Galatea: A Short Story

By Madeline Miller

An enchanting short story from Madeline Miller that boldly reimagines the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion, featuring a new afterword from the author

In ancient Greece, a skilled marble sculptor has been blessed by a goddess who has given his masterpiece—the most beautiful woman the town has ever seen—the gift of life. After marrying her, he expects Galatea to please him, to be obedience and humility personified. But she has desires of her own and yearns for independence.

In a desperate bid by her obsessive husband to keep her under control, Galatea is locked away under the constant supervision of doctors and nurses. But with a daughter to rescue, she is determined to break free, whatever the cost . . . 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Nov 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9780063308558

Madeline Miller

Madeline Miller is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two novels: The Song of Achilles, which won the Orange Women’s Prize for Fiction 2012, and Circe, which was short-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019. Her books have been translated into over thirty two languages. Miller holds an MA in Classics from Brown University, studied in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms, and taught Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students for over a decade.

Book preview

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Galatea

Afterword

About the Author

Praise

Also by Madeline Miller

Copyright

About the Publisher

Galatea

It was almost sweet the way they worried about me.

You’re so pale, the nurse said. You must keep quiet until your color returns.

I’m always this color, I said. Because I used to be made of stone.

The woman smiled vaguely, pulling up the blanket. My husband had warned her that I was fanciful, that my illness made me say things that would sound strange to her.

Just lie back and I’ll bring you something to eat, she said. She had a mole on the side of her lip and I liked to watch it while she talked. Some moles are beautiful and distinctive, like dappling on a horse. But some have hairs in them, and look pulpy like worms and hers was this kind.

Lie back, she repeated, because I hadn’t.

You know what I think would be good for my color? A walk, I said.

Oh no, she said. Not until you’re better. Feel how chilled your hands are?

That’s the stone, I said, like I told you. It can’t get warm without sun. Haven’t you ever touched a statue?

You’re chilled, she repeated. Just lie back, and be good. She was rushing a little by then, because I had mentioned the stone twice, and this was gossip for the other nurses, and a breathless reason to speak to the doctor. They were fucking, that’s why she was so eager. I could hear them sometimes through the wall. I don’t say this in a nasty way, for I don’t begrudge her a good fuck, if it was good, which I don’t know. But I say this so that you understand what I was up against: that I was worth more to her sick than I was well.

The door closed, and the room swelled around me like a bruise. When she was here, I could pretend it

Reviews for Galatea

[hippielunatic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The examination of the meaning of art from the art's perspective was a fascinating read. When beauty is all that matters for your worth, when your value is determined solely on what others are willing to pay to preserve you, would you fight for more, run, or work to destroy your artist? While there is much to delve into regarding the beauty standards for women in our world, I am also interested in what this story means for the relationship between creator and creation.

[carmenere_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well this was a pleasant surprise. I discovered this novella while browsing the “new additions” bookshelf at my library. When I saw it was written by the Queen of retold mythological stories, I had to grab it.I was not disappointed.Ms Miller retells the story, for a new generation, of a Pygmalion type man who has sculpted a most beautiful statue which was brought to life by a goddess. The sculptor hides the woman away and keeps her in solitude for his own pleasure. In due time, this stone come to life, needs her independence and only she can come to the aid of her daughter who is in harms way.Short, succinct and perfectly written.

[tapestry100 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have not read Madeline Miller yet, despite The Song of Achilles being on every book list ever, so when I saw this short story the other day at my local BN, I thought this could be a good introduction to her writing for me.A retelling of the Pygmalion myth, Miller sets Galatea in a hospital ward, where her husband keeps her under medical lock and key so only he has access to her, for her “protection”, and his obsession. However, Galatea will go to any length to protect her daughter and see her one last time, and not even her husband will be able to stop her.Telling the story from Galatea’s POV, Miller has created a feminist take on this myth, that is direct and somewhat brutal. Be sure to read the new afterword in this edition, as Miller gives a deep dive into her creative process for the story.#books #bookstagram #book #booklover #reading #bookworm #bookstagrammer #bookinfluencer #read #mythology #galatea #bookreview #booksofinstagram #instabook #readingtime #bookblog #blogger #bookrecommendation #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #reader #booklove #instabooks #literature #madelinemiller #frommybookshelfblog #frommybookshelf #bookish #happyreading

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I wish this was longer or part of a short story collection! I would have probably rated it higher had it been a little more fleshed out or part of a collection - but alas - I will take my Madeline Miller where I can get it. Galatea reimagines the myth of Galatea and Pygmalion. A sculptor creates the most beautiful woman and wishes she were alive. When she awakens she is immediately impregnated finds out that life is not meant for her. It is all controlled by the sculptor. She is locked away and kept in constant supervision by doctors and nurses who drug her. But she knows what she wants and that is her daughter. She may have been made of stone - but her heart beats for one thing only and that is her daughter.

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

 An incredibly short retelling of an ancient myth. This one was interesting, but ironically, it left me feeling cold. A sculptor brings his creation to life and falls in love with her. Romantic on the surface, but in this retelling he is abusive and controlling. I love her other work, but I felt like this one wasn’t strong enough to be published as a standalone book.

[cariola_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An Amazon single, Galatea is a longish short story, not a novel, written prior to the publication of Miller's two wonderful books, Song of Achilles and Circe. It tells the story of Pygmalion, but from the viewpoint of his statue-wife. Pygmalion had prayed that his most beautiful statue would come to life and be his alone, but once his wish comes true, he is dismayed to find that his beloved is now a lively, intelligent, sociable human being, not merely a work of art. Obsession and jealousy rage, and he locks Galatea in a hospital and puts her under the constant supervision of doctors and nurses. But she is determined to do whatever it takes to ensure that her daughter has the freedom that she has been denied.

[alanteder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent short-story retelling of the ancient myth where the goddess Aphrodite answered sculptor Pygmalion's prayers that his perfect woman statue Galatea be brought to life. But just like Liza Doolittle in the modern day retellings in George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" or Lerner & Loewe's "My Fair Lady", what if the statue could talk and give its version of the story? You may have overlooked this, as I did, between the publications of Madeline Miller's two stunning modern novelization retellings of Achilles and Circe, but don't miss it now!

[laine4cunningham · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Galatea by Madeline Miller
This is actually a short story but it’s available as a digital “book,” so I’m including a review.
Like Miller’s The Song of Achilles, this story retells an ancient story. Here, she takes on the Pygmalion myth and tells it from the statue’s point of view.
What a fascinating study. The statue, brought to life by her maker’s prayers, has feelings and needs of her own. The sculptor doesn’t honor anything but his own desires, and they are lustful to the point of repulsion.
When she discovers that he has carved another statue of a young girl, she recognizes the girl as her daughter…and knows the fate that awaits the girl in the sculptor’s bedchamber. Her final sacrifice saves the girl from life while providing her with the release she so desperately wants from her semi-human life.