Galatea

The sculptor creates Galatea because of his disgust with the local women, specifically with what he perceives to be their openly sexual lifestyles and the freedom they exercise over their sexual choices. Not only does he want a wife who looks perfect; he wants one whose body reflects his ideal of inner moral purity. This theme is highly gendered—the male characters do not face the same impossible standards that the female characters do. It is also related to broader concepts about art: It touches on ways artists frequently torment themselves if they do not produce perfect work, implying that the creative impulse can sometimes be a double-edged sword.

Galatea wonders if it wouldn’t have been easier for the sculptor to marry a local woman, and he responds by saying “those sluts,” adding that he “would not have them” (12). The original story as told in the Metamorphoses begins at this point, with Ovid emphasizing the allegedly problematic sexual behavior of these unseen women.

In 17th-century poet John Dryden’s translation, the story begins with these lines: “Pygmalion loathing their lascivious Life, / Abhorr’d all Womankind, but most a Wife” (Dryden, John, and Hopkins, David. The Poems of John Dryden: 1697-1700. Longman, 1995, p.261). Rolfe Humphries’s 1960 translation begins with, “One man, Pygmalion, who had seen these women / Leading their lives, shocked at the vices / Nature has given the female disposition / Only too often, chose to live alone” (Ovid. Metamorphoses. Translated by Rolfe Humphries, Indiana University Press, 1960, pp.241-42). In other words, the original story suggests that most women are inherently careless in their sexual behavior, or at least they do not have any regard for social mores.

In all versions of the story, including Miller’s, the sculptor is obsessed with women’s sexual behavior, to the point that he commits to never marry. This implies that he holds himself to unique standards: If he did meet a woman who behaved the way he wanted, he would marry her, but until the statue comes to life, no woman is good enough for him. Indeed, as Galatea and her husband enact the coming-to-life ritual once again, her husband says, “O goddess! Why cannot I find a maiden such as this for my wife? Why must such perfection be marble and not flesh?” (13)

The sculptor connects female purity with artistic creation. He reveals to Galatea that he is working on a new statue for himself. When Galatea asks him how old the statue will be—presumably when she is “born”—he responds with “a virgin.” He seems to expect that a new statue will have none of the imperfections Galatea has, especially after giving birth to Paphos, and believes it is up to him and his artistic skill to create this material embodiment of purity.

However, the sculptor does think that his sculptures should experience the physical manifestations of sexual shame. When he and Galatea argue about whether to hire another tutor for Paphos, he angrily tells her that she “apologizes and apologizes, but [does] not blush” (32). Although she eventually does blush—only after he becomes violent, yanking off her dress and pushing her to the floor— this scene illustrates the story’s larger perspective on the relationship between artist and artistic creation, and how that relationship can foster toxic expectations of perfection.