Question

dryope
by thomas bulfinch

dryope (dry-oh-pee) was the wife of andraemon (an-dree-mun), beloved by her husband and happy about the birth of her first child. one day she and her sister, iole (eye-oh-lee), strolled to the bank of a stream that sloped gradually down to the water’s edge. dryope carried her child, a precious burden, at her bosom and nursed him as she walked through the tall grass that grew along the river.

near the water grew a lotus tree, full of purple flowers. dryope gathered some and offered them to the baby, and iole was about to do the same, when she noticed blood dropping from the places where her sister had broken them off at the stem. the plant was none other than lotus, who had been changed into this form by the gods in order to save the goddess from a cruel pursuer. this they learned from the country people when it was too late.

dryope, horror - stricken when she perceived what she had done, would gladly have run from the spot but found her feet rooted to the ground. she tried to pull them away but could move nothing but her upper limbs. the woodness crept upward and was slowly invading her body. in anguish she attempted to tear her hair but found her hands filled with leaves. the infant felt his mother’s bosom begin to harden and the milk cease to flow. iole looked on at the sad tale of her sister and could do nothing to help. she embraced the growing trunk, as if she would hold back the advancing wood, and would gladly have been enclosed in the same bark.

“farewell,” poor dryope cried, “if you have any love for me, do not let the axe wound me or the flocks bite and tear my branches. climb up and kiss me, and while my lips continue to feel, lift up my child so that i may kiss him. i can speak no more, for already the bark advances up my neck and will soon shoot over me.” then the lips ceased to move and life was extinct, but for a few moments longer the branches stayed warm.

adapted from bulfinch’s version of the ancient greek myth, “dryope,” 1855.

select the correct answer.
who can you infer transformed dryope into a tree?
a. lotus
b. the country people
c. her child
d. iole

Explanation:

The text states the purple-flowered plant was the goddess Lotus, transformed to escape a pursuer. When Dryope broke its stems, this goddess punished her by turning her into a tree, as shown by Dryope's sudden bodily transformation into woody tissue right after the incident.

Answer:

A. Lotus