At a Crossroad

In a feeble attempt to not procrastinate on my final project for this class, I was in the library this past Sunday researching microcosms and macrocosms when I came across a book about psychological symbols and their manifestations in Shakespeare's work. Among the symbols discussed was the goddess Hecate, a greek goddess (according to some sources) who was initially portrayed as goddess of nature, neither good nor evil. In later years she became associated with witchcraft, blood, and violence.   Some sources say she is the mother of Scylla and one of the queens of the underworld. She is also called the goddess of crossroads, often symbolized by the number three. Hecate appears (or is mentioned) several times in Shakespeare's plays, most notably in King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth. It was her influence on King Lear that intrigued me most, for when I perused this play I found Hecate symbolism and Hecate figures permeating through its pages. So, my attempt to not procrastinate turned into a last minute change of topic for my final project (heads up Professor, you will not be hearing a scintillating, mind-blowing analysis of microcosms and macrocosms in Shakespeare's work anymore). Instead, I will be analyzing King Lear through the eyes of Hecate, and how King Lear's curse on Cordelia in which he invokes the goddess' name skews the path of the play and sends it into its conclusion of mass bloodshed and death.