Revision of Helen’s Myth and a New Female Discourse in Hilda Doolittle’s Helen in Egypt

This article analyzes the American poet Hilda Doolittle’s (H.D.) later work Helen in Egypt (1961) with a specific emphasis on the ways in which she reconstructs Helen’s identity and a new female discourse by revisionist mythmaking. H.D. reworks the classical story of Helen of Troy and situates Helen in Egypt in an attempt to transform the old patriarchal myths to novel definitions of feminine identity, female discourse, female experience, female vision, and a female quest, which are all antithetical to the androcentric myths of the western world. H.D. foregrounds the reconstruction of Helen’s identity in a revised myth in which Helen becomes the speaking subject. This new position that H.D. places Helen aims to eliminate the schism between gender norms and help Helen rebuild a new identity that is free from the accusations and hatred in the original myth. Revising Helen’s myth from the feminine perspective enables H.D. to abandon the androcentric vision of the western literary tradition and to celebrate a novel female identity without restrictions and repressions.