The Written Word

The distinction between the spoken and written word really stood out to me in reading Ovid, most evident in Hypsipyle's letter to Jason. From the very beginning, the first grievance she mentions is not that he abandoned her for another woman, but rather that she was informed of his fate by a "Thessalian stranger" (line 23) and not by "message of your [Jason's] own" (Showerman, line 4). Not only does she state that she "was entitled to the courtesy of a personal note from your hand" (Verducci, line 8; or "deserved the sending of a greeting" in Showerman), but that a letter should have been written "however adverse the winds" (Verducci, line 7). Instead, she was informed through a "vulgar rumor" (Verducci, line 9) and not "lines from your hand" (Showerman, line 9; or "a letter" in Verducci).

In fact, she complains about the mode of her reception of his fate for the first two stanzas before even giving mention to Medea. Before bringing up the fact that Jason abandoned her on an island, never to return, and took a new wife in marriage, she feels it more important to tell him that she would've really liked to have been informed through a letter from him because she could then be "proud" (Showerman, line 16; or perhaps a stranger adjective to describe it, "awesome" in Verducci) of his conquests and tell unbelievers that "'He has written me this with his own hand'" (Showerman, line 16; or "'That is exactly what Jason wrote'" in Verducci). Aside from the fact that it seems pathetic that she could take pride in his accomplishments after what Jason did to her, it is strange that she would begin with this complaint (as opposed to his abandonment of his wife and children).

Note: I drew from both the Showerman and Verducci translations, citing each but including both where appropriate. Where neither is cited, they have identical translations.