Thisbe Bio

My name is Thisbe, which means "Where the doves live." I am most famously known for the tragic love story of Pyramus and Thisbe. I was raised in Babylon and fell for the one youth my parents forbade. Our families hated one another and refused to accept our love for one another. We often communicated through a crack in the wall, and simply through signs and glances. My parents should have known that the fire burns more intensely when it is covered up, and Pyramus and I became more and more in love. One night, I planned to meet him in secret. As I waited, I was approached by a lioness, and terrified; I dropped my garment and ran to safety. The lioness tore and ripped at it, but I was safe. As Pyramus approached, he saw the ruined garment and the lioness and came to conclude the worst. In a rash action brought on by passionate love, he took his sword and plunged it through his chest.

When I arrived back to the scene, I saw Pyramus as he lay dying. I cried out and begged to know what had happened, but it was too late. Pyramus’s eyes closed forever and left me by myself. When I discovered he died at his own hand, I was determined to show my love for him was as strong as his, and to show that I too can be brave for love. I then took his sword and plummeted it through my own chest. I said: “I will follow thee in death, for I have been the cause; and death, which alone could part us, shall not prevent my joining thee. And ye, unhappy parents of us both, deny us not our united request. As love and death have joined us, let one tomb contain us. And thou, tree, retain the marks of slaughter. Let thy berries still serve for memorials of our blood.” I knew the events of that night would change our parents’ ways and make them forget the old, daft feud. I was right, our parents acceded my death wish, and our bodies were buried in one sepulcher, with a tree that brought forth purple berries to this day.

I know a lesson can be learned from this story, which is why the gods and goddesses have made it famous. It is vital to focus on what is really important and what isn’t. An old feud compared to your child’s happiness, shouldn’t even compare. When you love someone, you can’t shut out what they are saying and what they want. Because that’s what love is, love is wanting what’s best for another person. Happiness is so important, love is so important. If our parents weren’t so stubborn, so close-minded, and so afraid of what might happen, of what our love would have changed, Pyramus and I would not have had to meet the way we did that night. We sacrificed everything just to be with one another, and that tells you how important we were to each other.