Disclaimer:
The plot is mine, the characters are not. This is NOT in any way related to The Narcissus and the Asphodel, my other Hades/Persephone fic.
A/N: After I posted this story I received a request that I include the following background information as an afterword. Here is the transcription:
Background information:
Even today, there are many parts of eastern Europe in which it is actually standard procedure for a man to kidnap and rape a woman as an act of marriage. One such victim actually found a little party waiting for her at her abductor's home. Fortunately, she was able to file for divorce. Other women just learn to deal with it, partly because of a lack of resources and partly because of the stigma of divorce.
Traditionally, this works because even nonconsensual sex makes a woman an undesirable bride (except to the man who did the raping, of course.) In the Middle East today, women who are kidnapped by guerillas are considered dead by their families because they might as well be. It is actually considered shameful to have a kidnapped female relative because no one will believe that she's still a virgin even if she manages to escape. Many women prefer actual death to this fate.
In the realm of fiction, one can conveniently justify a kidnapping by giving the man a strong enough reason and making the woman fall in love with him anyway. However, this does not happen in real life. The man is not always an attractive and desperate romantic. He usually acts out of a sense of claiming an object to which he is entitled. Many of us are fortunate to be distanced enough from this harsh reality to be able to romanticize it. We often forget that the issue of the child bride and forcible marriage is a very real concern in many parts of the world. There have been cases in which girls died from the physical trauma of intercourse with their considerably older husbands.
In blackpen's profile, and in the lecture featured in The Whole Truth, Elaina argues that the myth of Hades and Persephone may have been tweaked from the story of a marriage to one of a kidnapping to reinforce gender norms. This may be so, but it does not change the fact that few kidnappings that end in marriage have a happy ending. Many women adamantly insist that the accurate version of the myth did not include an abduction but it is the patriarchal version that they rewrite through a romanticized lens.
This story features a husband that is much more benevolent than most men would be in his position. This specific tale is not of my own, but regardless, I suppose I was fortunate. Enjoy.
Sincerely,
Persephone Regina
The Underworld, March 8th, 2006.