"Europa is now terrified; she clasps one horn with her right hand; meanwhile the left rests on the bull's great coup. She turns to glance back at the shore, so distant now. Her robes are fluttering--they swell in the sea breeze."
These lines represent the loss of innocence, the loss of precious past. Europa is being carried away. She is no longer in control of what is happening to her. She is no longer able to control her life. We talked about how this horrible event transformed Europa into a status of immortality. She had to go through something terrible, yet we will now never forget her and her story. It seems there is a price for immortality. The question is the raised: "How much is immortality worth?"
These images of the sea and a woman bring to mind the poem by Wallace Stevens.
The Idea of Order at Key West
by Wallace Stevens
Here is the first stanza, which is filled with beautiful words and beautiful imagery.
"She sang beyond the genius of the sea.
The water never formed to mind or voice,
Like a body wholly body, fluttering
Its empty sleeves; and yet its mimic motion
Made constant cry, caused constantly a cry,
That was not ours although we understood,
Inhuman, of the veritable ocean."
This poem has similar imagery to the story of Europa.
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