.
Throughout the history of the myth and the ways is has been explicated for modern interpretation, it has been argued that Medusa actually serves as the quintessential representative of "the Other" and that she is an example of the duplicity that exists in every woman since one of the great Athena's own symbols was that of snakes. She is an example of reflection, the other side of the coin, the idea that her existence serves as both a mask and a mirror of the person that lies beneath the representation. Of course, she may also be a representation of the ever-present battle of the sexes in which her most alluring features are over-shadowed by those which are her most horrifying. The most fundamental essence of the original myth is that in which the primary character is forced to truly seeing oneself and, as a result, ask the perpetual question of "who am I?" Of course, such a question is at the core of every thinking person's questions regarding their existence and their purpose in life. .
Travis and Barlowe (1995) make note of the fact that in the "original" myth of Ovid, Perseus "seeks the power of Medusa's evil eye, which is the ability to arrest, immobilize, and make statues of others" (pp. 47). Of course, when he turns a reflection of Medusa back on herself she is turned into stone as surely as any other mortal would have been. Travis and Barlowe believe that: "Perseus's account of his conquest speaks volumes about the various methods men have used to silence and disempower strong, threatening women" (pp. 47). Their point being that the myth actually serves as something of a warning for women who "think that the feminist movement has secured our passage into a post-feminist world" (pp. 47). .
Clearly, such is not the case in the situation presented by Perseus and Medusa since Medusa is rendered not just powerless but destroyed. In either version of the myth, Medusa is undone. It is worth noting the conclusion made by modern scholars Travis and Barlowe who point out that by using the Perseus-Medusa myth as the "context of analysis" (pp.
