H. Allenger aims to endear readers to Polyxena in his novel

In the previous blog, we’ve found out that H. Allenger’s Polyxena is actually a direct letter to Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love and beauty, as the eponymous main character relates her thoughts and pain to the goddess. Today’s blog post talks about the reason why the author chose to write the book that way.

It’s no longer a secret to readers that Polyxena’s own story in Greek mythology ends in her death: this is something that everybody who reads mythology already knows. Allenger has something new for his readers, instead, and that is to connect them to the daughter of King Priam of Troy; to endear them to the fallen princess; to make them fall in love with her.

For the author, it does not matter what happens to Polyxena since it’s a given. Besides, that’s not exactly the appeal of the book. Allenger tries to achieve something more lasting and important with his work, which is to establish a deeper emotional bond between the readers and Polyxena. The author achieves this by putting readers in the shoes of Aphrodite in a way that makes it as though the main character is talking to them by addressing the Greek goddess directly.

Further, Allenger wants readers to feel Polyxena’s hopes, sorrows, fears, and joys, as well as to marvel at her courage in overcoming her fear of death. For the author, this kind of interaction with Aphrodite is what most appeals to the readers, thus the book is written in the first person point of view.