

The myth of the siren is often confused with that of the mermaid. Like all myths, there are varying sources and alterations to a main narrative, a shaping by many voices and hands. In this case, the main theme that defines a siren as a siren is its hypnotic voice, a single note that may be the end of your fate. Whereas now, where we only see female sirens, some of the earliest depictions included male sirens. Have you wondered where they have gone? 

Myths are the result of a conglomeration of different people's voices spread across time. Early sources describe sirens as female-presenting figures, but with bird anatomy from the waist down, while later sources, such as those by Apollonius of Rhodes, present them more like our current understanding of mermaids, part human, part fish. Most sirens have wings. In some cases, such as in the text Physiologus, a siren is made from human, bird and fish traits.

One of the most important principles you learn as a student of history, of any subject really, is that everyone has their biases and that one singular source will never be enough. This applies to the present day as much as it does to the past. In every way you interact with the world, with others and yourself, you alter yourself ever so slightly, which is almost imperceptible. The core of you may remain the same, but every little veneer you build and scrape off, unknowingly and unrecordably, they are the sign of you living a life that is uniquely yours.

Much like sirens, who we are is influenced by what others say, for better and for worse. The silent judgment others seem to have wriggles in the corners of your mind and settles restlessly in the bitter taste at the back of your throat. The praises you hear may make your heart leap and leave you in a good mood for the rest of your day. The long silence after you speak may send your hands trembling, your breath stuttering, your mind racing to all iterations of the worst opinions they might think of you.

The opinions of others are a powerful influence, whether you wish them to be or not.

Just by being aware, you are reducing the impact that the narratives others spin have on you.

And as such, this is but a small reminder that what others think, what you think of yourself, is but a small speck of truth that makes up reality and the truth is forever being shaped. 

__________

Artwork inspired by Albert Joseph Pénot’s La Femme Chauve-Souris (the Bat-Woman).