Daphne

“[...] she added: ‘You may buy them and welcome, my good chaplain, if you can find the money; but as for me, I am yet seeking a way to pay for my turquoise necklace, and the statue of Daphne at the end of the bowling-green, and the Indian parrot that my black boy brought me last Michaelmas from the Bohemians—so you see I’ve no money to waste on trifles [...]”[1]

Daphne (Greek: Δάφνη, meaning "laurel") is a minor figure of Greek mythology. She is a female naiad, a type of nymph or mermaid associated with fresh water, and appears most prominently in the Greco-Roman story of her and Apollo (also known as Phoebus). There are several versions of the myth but generally speaking, the most renowned may be found in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. It may be summed up thus:

Due to a curse placed upon Apollo by Cupid, Daphne becomes the object of Apollo's intense infatuation. He pursues her against her wishes. Just prior to being raped the god, Daphne prays to her father, a river god, for help. Her father's transforms her into a laurel tree. Thus Apollo and his plans are foiled and Daphne is saved.[2]

The laurel becomes sacred to Apollo after this. Historically speaking, laurels became a customary reward for artists and victorious military personnel; statues by Roman and Greek artists of this time period and later revivals may be seen wearing wreaths of laurel.[3]

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 - 1680), an Italian sculptor and architect who is mentioned in "The Duchess at Prayer" as Cavaliere Bernini, made a sculpture depicting Daphne’s transformation into a laurel tree as Apollo chases her.[4] The marble piece was executed between 1622 and 1624[5] and depicts the climax of Daphne and Apollo’s story. It is currently (2019) housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome.[6]

The myth of Daphne and Apollo centers around unrequited love/ lust, trying to take what one desires by force and the female escape from undesired sexual contact.

Pertaining to the story "The Duchess at Prayer", one may find certain aspects mirrored: the Duchess withholding affection for the Duke and the Duke trying to take her love by force by killing her lover. Unfortunately, the Duchess cannot escape; unlike Daphne, she falls victim to the Duke – not via sexual submission but by loss of her life though his poison.

Having the statue of Daphne in her gardens - the place the Duchess pours so much intentional care and effort into and is like a sanctuary for her in the first half of the story - can be seen as a symbol for her impending ‘escape’. She delivers herself from the cold unfulfilling relationship with the Duke into the arms of her lover Ascanio. The respite, however short-lived, is a moment of victory for her, comparable to the innocent Daphne escaping the advances of Apollo and maintaining her virtue.

It is a typical for Wharton to reference Greek mythology in passing or to use it as a way to convey meaning within her stories. Other examples of this include The Daunt Diana, which more explicitly references the goddess Diana[7], or Pomegranate Seed, which more implicitly references the myth of Persephone and Hades.[8]

[1] Wharton 1901, p. 10

[2] Holzberg 2007, p. 32/33

[3] Holzberg 2007, p. 33/34

[4] Wallace 1980, p. 28/29

[5] Wallace 1980, p. 28/29

[6] see Riedel 1960

[7] Holzberg 2007, p. 44

[8] Holzberg 2007, p. 54