Daphne 1984 - 1987

Melissa Meyer created this etching, "Daphne", which is based on the Greek myth, sometime between 1984 and 1987. Meyer came of age as an artist in the 1970s, a period marked by second-wave feminism and an increasing critique of patriarchal narratives. In the original myth, Daphne is a nymph who is relentlessly pursued by Apollo. To escape his advances, she pleads to her father, a river god, who transforms her into a laurel tree. Meyer's print captures the moment of transformation; Daphne's body is enmeshed with the bark and leaves of the tree. The stark black and white etching emphasizes the violence inherent in the myth. Daphne's transformation is not portrayed as an act of liberation but as a desperate escape from male desire and dominance. Meyer subtly reclaims Daphne's narrative, transforming it from a tale of female objectification into a potent symbol of resistance and self-preservation.