Voice in the Wind: A Web of Misunderstanding

Voice in the Wind, pp. 440-444

This week opens with Julia’s arrival at Primus’ villa. She is, remember, moving in with him, using a common law marriage to a gay man to secure her sexual and financial freedom (none of which is how this actually worked).

Primus grated Julia with a chaste kiss on the cheek. “Only one little slave and a box of jewels?” he said. “It was bad, wasn’t it? I’ve found Marcus intolerant about certain things. He’s never allowed me to bring Prometheus to one of his feasts. I suppose he tried to stop you from moving in with me.”

“I thought he would understand.”

“Dear Julia. Your brother isn’t the man he appears to be. Beneath that epicurean mask he wears beats the heart of a traditionalist.”

There is more truth packed into that statement than the last three chapters. Rivers may want her evangelical readers to despise Primus—and you may, too, in a moment—but that hasn’t stopped her from allowing him to speak truth.

Just then, a young man of no more than fourteen entered the room. “Ah,” Primus said, holding out his hand. The boy took it and allowed himself to be pulled forward and presented to Julia.

“This is my beloved Prometheus,” Primus said, watching proudly as the boy bowed respectfully to Julia. “I’ll be with you shortly,” he said, smiling at the boy, who bowed again and left.

Julia felt an unpleasant sensation curling in the pit of her stomach.

This is one of those moments where the whole story could have gone in a different direction. We’re to believe, I think, that Julia’s revulsion is due to the whole gay thing. But what if instead she looked at Prometheus and saw herself? After all, she was the same age he is when she was given in marriage to Claudius. What if she left Primus at this point, recognizing that Prometheus was a child, taken without a choice, like she was?

It’s possible, of course, that Rivers means the revulsion to be due to Prometheus’ age, and that we’re to despise Primus not for being gay but for being a pedophile. I don’t think so, though, for two reasons. First, at several points earlier in the book we have seen the Valerians express revulsion at homosexual relationships between adults. Second, Prometheus is the same age Julia was when she was given in marriage, and Rivers portrayed her parents as perhaps misguided in thinking the marriage would suit her, but pinned the blame for it not working out on Julia.

It is wrong for Primus to have a child as a catamite. It was wrong for Claudius to have a child as a wife. But the moral compasses of the characters in this book are somewhat askew. It is wrong for Primus to be gay, they read. It was wrong for Julia to not try to be a better wife to Claudius.

Later in this book, Hadassah “poisons” Prometheus against Primus. We do not learn what she tells him, only that she was sitting with him and talking to him, and that he later becomes agitated and tense whenever Hadassah enters the room. My read is that Hadassah tells him that homosexuality is wrong, that what he is doing is sinful. After all, if the issue were his age—If Hadassah were telling him that it was wrong for Primus to prey on him—one imagines that she would have said the same to Julia when she was his age and given in marriage, and she did not.

But what if this book had taken a different direction entirely? What if Julia had gotten to Prometheus, not with a message with sin but with a message about his own worth, as told from her experience with Claudius as a child herself?

Of course, Prometheus is not just a child, he is also a slave, and that sets him apart from Julia. After all, Julia’s emphasis on securing her own freedom rides on the comparison she has drawn between her state in her father’s household, and slavery. She has determined that she will be no one’s slave, but this is a personal stance and not a condemnation of slavery writ large.

Having met Prometheus, Julia heads to her new quarters in Primus’ villa. She declares them too small, but no mind; she will buy a bigger villa once she has control of her money. Hadassah speaks up, begging Julia to reconsider.

“My lady, you’re in love with Atretes.”

This would be more convincing if we’d been given a believable love story. Instead, the only times we’ve seen the two together, Atretes has been angry or violent, and Julia scared and upset.

Julia sends Hadassah to fetch Atretes to her.

“I want you to find Atretes and tell him I’ve arranged for a permanent residence where we may be together as often as we want. Don’t tell him anything about Primus. Do you hear me? He might not understand. Not yet. He’s still very uncivilized. It’s best if I explain everything when I see him. Just tell him he must come to me. I need him.”

After some consideration of whether she needs to be sending Sertes jewelry in order to bring Atretes to her—she determines that she does not—she reiterates:

“Deliver the message exactly as I’ve given it to you. Nothing about Primus. Do you understand? I’ll tell Atretes about Primus later.”

As Hadassah turned to do her mistress’s bidding, she wondered how Julia, who had spent so much time with Atretes, could not know the man at all.

And here we have a problem—Hadassah’s extremely literal moral compass refuses to temper or adjust the message Julia gave her to smooth some of its rough edges, as it might appear to Atretes. Instead, Hadassah delivers it exactly as Julia told her, knowing full well how Atretes would respond to Julia’s use of the word “must,” making her message a command rather than a request.

“Must?” he said coldly. “Tell your lady it will not be as before. I will send for her when I am ready.” He turned away and headed back to the barracks.

“Atretes,” Hadassah said, hastening after him. “Please. Don’t turn from her now.”

He glared down at her. “Remind your lady that I’m no longer a slave to be summoned at her whim and for her pleasure.”

Swell.

“Speak with her gently, Atretes, and she will do whatever you ask.” Hadassah knew this was the truth. A gentle, loving word from Atretes, and Julia would even turn away from the terrible path she was now following.

The priorities here are stunning. Remaining in a common law marriage to a gay man who allows her to make her own choices and decisions is a “terrible path,” but marrying who has already displayed both jealousy and violence toward Julia is totally preferable. (As much as I’m extremely unhappy that Primus has a child as a catamite, it is more than clear that that Prometheus’ age is not Hadassah’s objection to Primus’ actions.)

Atretes responds with this:

“Tell your mistress I’ll send for her when I have a house and can take her into it as my wife.” So saying, he strode away.

As it turns out, Atretes does not know Julia any better than she knows him. And as obsessed as she is with Atretes, it’s crystal clear that Julia has dodged a bullet in taking steps to make sure that she will not become his wife.