Ulysses and the Sirens 1891

John William Waterhouse painted "Ulysses and the Sirens" during the late 19th century, a time when artists were reimagining classical myths through a Victorian lens. In this canvas, we see Ulysses, tied to the mast of his ship, as he encounters the Sirens. Waterhouse, in a departure from traditional representations, depicts the Sirens as hybrid creatures, part woman and part bird, their gaze fixed, their wings powerful. Look at how the male sailors strain at their oars, heads bowed, seemingly immune to the Sirens' call. It's a moment of intense psychological drama. Ulysses, alone in his awareness, is caught in a conflict between desire and duty. The male body of Ulysses is vulnurable and exposed, in contrast to the bodies of the women/birds which are strong and powerful. Waterhouse was painting during a time of shifting gender roles, and this work seems to play with the period’s anxieties about female power. What do you feel when you look at this painting? Is it the allure of the unknown, or the terror of losing control?