Among the Goddesses

Synopsis of “Lily Among the Goddesses”

15 “Lily Among the Goddesses” Synopsis Prologue Lily, a young woman who has been traveling alone since she left her home as a victim of incest, invokes the blessings of women’s traditions on her story. Surrounded by figures of goddesses, Lily sings about beginnings and endings with a chorus of three Kouretes (ancient priests of the Goddess). The Kouretes will take various roles to comment on the action throughout the opera. Act I Eve, a vibrant ninety-year old stained-glass artist, sits on the porch of her small house by the ocean, sketching. Around her are stained glass windows she has made in traditional goddess designs. Lily appears on the road passing the house. Eve invites Lily to have tea, and their friendship grows as they discuss their lives. Since Lily has no place to go, Eve invites her to rent the spare room. Lily moves in and becomes Eve’s apprentice, helping her find stained glass. Through this friendship she develops a new trust in the significance of her life. After several years, Eve dies and Lily walks alone on the beach at sunset, distraught . Returning home, she finds the goddess Isis in the form of a young girl sitting on her porch. Awed by this visionary experience, Lily serves Isis a meal and then takes her to the shore where she disappears among the stars to continue her mythic journey to her brother Osiris. Awakened into consciousness of the other dimensions of her life, Lily returns to the house and discovers another manifestation of female power which will change her life: the goddess Astarte in the form of a sacred pillar of stone. 16 Act II When Lily wakes the next morning a circle of trees—in ancient times planted as altars to the goddess Astarte—has grown around the stone. Singing her amazement and gratitude, Lily decides to go on a journey, planting the trees up and down the west coast in tribute. Eight nights into Lily’s trip, she is sleeping in a dark churchyard while the Kouretes sing with foreboding. A strange man comes into the churchyard while Lily sleeps, rummages through her possessions and, finding goddess symbols and candles, decides angrily that she is a “witch.” In a rage of insane righteousness, and in spite of Lily’s violent struggles, he rips her clothes and rapes her, finally retreating and running away after she manages to break one of his fingers. Crushed with grief and anger, Lily pulls herself together and decides to travel to San Francisco to plant the last tree, since Eve has given her the name of her friend Diana, owner of the Café Artemis in San Francisco. Lily hitchhikes to the city where, in a crowd of people, she suddenly sees the terrifying figure of Hecate, goddess of crossroads and transitions. Prompted by this encounter into a shock of realization, Lily looks into herself and understands that the rape has made her pregnant. In a shocked trance, Lily enters the Café Artemis, sits down, and sings a soliloquy on the tragic injustice of her situation. As she finishes, one of the Kouretes in the dress of a waiter introduces her to Diana. Finding a friend in Diana, Lily pours out her story. Diana helps Lily to plant the last tree and supports her in her decision to take the next stage of her journey, visiting Eve’s old friend Demeter in Ohio. Act III After a long bus journey, Lily arrives at the house of the prehistoric earth goddess Demeter and finds her in the garden. Lily is awed by Demeter’s balanced strength and power. As Demeter sings about the earth and her own role as bringer of both death and life, Lily understands that she does not 17 want to carry her pregnancy. On Demeter’s advice, Lily travels to obtain the help of the Hindu war-goddess Kali in aborting the child. Lily steps off a bus on a rainy night and approaches Kali’s house. Through a window, she sees Kali weaving a magical tapestry depicting every form of life on earth. Kali opens the door at Lily’s knock, but looks right past Lily and shuts the door in her face. Lily summons her deepest will as she knocks on the door again and, with all her power, insists that Kali let her in. Inside the house, Kali opens a cupboard...