What's Persephone's Deal?

[Tabitha]

Been thinking about Persephone and the Merovingian over the last few days, and doing a little googling to work out my ideas, which isn't getting me far, thought I'd throw the ideas out there for you guys.

So, the name Merovingian derives from the lineage of Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ, I thought perhaps we could compare Persephone to Magdalene, often described as the most favoured among the disciples, and possibly the one with most authority. Check Google man, there is a lot of stuff on there about how her history has been tainted by misogynist leanings of the christian churches in later centuries - very interesting.

So, keeping with the idea of the One as the Christ figure, then the concept that Persephone is an earlier version of Trinity seems to hold some water.


I was struck by a thought today though - what if, rather than the Merovingian being a previous One (one of the many interpretations I have read), it was actually Persephone? Does it have to be a guy?
I don't really have anything to back this idea up, but I thought I would throw it out there.


And of course, we can't forget that Persephone is the Greek goddess who is the wife of Hades, and daughter of Demeter, the Earth mother.
I mentioned in another thread the potential relevance of names, do the characters choose these names because of some latent prescience, or is this backwards? Perhaps the choice of name will affect the character's future?

We should remember that Persephone was a goddess of hell against her will.
Perhaps this could suggest that if the Merovingian was indeed a previous "One", Persephone was one of the 23 he was allowed to remove from the Matrix, and maybe she resents him for it.

The Architect mentions the Mother of the Matrix - I suppose this could refer to Persephone (Queen of Hell, anyone?), but it could also refer to Demeter, Persephone's mother from Greek Myth.
Or is this just another can of worms guessing game?



And why does Persephone require a kiss from Neo? Is she simply pining for times past with her husband? Or investigating the unexpected deep feeling Neo holds for Trinity that will lead him to make a different choice from all the previous Ones?


I find Persephone very fascinating, because I feel we have barely scratched the surface of her story.

 

[pkgrl]

Great character and great possibilities you've brought up!

First, I want to talk about the kiss. I think it's more important than it first seemed, if only because kissing is so personal and intimate. Remember Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman? "No kissing on the mouth." It was too personal, too emotional, too intimate, and not business-like, which is why she avoided it. But Persephone insisted on not just a kiss, but a passionate one, one in which she could feel desire and love. She wanted to feel like she was the object of Neo's love: Trinity.

How about this for the symbolism of a kiss: "Indeed when you place your lips on someone else's' lips you are symbolically saying, 'With my mouth given to you I now can no longer breathe nor take nourishment. I am entrusting you with my life and with my love. My very existence is in your hands'." (Ain't Google great?) But it's true.

Throw in the fact that Trinity and Neo are about as married as couples get in their "real world" and when they kiss it's even more sacred. After all, what is it that almost all couples do at the end of a wedding ceremony (especially Christian ones) but kiss? What Persephone demanded from him is even more contemptable in this light.

Geez, good thing she's just a computer program, eh?

I don't know if the programs chose "names" for themselves, or if they are assigned to them based on the design of their intended programming. For instance, the Merovingian program might have been called that because it was originally designed to follow a previous One and try to emulate it's tasks. Perhaps the Merovingian, instead of being a previous One itself, is the machines' attempt to copy a previous One. Thus, the program was named after something that may have followed a previous savior. (I know I'm stretching, but it sounds good, huh?) The Oracle was called the Oracle program because it was designed to forsee possible future events. (That one's a bit easier, eh?) The programs aren't human hackers that chose their own names, so I doubt that Persephone had any choice.

Then again, perhaps the W bros didn't even think about it this much and simply assigned names to "characters" with no regard for whether or not they were human or machine.

And I just have to mention that this really struck me:

I was struck by a thought today though - what if, rather than the Merovingian being a previous One (one of the many interpretations I have read), it was actually Persephone? Does it have to be a guy?

No, it doesn't. I love it when seemingly stray thoughts hit me like this during my work day. You've given me something new to think about, Tab! Thanks... for now. You may regret it later. :naughty:

 

[SlimFace]

I think that maybe the names that we know the characters by are given to them based on what they're like now. Morpheus, Trinity, and Neo are hacker aliases. But, the Oracle is called the Oracle, because that's what she is. The Keymaker is called the Keymaker, because that's what he does/did. The Architect is called this, because that's what he was.

The Merovingian's and Persephone's 'roles' in life aren't quite as defineable; therefore, they are not defined by their names (like the Keymaker or the Oracle). We can only assume that what they're called (Merovingian and Persephone) have something to do with what they really do in the story/ies.

 

[pkgrl]

We can only assume that what they're called (Merovingian and Persephone) have something to do with what they really do in the story/ies.

Yeah, but the Merovingian is one of the oldest programs, according to the Oracle, and she has no reason to make up this fact. So has his purpose been the same throughout his existance? Or has his "name" changed as each new Matrix has come into existance? Is he only the Merovingian in this one? I don't think so. I think Persephone said that the Merovingian used to be like Neo because it's original purpose was to emulate the One, which included behaving like he had human emotions. He has changed, but she still craves the emotions.

I think that surviving the changes of Matrices as an exile has caused changes in the Merovingian's programming, but Persephone's is about the same. What her original program was, I don't know, but I think she misses being able to carry it out. Her "husband" has changed so much that she's willing to undermine his "power" just so she can have just a piece of it back; namely to feel something again. Specifically... what? Passion? Love? Anything? What is it she really expected to get from Neo's kiss?

 

[Jkaiyummie]

Persephone was abducted by Hades from her mother Demeter who was a loving and warm Goddess of Earth. Demeter then became cold bringing winter all over the world. Herecules then intervene by convincing Hades to free Persephone once a year bringing Spring back to the world since Demeter becomes happy again with her daughter's return. Persephone ultimately fell in love with Hades so she has reason to come back to the Underworld. And that's why we have Winter and Spring Seasons.

 

[Spudnik]

exiles are exiles for good reason: they went beyond their programming.

as the oracle clearly pointed out, they were misbehaving so they were offered the choice of being deleted, or being exiled.
IF merovingian was a previous One, AND persephone was a previous trinity (or visa versa):
then they were attempts by machines to overcome the prophecy of the oracle and be programs instead of humans. this would have let the machines program what choice the One made everytime.

OR

they had a purpose in the first matrix (the one that failed.)

but they're exiles.

this makes me believe that either a) they were just bad attempts. b) they realized their purpose and rebelled. c) they failed for one reason or another (more historical data needed). d) they failed in earlier versions of the matrix (i.e. the first matrix, where agent smith makes his speech about how nobody would accept the code. remember?) to fulfil whatever purpose they were supposed to serve.

 

[cersei]

I used to think perhaps Merovingian was a previous One but more I think about it, less likely it seems.

All the 5 previous Ones (and yes some could have been female indeed) returned to the Source and code re-integrated back into helping reboot the Matrix (and no, I do not agree with some opinions that the One hangs around with new 23 to help populate Zion as suggested by some)..he essentially "dies".

Merovingian on other hand more likely fits a programme that chose exile over deletion. He may be an attempt by Machines to make a "One programme" but he is not a previous One per se.

As for Persephone, in ETM, she also kisses Ghost and Niobe and by doing do knows them better ...of their love life anyway. She tells of crucial things about whom Niobe and Ghost loves...(in parallel, Seraph fights them too before letting them meet the Oracle). She could well fit into a "programme designed to examine certains aspects of human psyche"