Myth and Morality: The Gift of the Gorgon

Abstract

The Gift of the Gorgon (1992) is Peter Shaffer’s most recent and most controversial play. Dealing with fiercely divisive issues such as the morality of revenge, this drama forces its audiences to think ac­tively about what it sees and hears on stage and rejects the option of passive neutrality. Confrontation is, indeed, the keyword of the play which revolves around two diametrically opposed notions of morality explored through a network of mythological allusions and encounters connecting modern man with his ancient soul. It is this linked emphasis on myth and morality in The Gift of the Gorgon that this chapter will explore, examining the way in which mythological elements are integrated into the drama, tracing allusions connected with this, and investigating the nature of the ethical debate pre­sented here. In this play, Shaffer posits fundamental questions about the nature of man’s psychic ‘memory’: in doing so, he pre­sents his audience with a dilemma that is worthy of sustained analysis.