Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse paintings of Melpoméne, she is represented with a tragic mask and also often holds in her other hand a knife or club. In Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who had eight other daughters, Melpoméne's sisters and the eight other muses are: Calliope, muse of epic poetry; Clio, muse of history; Euterpe, muse of flute playing; Terpsichore, muse of dancing; Erato, muse of erotic poetry; Thalia muse of comedy; Polyhymnia, muse of hymns; and Urania, muse of astronomy. Reynolds was inspired not only by Sarah Siddons' extreme talent to embody the tragic heroine in Macbeth, but
The Erotic of women to tap into their true selves. Lorde points out that fear of the erotic keeps us “docile” and is not “self-discipline but self-abnegation”. She argues that women should avoid distancing themselves from the erotic. According to her it is often confused with the pornographic and often seen as suspicious in a patriarchal society. The word 'erotic' is derived from the Greek word eros. Eros personifies "love in all its aspects". According to Lorde, the erotic has often been confused with the pornographic, resulting in the terms being used interchangeably within western societies. Lorde dismantles this idea and explains