I've said it before and I'll say it agaib
The tragedy of hadestown is that had Orpheus not met Euridice, Orpheus would never have turned
Had Orpheus not met the workers in their mines, and the state of desperation, he would have never turned
Had Orpheus not seen the cruelty of Hades and the way marriages can crumble and fade, he would have never turned
Had Euridice not left him the first time
And had he not been so distracted by his song to look after her needs
And had they met in a different life
Orpheus would not have turned
Because the sad truth, is that it was Euridice who taught Orpheus to lose trust in others. This was the boy who toasted to the world he dreamed about. He could see how the world could be, in spite of the way that it is. He was the poet, the dreamer, the hopeful young boy with his hand on his heart and nothing to lose. He never expected the worst in others, because he would never do that himself. And if no one takes too much, then there will always be enough. And the world will be sung back into tune.
It was Euridice who was the realist. The sceptic. The pragmatic survivor who would leave at the first change of the wind. She was alone before Orpheus, by choice and by nature and by circumstance. He taught her to stay, and to love, and to hope.
And she taught him to doubt.
That sometimes people leave you and betray you and deceive you.
That's the tragedy of hadestown, and the sad song of Orpheus and Euridice, that those who we love most can change us from our best self. Orpheus might have just been better off without Euridice. But that hurts me to write, because they love each other and they are perfect. It's just this version of the story. And to love it to change, but true love comes with communication and understanding, which neither Orpheus nor Euridice grants the other. That's why their love fails, because they are too immature to talk. That's why epic 3 works, it's a song of love that speaks to Hades and Persephone both, reminding them of what they have lost. In How Long we hear them speak, and their words are metaphor, unclear and poetic but full of meaning. Lovers can be different, opposites attract, change and growth and maturity as a result of life experience are healthy. Perhaps they simply met too early. Euridice was too cold and too hungry. Orpheus was too good, too naive, too blind to the ways of the world.
And so when he fell, he fell hard.
And Euridice fell with him
That is why it's a tragedy.
