The Labyrinth in Ariadne: A Symbol of Entrapment, Agency, and Betrayal

What Is the Labyrinth?

In Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne, the Labyrinth is a vast underground maze built by the master craftsman Daedalus beneath the palace of Knossos. King Minos commissions it to imprison the Minotaur—the half-bull, half-human child born from Queen Pasiphae’s curse. The structure is deliberately inescapable: a nightmare of “twisting passages, dead ends, spiraling branches” that all lead to a single dark center where the monster dwells (Chapter Two). Even Daedalus, its creator, cannot find his way out without a guide, as he confesses to Ariadne (Chapter Five). The Labyrinth is sealed with iron doors and bolts, and only Ariadne holds the key and the knowledge of its exit.

The symbol recurs through nearly every phase of the novel: in the epigraph from Ovid’s Heroides, where Ariadne tells Theseus to “describe the Labyrinth” and how she taught him to escape; in Ariadne’s childhood awareness of the “bellowings” that shake the palace floors; in her secret preparations to help Theseus; and in the aftermath when both she and Phaedra must bury the truth of their involvement. Even after Ariadne leaves Crete, the moral weight of the Labyrinth—the choice to betray her family—stays with her.

How the Labyrinth’s Meaning Changes

The symbolism of the Labyrinth shifts dramatically depending on who wields or suffers it.

• For King Minos: The Labyrinth is a display of power. He uses it to transform his shame (a monstrous son) into a weapon of terror, demanding Athenian youths as tribute. He renames the child “the Minotaur” and claims the maze as his own dominance (Chapter Two).

• For Ariadne: The Labyrinth initially represents her family’s hidden corruption and her own helplessness. Later, it becomes the site of her first act of agency: she acquires the key and ball of twine from Daedalus, enters the maze to place Theseus’s club, and then locks the door again (Chapter Nine). This act liberates her from her father’s control but also makes her complicit in her brother’s death. After Theseus abandons her on Naxos, the Labyrinth stands for the false promise of heroic rescue—the “perplexed mazes” she taught Theseus to escape now trap her in isolation.

• For Theseus: The Labyrinth is a heroic challenge, a “labor” that will earn him fame. He refuses to be passively rescued; he wants to kill the Minotaur himself and leave “the Labyrinth empty and its myth dissolved” (Chapter Five). Yet he accepts Ariadne’s thread, making her intelligence the hidden scaffold of his legend.

• For Phaedra: The Labyrinth is a shameful secret she must carry. In Athens, Theseus warns her to conceal her role (Chapter Eighteen). She can never speak of the maze or her sister’s sacrifice, so the Labyrinth becomes a symbol of silenced complicity.

• For Daedalus: The Labyrinth is a permanent remorse. He built it to contain the Minotaur, but he also helped create the conditions for the monster’s birth (the wooden cow). He carries the guilt “like a bright crystal” and waits for a chance to undo his work by giving Ariadne the means to guide an escape (Chapter Five).

Character and Theme Connections

The Labyrinth is tightly woven into the novel’s major themes.

Female Agency and Voice: Ariadne’s knowledge of the Labyrinth is her only source of power. While Theseus earns glory, it is Ariadne’s thread and her instructions (“walk straight. Do not turn”) that make the victory possible. She chooses to act, even though the cost is exile and eventual betrayal. Her voice, heard in the epigraph, demands that Theseus acknowledge her tutelage.

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Betrayal and Trust: The Labyrinth is the stage for two betrayals. Ariadne betrays her father and her brother by aiding Theseus. In turn, Theseus betrays Ariadne by abandoning her on Naxos, using the very escape she orchestrated to end her story. Phaedra also betrays her sister’s trust by staying silent in Athens.

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Monstrosity and Humanity: The Labyrinth houses the Minotaur, but the novel questions who is truly monstrous. Minos, who sacrifices children; Theseus, who uses Ariadne and discards her; and even the gods, who curse mortals for sport—all act with cruelty. The maze itself, a brilliant creation, is perverted into a tool of oppression. Ariadne’s act of entering it to place the club shows that humanity and monstrosity blur: she kills her own brother to save a stranger.

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Divine Cruelty versus Human Suffering: The Labyrinth exists because Poseidon cursed Pasiphae after Minos broke a promise. The gods’ indifference forces humans to build cages for their own suffering. Ariadne’s final constellation—the Corona Borealis—can be read as a cosmic labyrinth from which she watches over other women in pain, transforming the symbol of entrapment into one of compassionate guidance.

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Sisterhood and Family Loyalty: The Labyrinth draws the two sisters together. Phaedra insists on joining the escape and helps retrieve Theseus’s club. Later, she must live without Ariadne, weaving a peplos for Athena and missing her sister deeply. The shared secret of the Labyrinth binds them even after separation.

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Study Questions and Answers

1. In what ways does the Labyrinth function as a symbol of hidden truths within the palace of Knossos?
   The Labyrinth buries both the Minotaur and the family’s shame. Minos hides his wife’s curse-born child, Pasiphae retreats into dark magic, and the palace gossip is silenced by fear. The maze is the physical expression of everything the royal family cannot speak aloud. Only Ariadne, who visits the Labyrinth’s edges, knows the full truth.

2. How does Ariadne’s relationship with the Labyrinth change from childhood to the moment she enters it?
   As a child, Ariadne hears the Minotaur’s bellows and dances on her outdoor floor to escape horror. She pities her brother but stays passive. When she decides to help Theseus, she first acquires the key and twine (Chapter Five), then physically enters the maze to place the club (Chapter Nine). This shift from bystander to active agent mirrors her growing determination to shape her own destiny, even though she later pays for it with abandonment.

3. Why does Daedalus give Ariadne the ball of twine and the key, and what does this tell us about his character?
   Daedalus has carried the twine since he “caged the monster,” waiting for a tribute strong enough to succeed. He feels guilt for his role in the Minotaur’s birth and wants to undo some of the harm. Yet he also warns Ariadne that Theseus may not want passive rescue—he may seek glory. Daedalus is both a compassionate figure and a realist: he gives her the tools but also the warning to flee Crete and never return.

4. How does the Labyrinth appear in the aftermath of Ariadne and Theseus’s escape, and what does it come to represent for Phaedra?
   After the escape, Theseus warns Phaedra to hide her part in the Labyrinth (Chapter Eighteen). She must never reveal that a woman’s thread made his victory possible. The Labyrinth thus becomes a symbol of silenced female contribution. Phaedra compensates by weaving the peplos for Athena and whispering advice at council meetings, but she can never openly reclaim the story of the maze. For her, the Labyrinth remains a burden of secrecy and lost sisterhood.

Return to the book home page or explore the character analysis of Ariadne, Theseus, Daedalus, Minos, and Phaedra.