Clytie

According to mythology, Clytie was a water nymph who fell in love with Apollo who was embodied by the sun. She spent hours gazing at the sun and following its course through the sky. Nine days she sat and watched the sun, until eventually she became brown and rooted to the soil, her face transforming into the sunflower which to this day continues to follow the course of the sun. The sunflower remains a symbol of constancy.

Thus, you have my imaging of this event. And who in their day hasn't been dazzled by the sun.....