Echo Transformed into a Voice

Echo withdraws into rocks and woodland until only her voice remains. The chapter explains that Juno has already deprived her of independent speech, allowing her only to repeat the end of another person's words. Her unanswered attachment to Narcissus then consumes her body, leaving sound within the landscape.

The author treats the tale as a poetic explanation of an acoustic phenomenon rather than a recoverable biography. The cavernous setting gives that idea form: the figure seems on the verge of becoming indistinguishable from the stone and shadow that will return every call.

Historical context is adapted from the accompanying commentary by Antoine de La Barre de Beaumarchais. Its interpretations reflect the period in which the book was published.

This edition follows plate 38 in Le Temple des Muses. The complete historical page and its explanatory text remain available in the source record. Source attribution: Bernard Picart and other engravers, Le Temple des Muses (1749 edition). Museum date: 1749 (publication). Source medium: Engraving, inner pictorial scene. Source portfolio: Le Temple des Muses, plate 38.

The inner illustration has been straightened and extracted from its surrounding engraved frame, caption and paper. The comparison shows that extracted engraving beside Surrealium's contemporary colour interpretation.

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