How the Past Possess the Present in "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

The story of Demeter and Persephone is perhaps the oldest myth. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” provides a modern interpretation of the myth. In many ways, Arnold Friend represents Hades. He says “I know everybody” and “I know my Connie.” He is familiar to Connie. He sniffs “as if she were a treat he was going to gobble up.” He has incredible power over Connie. Similarly, Hades is someone that we all know and recognize, who frequently uses trickery and deceit to obtain his prize. He controls his subjects and reacts very negatively if they attempts to break loose of his hold.

We see this play out in the interactions between Connie and Arnold. “We ain’t leaving until you come with us,” he says. He is persistent. He gets upset when she refuses to come out and tells her how she will behave. “Be nice to me, be sweet like you can because what else is there for a girl like you but to be sweet and pretty and give in?—and get away before her people come back?” He asserts his power over her.

We also see a similar situation in the story of Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit. The serpent tempts Eve and she gives in, tasting the fruit from the tree of knowledge. In this story we see the inferiority of woman and how easy it is to seduce her, two themes that are still carried out today. Sexism is a very large issue in our present world, years and years after these myths came into being. Women aren’t universally viewed as inferior; however, it is an overwhelming view.  We see men perceive women as inferior very regularly, in both large and small ways. From opening the door for women to the fact that we’ve never had a female president, it is clear that women are often viewed as the lesser sex. They are also perceived as weaker and easier to seduce. The vast majority of rapists are male and the vast majority of rape victims are female, and the majority of sex-related homicides have female victims.

 Overall, we see the themes of temptation, seduction, and female inferiority throughout time. We see this is one of our earliest myths and we see it in abductions and rapes today. We see this temptation in the bible with the forbidden fruit and we see if with peer pressure in children’s classrooms. We hear these stories in the newspaper and we see them among our friends. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is not a unique story. It is one that has been told and carried out for thousands of years and one that will continue to take place for years to come.