Hayden Silas Anhedönia, best known as her stage name Ethel Cain, is an American singer-song writer in producer based music. This week marked the two-year anniversary of her debut album ‘Preacher’s Daughter’. Preacher’s Daughter is a concept album following the fictional character named after her stage name. The narrative of the album takes inspiration from Cain’s experience growing up in Tallahassee, Florida in a Southern Baptist family.
The album contains a combination of Southern gothic and Americana aesthetics. The name Cain being a reference to the Book of Genesis. The album is filled with Christianity related innuendos. The climax of the album, and one of her most popular tracks, Ptolemaea, is a reference to Dante’s inferno. In the Divine Comedy, Ptolomea is the ninth circle of hell reserved for souls that betrayed friends or guests. To understand the cleverness of the reference, one must understand the narrative first.
The album story follows Ethel Cain who is, by the title album, a preacher’s daughter. Ethel runs away from home to travel West and meets the other major character, Isaiah, who agrees to drive her. The narrative does not only focus on Ethel and Cain’s relationship, but rather a character study on Ethel. Ethel reminises on past loves and her childhood. ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ covers multiple troubling topics, including the most infamous part: the cannibalization of the main character. Ethel fell in love with Isaiah during their trip driving West, the two start to date. As the album continues in correlation with the narrative, the darker aspects of Isaiah’s character soon come to light. His final action being cannibalism. This incident is represented by the track ‘Ptolemaea’ with Ethel’s scream of terror.
Cain has mentioned in interviews that she is no longer apart of the Southern Baptist church, but it is still apart of major aspects of her identity. The southern gothic/americana are the main aesthetics of the album, the biblical references are purposeful in the narrative, showing Cain put in a consider amount of research.
Isaiah is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old testament. The Book of Isaiah main messages are in juxtaposition of each other; hope and destruction, judgement and prosperity. The title of Ptolemaea is to represent Isaiah betrayal towards Ethel, and his complete domination of her autonomy by consuming her. There seems to be another entity in the album who is neither Ethel nor Isaiah, whose presence is most profound in Ptolemaea. Despite its gruesomeness, the topic of love is at the center of the album. The final words of the album being Ethel’s declaration of love to her mother.
Cain has made several posts in gratitude about the success of the album, and the personal value it holds. Preacher’s Daughter is a unique album that has become a pillar in modern pop. The caption of her Instagram post celebrating the two-year anniversary reading:
“Happy two years of preacher’s daughter. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I wrote and produced this record under conditions I’ll never be able to make another record under again. The completely suffocating stillness of the forgotten coast where I fell in love with making things that sound like heaven to me…It makes me sad knowing I’ll never be able to go back and relive those four indescribably magical years of my life I spent weaving this story and its songs together. I don’t really know where I was going then either, so I guess that’s alright. Ethel Cain, you will always be the ghost in my house and my secret special friend. They’ll never know you like I know you, and they’ll certainly never love you like I love you.”
Ethel Cain is planning to release more music in the universe of Preacher’s daughter and staying active on Instagram. The artist is also currently on tour. Preacher’s Daughter is a child made of love.
