Unrequited love and internal conflicts. In this piece we see Daphney in her moment of transition after she has been violated by Apollo. 

“He feared that she would fall and injure herself as she fled; and yet he could not give up the chase.” 

The myth says that he couldn’t control himself and was under Cupid’s spell. She never desired him and ran from him, like Artemisia to England, and Marget Garner to Ohio. This is the moment right after she tripped and fell to the ground. 

“But his hand was on her arm…” 

In that moment Daphney begins a transformation that she will never recover from. I believe it’s important that men in our society learn that they can control themselves. Women are not property, responsible for men’s lust, and touching without permission is rape.