Electric Idol

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual content.

Robert’s Olympus is a pantheon maintained through images. As an influencer, Psyche uses this aspect of Olympian society to her advantage, taking photographs of herself to maintain brand sponsorships and promote size-inclusive fashion. Significantly, Psyche and Eros first confront one another in front of a mirror in a Dodona Tower bathroom, and she fights her attraction to him even as she bandages his injuries. In this moment, the mirror gives her a chance to see that he is drawn to her in his own way, even though they remain relative strangers. 

In yet another emphasis on the impact of images and reflections, the novel’s core conflict begins when the two are photographed together by a paparazzo, caught in a moment that looks like proof of a secret relationship. In an ironic reversal of this idea, their first posed kiss soon betrays real passion, telegraphing the fact that their marriage of convenience has genuine romantic potential. After their wedding, they ensure that they are deliberately photographed together on a romantic walk, and Eros realizes that “there’s no artifice” in his “eager” response to her physical presence. Though the art of image manipulation is part of their survival strategy, the growing comfort that Eros and Psyche feel in these moments also shows the progression of their romance, adding to Robert’s broader focus on