The Dark Side of the Moon

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The moon has two sides, the side that is ever illuminated by the sun, and the side we see, and then there is the dark side; forever cast into the shadows, never to see earth, nor be seen by earth. Similar to the moon, humans never merely have one side but are multifaceted. The character Salome has many different sides, and even more that the characters of the play see, though all the characters do see Salome in the moon. Herod originally only sees Salome as a beautiful erotic creature, however when she requests the head of The Prophet, he sees the corruption within her. He then realizes, “Only in mirrors is it well to look, for mirrors do but show us masks.” However, the moon acts as a mirror for Salome, reflecting to each character a different mask.
The Page of Herodias was very worried about his friend Narraboth and where his gaze fell. He continuously tells him not to look upon Salome, for he looks at her too much, and he prophesized that “something terrible may happen” if he continued to gaze at her in such a way (Wilde 393). The Page of Herodias sees danger both within the gaze of his friend towards Salome, as well as in the moon. He saw in the moon that “she was looking for dead things” (Wilde 393). The moon sought dead things and dead things were brought, in the form of the suicide of Narraboth. However, Narraboth was not the only death that occurred; there was also the death of The Prophet. Though Salome did not seek the death of the Syrian, she was the cause of it. The Prophet’s death, however, was sought by Salome, for she ordered it. Once The Prophet was dead she ordered his head be brought to her. The Page of Herodias had not only seen the danger of Salome, but he prophesized The Prophet’s demise. After the death of ...

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...he clouds sought to cover her. This shows a change in Salome from the chaste virgin, to seeking the love of The Prophet. To get to the prophet, she will dance for Herod until all the veils that cover her are gone. Before she dances the moon turns red as blood, as The Prophet predicted, and this signifies the corruption of Salome. Salome realizes the corruption and states to the decapitated head of the prophet, “I was a princess, and thou didst scorn me. I was a virgin, and thou didst take my virginity from me. I was chaste, and thou didst fill my veins with fire” (428). The moon is a mirror for the corruption of Salome.
A mask suggests that something is hidden from view, which can be dangerous. Most of the characters in Salome we blinded what they saw in Salome, whether it be love, sexual desire, or normalcy, that they were unable to see the entirety of her being.

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