2 weeks ago
17
So I've just finished reading The Odyssey (the translation by Emily Wilson, specifically), and I've really enjoyed it. I'm fascinated by Homer's usage of the epic simile and I've been trying to unpack this one specifically. It's from Book 8.
For context, Odysseus's reaction is from Demodocus's song about the Trojan Horse, which Odysseus is credited for orchestrating.
“Odysseus was melting into tears;
his cheeks were wet with weeping, as a woman
weeps, as she falls to wrap her arms around
her husband, fallen fighting for his home
and children. She is watching as he gasps
and dies. She shrieks, a clear high wail, collapsing
upon his corpse. The men are right behind.
They hit her shoulders with their spears and lead her
to slavery, hard labor, and a life
of pain. Her face is marked with despair.
In that same desperate way, Odysseus
was crying.”
I've been trying to specifically decipher what exactly the point of the simile is by comparing Odysseus to this weeping woman who is being transported into slavery. I just want confirmation I guess that I'm not grasping at nothing. I think part of it is Odysseus reacting to the horrors of war that he played a role in. But I'm just confused at to what the greater significance is - why compare himself to a woman? Does he feel enslaved by his own construct?
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