Seeking Persephone
The stories we tell ourselves
Introduction:
Unfortunately, I have not read the book yet. I have only seen the 4 part mini series. I will be talking about the themes I found to be interesting in the story. However if you’d like me to compare and contrast the original book let me know!
Seeking Persephone is a regency romance mini series about Persephone marrying a feared and reclusive duke to lift her family out of poverty. Through many trials, miscommunications, and peril they are eventually able to connect and truly fall in love. It is a simple yet very sweet story about a traumatized and gruff man learning to open up to a shy and anxious girl.
Adam and Persephone
What’s Inspiring about Seeking Persephone?
It is a simple series that, according to my friends, is a very faithful adaptation of the book (minus the scar on Adam’s face). The actors did a fantastic job portraying their characters and embodying their struggles. I found it to be heart warming.
The message I found to be the most inspiring though is the idea of how we can change the stories we tell ourselves to help us overcome the challenges we face in life. This story beautifully demonstrates the repetitive and long process it takes to change the stories we tell ourselves. I think that it is touching and beautiful.
From the very beginning of the series our leading lady compares herself to Persephone from the myth of Hades and Persephone. This leads Adam to compare himself to the myth as well; and they spend the movie going back and forth defining themselves by this myth.
In the myth Hades wants a wife and is given permission by Zeus to marry Persephone. Knowing that Demeter, Persephone’s mother, will be against such a marriage Hades kidnaps Persephone and takes her to his kingdom in the underworld. After a ton of arguing and holding the seasons hostage Persephone is allowed to return to the surface to be with her mother. With the twist that because she ate four pomegranate seeds she has to return to Hades for four months of the year. Thus explaining the Greek seasonal cycle.
Our protagonist Persephone relates to this myth as she sees marrying Adam as sacrificing herself so her family can be financially stable. Adam hears of this comparison and struggles with seeing himself as Hades the captor of Persephone. But slowly as they come to know each other and with the support of their, definitely not gay, friend Harry they are able to slowly rewrite the myth of Hades and Persephone to match their own lives and desires so they can be happy together.
Final thoughts:
I think that this is a very touching story. Simple and straight forward but a good romance story. I am personally not a romance fan but I found the messaging in this one to be uniquely framed and compelling. Yes, we can change the stories we tell ourselves. We can change our lives, we can face our trauma, and we can be happy. Seeking Persephone is an inspiring story about stories and if you’re a fan of regency romance I think that you should check it out!
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