Butes

In a philosophical treatise nominally about music but applicable to society as a whole, Pascal Quignard analyzes the little-known ancient Greek myth of Butes, one of the famous Argonauts who sailed to find the Golden Fleece and was known principally for having been the only one of his company to succumb to the deadly song of the Sirens. In contrasting Butes' decision—or compulsion—to jump out of his boat with the stories of Orpheus, who neutralized the Sirens’ song with his lyre, and Odysseus, who had himself bound hand and foot, the author points to a larger dichotomy between an instinctive, almost nihilistic musical style and a more moderate—though perhaps more stagnant—form. The argument can be expanded further to juxtapose an anarchic freedom with an existence tightly constrained by social norms.