“All mortals tend to turn into the things they are pretending to be.”
C.S. Lewis
About the myth of Echo and Narcissus
According to the myth, a young girl named Echo falls in love with a vain youth named Narcissus. He was the son of a woman that the river god had encircled with the windings of his streams, thus trapping and seducing her. Worried for her son’s welfare, she consulted a prophet regarding his future. The prophet reports: Narcissus "will live to a ripe old age, as long as he never knows himself."
One day when Narcissus was out hunting, Echo follows him through the woods, longing to address him but was unable to speak first (to avoid repeating Narcissus words). When Narcissus finally heard her footsteps he shouted "Who is there?" Echo answered "...is there? ...is there?" And so it went, until finally Echo showed herself and rushed to embrace Narcissus. He pulled away and vainly told her to leave him alone. Narcissus left Echo heartbroken and she spent the rest of her life lonely and pining away for the love she never knew. Only her voice remained.
Eventually Narcissus became thirsty and went to drink from a stream. As he saw his reflection, he fell in love with it, not knowing that it was him. As he bent down to kiss it, it seemed to "run away" and he was heartbroken. He grew thirstier but he wouldn't touch the water for fear of damaging his reflection, so he eventually died of thirst and staring at his own reflection. The narcissus flower is closely identified with the boy and was said to spring from the ground around the pool where Narcissus died.
The only love he ever knew was the echo of his own voice ...
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