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Part of
The Reality of Women in the Universe of the Ancient Novel
Edited by María Paz López Martínez, Carlos Sánchez-Moreno Ellart and Ana Belén Zaera García
[IVITRA Research in Linguistics and Literature 40] 2023
► pp. 173–180

Chapter 11
The home life of a heroine

The winter of Chloe’s discontent in Longus

| Emory University

Within the seasonal structure of Daphnis and Chloe, Longus’s brief portrayal of winter contrasts with pastoral idealism elsewhere to foreground a sharper realism, especially in the lives of the title characters. In scenes not easily paralleled in other Greek novels, Chloe experiences realities of life for women in pastoralist households, rendering her temporarily ἀμήχανος (“helpless”). Winter thus disrupts the symmetries of experience for heroine and hero. Although Daphnis initially appears more active in attempting to overcome the separation, benevolent chance and Chloe’s newfound ability to work within domestic constraints restore sexual symmetry and renew forward movement of the plot.

Keywords: ἀμηχανία, Daphnis and Chloe, domesticity, Longus, pastoral, realism, sexual symmetry, τέχνη, winter
Published online: 1 December 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ivitra.40.11sla
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