Reclaiming the Muse

Abstract The image of the Muse as loved object who inspires the male artist, whilst she herself remains silent, is deeply engrained in contemporary culture, despite the best efforts of feminist critics to expose the implications of such imagery: man creates, woman inspires; man is the maker, woman the vehicle of male fantasy, an object created by the male imagination, incapable of any kind of agency herself. In short, this image of the Muse denies woman's active participation in artistic creation and silences female creativity. This chapter examines the significance of the Muses' gender and the various ways their femininity has contributed to their reception, focusing on 18th-century London society when the Muse was a favourite theme in art. In Richard Samuel's 18th-century painting The Nine Living Muses of Great Britain, a model for reclaiming the image of the Muse as an emblem of female capability is identified. Contemporary women's poetry continues to rework classical myth.