PYGMALION'S DREAM

JORDI RODRÍGUEZ-AMAT

Introduction.

The Myth of Pygmalion and Galatea.

In Ovid’s narrative, Pygmalion was a Cypriot sculptor who carved a woman (Galatea) out of ivory. He was not interested in women but his statue was so beautiful and realistic that he fell in love with it.

From this myth, I have written a short story that I called Pygmalion’s dream.

For many years, I have been searching for the path that could have given me the necessary peace of mind to achieve absolute happiness, but I never found it. My disappointment towards women in Cyprus, who are devoted to prostitution, witchcraft and other sorcery, condemned me to celibacy. My personal state was of absolute disappointment and the anguish did not allow me to lighten the pain that was tearing my heart. Only the desire for love and beauty, that inflamed my spirit at the time of the creative act, could appease the pain that filled my soul.

With my hands raised, I cried to the skies to give me the strength to create the woman of my dreams. My thoughts were preventing me from reaching the sensitive state that could have freed me from the obsession of supplying a soul to the ivory block that was in front of me. Day and night, without stopping, I dedicated myself to work. Full of happiness, I experienced the joy of seeing my work moving forward. The enthusiasm and the effort, however, filled my eyes with tears, caused by the intemperance of my creative fervour. Sometimes, it seemed to me that I had not pushed my mind far enough to give life to my Galatea. I wanted to create beauty in its purest state, in the form of the woman I had always dreamed of. My heart was guiding the carving tool and the hammer strokes shook my reason. My only objective was to create the perfect woman. I could not stop kissing the still unfinished sculpture. As my hands caressed it, I felt the strong desire that it should take life. At night, unable to sleep, I continued working until I was completely exhausted, risking my physical health.

As the sculptor, just after sunrise, finds himself facing the raw marble, the unfinished ivory or the pure and white paper, feels as if he is moving away the domain of cognitive reasoning due to the psychological process. Despite the fear invading his throat, he commits himself to undertake his creative work. Just then, unconsciously, he throws himself into the fire to continue with the work that, once finished, will bring him closer to God. I was the sculptor who wished to feel the joy of being this artist. Gazing at the great block of ivory, I embarked on a long creative journey that would take me many years. A trip that finally allowed me to reach absolute beauty. Once finished, Galatea before me, I could not stop touching her, hugging her, caressing her. My kisses gave her breath and, at times, I felt the warmth of her body boiling my veins. I had to sleep next to her. Often, I spent the nights hugging her.

The search for the ideal of beauty and love forced me to hurry to the feet of Aphrodite to implore her to free me from the personal misery in which I found myself. Day and night, I approached her to beg her to give life to my Galatea. I invoked her. I prostrated at her feet, with tears in my eyes.

Aphrodite saw me so miserable that finally, she felt sorry for my misfortune. She squeezed me against her chest and allowed me to cry. The last blows of the hammer left me exhausted. The emotion of finding myself in the arms of Aphrodite and the physical and psychological exhaustion of the last days filled me with joy. In the dream I felt that I was in Galatea's arms. She caressed my whole body, adorned my cheeks with lots of kisses and I dreamed the dream of infinite happiness. It was so sweet that I never wanted to wake up.

Jordi Rodríguez-Amat

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