Hymn To Demeter

Hymn to Demeter speaks volumes about marriage in Greek society, from several points of view, including the mother, the daughter, and the husband, as well as the bystander. The hymn starts with the abduction of Persephone by Hades, to which Demeter is angry and “in rage at the dark-clouded son of Cronus” and travels to the earth to find a sort of replacement to sooth her broken heart (Hymn to Demeter 85). She then stays with a family who sees her heavy grief, “her heart tormented with sorrow,” and allows her to care for their son, Demophoon (Hymn to Demeter 177). This family does not know the truth behind Demeter’s sorrow for quite a time but sees the pain that she has for her lost daughter, Persephone. During this time, we can see the strong bond that Demeter shared with Persephone, but we also see that she did not initially pursue her. This action, or inaction, can explain Demeter’s acceptance of marriage. She does not respect Hades for kidnapping her daughter, yet she knows that marriage for Persephone was going to happen sooner or later, and that once the marriage was finalized, that Persephone could not get out of it.
Persephone herself also seems to understand the repercussions of her “forced” eating of the seed. She seems to accept her fate and follows her mother back up to earth. This acceptance that Persephone exhibits explains how she views marriage and its inevitability. It is also suggested in the reading that Persephone was not necessarily as resistant to eating the seeds as we would expect, because Hades had a great deal to offer, and she knew she’d have to marry eventually, so she might as well stay with the one who showers her in honors and