OptionalFiction

Okay, here's part two to yesterday's story. What fascinates me about this part of the story (as it was told by Ovid) is the inevitability of it. When Daedalus instructs Icarus he already knows that Icarus will die. But, like Kassandra, he can't do anything about it. A small detail that is sometimes lost is that Daedalus instructs Icarus not only to not fly too high, but also not too low. It is the excess that becomes Icarus undoing, but the myth also warns us not to deprive ourselves either. Another detail I stole from Ovid is the tragedy of the fall. Icarus suddenly is in panic, the wings that but a moment ago were carrying him have forsaken him and he gets taken by the sea before he can even call out for his father. I had to leave out the perspective of the father, who (in Ovid again) notices that his son is missing and frantically looks in all directions hoping to find him somewhere until he notices the feathers floating on the waves. Lastly, what is it that causes Icarus to ignore his father's advice and fly too high? It's not stupidity or rebellion. There has to be an inherent allure in the act. And I believe that Icarus is right in a way. He comes to an early end, but he knew what he was doing. It was a conscious decision and maybe it was even the right one.

Never regret thy fall, O Icarus of the fearless flight For the greatest tragedy of them all Is never to feel the burning light. —Oscar Wilde