Lot's Wife

1. Lot's Wife In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), God tells his servant Lot that the city has become corrupt and that he is going to destroy it almost immediately. God sent two angels to Lot and his family who warned them of Gods wrath to come. The angels urged them to leave, saying, “Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, or else you will be consumed.” Once Lot’s family had reached a safe city, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and anything living in them, but as Lot and his family were leaving, Lots’ wife “looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” The literary allusion to Lot’s wife relates to her as a symbol of indecision and/or possibly disobedience. Characters might not fully grasp the new present and may hold on to their past. (ex. Grapes of Wrath)

2. Medusa is the mortal monster of the three, winged, serpent-haired demons, Gorgons. The Gorgons where so hideous and evil that a look at either of their faces would turn any many into stone. Medusa is said to have been a once beautiful mistress that was later cursed by Athena for adulterous acts against her. King Acrisius sent his daughter Danae and her son(also son Zeus), Perseus away to King Polydectes in fear of prophecy about Perseus. Polydectes began to “fall in love” with Danae and wanted to be with her alone without her son, labeled as a “redoubtable protector.” So Polydectes sent Perseus to fetch the head of Medusa in hopes of sending him to his death. By looking through the reflection of his shield he was able to behead Medusa and later use her head to defeat Polydectes. Medusa is often a symbol of the male fear of the devouring female sexual potential. She often referenced to evilness of female seductiveness. Medusa