Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
Ancient Greece; 12th-11th century BCE
Narrator and Point of View
Narrator: Anaxandra
Point Of View: First Person
Tone and Mood
The novel's tone and mood are depressing, melancholy, and dark.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Anaxandra; Antagonists: Helen, Paris.
Major Conflict
The King of Siphnos abducts six-year-old Anaxandra to accompany her disabled daughter, Princess Callisto.
Climax
As Anaxandra embraces her new life and lives happily, King Menelaus attacks Siphnos and kills everyone. After King Menelaus discovers Anaxandra, she impersonates Princess Callisto to save herself from slavery. Everyone welcomes her in Sparta, but Helen is suspicious of her.
Foreshadowing
Anaxandra's lies foreshadow Helen's hatred towards her and the troubles she faces in the future.
Understatement
She takes Hermione's identity to save her and protect her infant brother, Pliesthenes, but she fails to realize the dangerous situation awaiting her in Troy.
Allusions
The story is full of allusions to the history of Ancient Greece, Trojan Women, and the fall of Troy.
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
The protector of Helen's infant son is Anaxandra, despite being hated by Helen.
Parallelism
Anaxandra and Pleisthenes' lives are parallel to each other. Her parents abandoned her for their safety, and Helen forgot about her infant son after receiving attention from the citizens of Troy.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The term Swan refers to Helen because of her beauty and self-centered attitude.
Personification
N/A
