HOW MEDUSSA BECAME A MONSTER

In the original story, the Medusa was a beautiful woman

who held a very positive role. Tragedy fell upon her when
she was confronted with endless hardships brought upon by
male actions. Medusa was a beautiful woman who was raped,
killed and beheaded by various gods. However even in the
face of tragedy and disgrace, the Medusa was portrayed as
meaningful. Following the moment her head was removed, a
Pegasus flew out of her body, representing the birth of
beauty.Just as the Medusa was powerless to fight against the
repressive actions forced upon her, so too was she powerless
against the continual metamorphosing of the myth which
resulted in the more popular Medusa myth commonly known
today. In this popular version the Medusa is a monster with
hair of a thousand snakes. She is under a curse which causes
everything she looks at to turn to stone. Cixous explains
that this monstrous image of the Medusa exists only because
it has been directly determined by the male gaze. Once
Cixous establishes that the myth of the Medusa is nothing
more than a facade, she begins to question if the Medusa
does in fact have the ability to turn things into stone or
if her fearful imagery comes merely from our perception of
her, a perception that has manifested itself from male
warnings.
The metamorphosis of Medusa into a monster is similar to the
change women underwent, going from sexually whole to
sexually incomplete. Both transformations occurred as the
result of a myth, a myth introduced by men and believed by
women. The power of these myths comes from the very act of
believing their validity- if women did not fear the myths,
there would be nothing to fear. Once the idea has been
raised that the Medusa is not a horrid monster, Cixous
presents the challenge to women to explore the myth further,
casting aside male warnings. If women would simply open up
to one another, thereby shedding light upon the abyss, the
fallacy of the myths would be exposed. Upon the realization
that the myths are nothing more than a facade, women endow
themselves with personal power. Cixous explains that if
women do this, if they dare to "look at the Medusa straight
on," female explorations will result in the discovery that
the Medusa "is not deadly, she's beautiful and she's
laughing."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

1.The metamorphosis of Medusa into a monster is similar to

the change women underwent, going from sexually whole to
sexually incomplete.
The underlined word metamorphosis in the sentence means?

A.Death
B.Transformation
C.Courage
D.Strength

2. Choose the option which best correct the errors in this

sentence.

Tragic fell upon her when she was confronted with endless
hardships brought upon by male actions.

A. Tragic fall upon her when she was confronted with endless
hardships brought upon by male actions.
B. Tragically fell upon her when she was confronted with
endless hardships brought upon by male actions.
C. Tragedy fell upon her when she was confronted with
endless hardships brought upon by male actions.
D. Tragic fell to her when she was confronted with endless
hardships brought upon by male actions.

3. Who explains that this monstrous image of Medusa exist

only because it has been directly determined by the male
gaze.
A. Zeus
B. Pegasus
C. Athena
D. Cixus

4. Choose the right sequence according to the story in the

sentence below:
Medusa was a beautiful woman who was _______ ?
A. raped, killed, and beheaded
B. killed, beheaded, and raped
C. beheaded, raped, and killed
D. all of the above

5. Just as the Medusa was powerless to fight against the

repressive actions forced upon her.
The underlined word powerless in the sentence means?
A. Strong
B. Helpless
C. Naive
D. Submissive

6. Who beheaded Medusa in the story?

A. Athena
B. Aphrodite
C. Venus
D. Various Gods

7. What flew out from Medusa’s body?

A. Cixus
B. Snakes
C. Pegasus
D. all of the above
8. Even in the face of tragedy and disgrace, Medusa was
portrayed as_________?
A. Beauty
B. Meaningful
C. Goddess
D. Evil

9. All of the following described Medusa EXCEPT:

A. a beautiful woman who held a very positive role.
B. she was portrayed as meaningful.
C. she was the mistress of various Gods.
D. she is a monster with hair of a thousand snakes.

10. Please read the following sentence.

“Medusa is not deadly, she’s beautiful and she’s
laughing”
If we change the start of the sentence to:
She’s beautiful and she’s laughing....
What will be the ending be?
A. is not deadly.
B. She’s deadly.
C. Medusa is not deadly.
D. Beautiful and Deadly.

KEY ANSWERS:
1. B
2. C
3. D
4. A
5. B
6. D
7. C
8. B
9. C
10. C

PREPARED BY:

____________________
VERA, CHRIS ARTHUR C.
AB English 4-A