Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes is a novel rooted in Greek culture and mythology. The novel, which features many Greek gods and goddess', examines the way that Medusa, a human, interacts with the world of the Gods. After Medusa rebuffs the advances of male Gods who are pursuing her, they eventually turn Medusa into a hideous Gorgon. That shows how misogynistic and evil many of the Greek gods were and shows the importance of men and women being equal to each other. Because without equality, men can do whatever they want to powerless women whenever they want.
Haynes' novel is also about violence and its consequences. Medusa and other mortal women are violently sexually assaulted by gods like Poseidon. They are assaulted only because they can be—they have no recourse against the Gods. Those kinds of violent assaults typically occur in the context of a similar power dynamic: the abuser has more power than the abused, who typically can't fight back. In fact, Medusa is punished for being assaulted in Stone Blind, showing the destructive effects of victim blaming. Medusa is also punished by being turned into a monster despite not being responsible at all for her assault.
Thematically, Stone Blind explores a number of different ideas. It examines the loss of innocence, power, rape and its awful consequences, and contending with and finally accepting your identity. And though the book is deep, layered, and complex, it is also a quick and entertaining thanks largely to Haynes' writing, her creation of the characters, and her understanding and subsequent interpretation of Greek culture, mythology, and the culture of the world (a culture which frequently punishes those who are raped instead of those who have raped them).
Stone Blind introduces readers to a young woman named Medusa, the only mortal person in a family filled with gods. The protagonist of the novel, Medusa is both sympathetic and innocent. But there is a difference in power dynamics between Medusa and the gods. She is human, whereas her family have tremendous power. Initially, her family doesn't know about her mortality; however, they eventually discover it but aren't able to turn her into a God. Medusa lives with her sisters and brothers, who have distinctive features such as wings, tusks, claws, and snakes for hair. Medusa doesn't have any of those features, though.
Medusa's beauty catches the attention of male Greek gods, who frequently rape mortal women for fun. They take a liking to Medusa, and rape her too after they discover that she is mortal. When the incredibly powerful god Poseidon encounters Medusa, he violently assaults her on several occasions, shocking and traumatizing Medusa, who runs back to her family's caves to get some sense of safety in a confusing world. The temple goddess becomes angered by the rape, which took place in her temple, and decides to punish Medusa. She turns Medusa into a horrible monster whose gaze kills anything she looks at. Medusa must deal with her new identity and live her life as a horrible monster.
