Relationships in the Odyssey - Essay Example

Relationships in Odyssey The connection between family and social order is unmistakable in ancient literature such as Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Family plays a central role in the story as almost every action throughout the story supports the idea of a strong, well-balanced, loyal and dedicated family. Good families that prosper are plentiful, enabling their associated kingdoms to also prosper, but examples of bad families also exist in which the kingdom languishes, struggling in contention and strife. In particular, the relationships held between fathers and sons stands out as being of special importance. “The main action of the poem’s first four books is a son’s search for news of his father, as that of most of the subsequent books is a father’s return to his family” (Clarke, 1967, p. 27). Several examples of father/son relationships are provided, including those of Odysseus and Telemachus, Laertes and Odysseus, Poseidon and Polyphemus, Nestor and Pisistratus, and Eupithes and Antinous. Through these relationships, Homer illustrates the idea of continuity between generations as traits of the fathers are carried forward and reflected or as they are rejected and refused in the sons. By tracing the relationships between fathers and sons as they relate to Odysseus and Telemachus and each other, Homer shows not only how the strength of family can overcome seemingly insurmountable outcomes, but also how the continuity of traits and characteristics between generations can help a family succeed or bring it to ruin. At the same time, he refers to an archetypal myth identified centuries later by Carl Jung as something of supreme importance in the father/son relationship. Odysseus and Telemachus necessarily have an absent relationship despite the fact that they are father and son. Despite this, the traits of the father can still be recognized in the activities and thoughts of the son. Because Odysseus embodies the values of hospitality, good manners, loyalty, intelligence and patience, the reader should be able to see these traits in his son. However, having not had his father’s influence, Telemachus instead demonstrates an inability to manage his houseguests and awkwardness in cultured manners when he arrives in Pylos at the beginning of the tale. These are aspects of his character that take the goddess Athena by surprise when she decides to send him on a hero’s quest. “Although the goddess is at once impressed by Telemachus’ physical resemblance to his famous father, his insecurity is such that he is even unsure of his own identity and never refers to his father by name” (Clarke, 1967, p. 32). It isn’t until he makes contact with first Nestor and then Menelaus that he is finally provided with the examples he needs of a healthy father/son relationship as well as the example these leaders set in being a “father figure” to their kingdoms. This is the essential element which leads both the society and the family to thrive and grow. Accepted into Nestor’s household and given Peisistratus as a friend of equal rank to accompany him and help ease him through missteps in manners, helps ease his way into the palace of Menelaus, further bolstering his confidence. This journey undertaken by Telemachus is very similar in form to the journey undertaken by Odysseus later in the story (actually concurrently but not related until later), with the purpose of giving him the heroic experience he needs to stand by his father’s side when they are finally reunited. “Telemachus has been schooled in the forms of the heroic life in Books III and IV; in XV he has earned the right to transcend them. He can now dispense with social obligations, for his own obligations are infinitely more demanding. He must be about his father’s business” (Clarke, 1967, p. 38). Becoming a replica of his father, Telemachus is now prepared to stand by his father’s side in outwitting and outfighting the unwanted suitors, helping to bring about the peace and prosperity Ithaca has longed for and demonstrating how continuity between the generations has led to success. The progression of Telemachus toward his father is a progression identified by Carl Jung as belonging to the hero archetype. According to Jung, an archetype is a manifestation of the ‘collective unconscious,’ which is itself described as “the reservoir of our experiences as a species, a kind of knowledge we are all born with. And yet we can never be directly conscious of it. It influences all of our experiences and behaviors, most especially the emotional ones, but we only know about it indirectly, by looking at those influences” (Boeree, 2006). The hero archetype points is an ‘active’ archetype that guides us through the Individuation process. Individuation is the three stage process by which Jung indicated we matured into full adults. The first of these stages is when we become aware that some kind of action is required. “Some kind of shock occurs that makes one aware of the self” (Garbis, 2002). This shock initiates the maturation process typically around the early teen years, about when Telemachus started noticing the troubles of his household. The second stage is termed the initiation stage and it usually takes place during the teen years as individuals begin separating from their parents during which the cycle of the hero myth occurs. “Jung says that unless we pass through this second stage the individual can’t really become an adult. The function of the hero myth is to develop a person’s awareness of his strengths and weaknesses in order to face life’s problems” (Garbis, 2002). As Telemachus makes his way through the ancient world, he is undergoing this second stage of the myth, realizing perhaps a little late what is expected of him as an adult. Within the hero myth, the death of the hero functions as a key to the concept that the individual has gained maturity and has been reborn into the image of the father or mentor, but doesn’t always have to refer to an actual death. The third stage of the individuation process is known as transcendence and is that stage in the maturation process in which the unconscious and the conscious minds merge to enable the person to experience their full potential. The relationship between Odysseus and Laertes demonstrates the same kind of love and loyalty that is shown in the relationship between Telemachus and Odysseus despite a lifetime of being apart, further emphasizing the importance of continuity between generations as a key to success as well as the importance of the hero myth in establishing an adult from the mentality of the child. Not much is known of this relationship until near the end of the story. Like the relationship of Telemachus and Odysseus, this connection is demonstrated more through the similarities in characteristics and the impact each man has on the other more than lengthy scenes of male bonding. “Why is not Odysseus’ father Laertes king of Ithaca? He is still alive, and we meet him in the last books of the poem out in the country where he has withdrawn in sorrow over the loss of his son, but even before his retirement he does not seem to have ruled as king” (Clarke, 1967, p. 31). Through the course of the story, it becomes evident that Laertes lacked the strength and vitality necessary to rule Ithaca without the strength and vitality of his own son as a constant presence, which is indicated when the two men are reunited. One of the first things Odysseus wants to do when he returns to Ithaca is to visit his father. “A pleasant example [of things that are right and just] is furnished by the meeting of Odysseus with his old father, whom he finds working in the fields like a common labourer. Odysseus congratulates him on his husbandry but suggests that he does not look like the sort of man who should be doing this work. He should rather be in a position to enjoy his bath and his meal and then go comfortably off to sleep” (Guthrie, 1960, pp. 23-24). When he tries to hide his identity, Odysseus is unable to finish his story because of the great sorrow in his father’s eyes. This shows how much he loves his father and realizes what great suffering he caused him. This anguish that Laertes exhibits also shows how much love he has for his son. “Significantly, Odysseus’ proofs of identity mark stages of paternal and social acceptance: the trees Laertes gave him as a child portend inheritance of the paternal estate, whereas Odysseus famous scar marks his successful coming-of-age. Laertes’ personalized anagnorisis completes Odysseus’ social reintegration as father, husband, and son. Ithaca’s patriarchal order of succession is re-established” (Wohrle, 2002, p. 170). This reunification enables Laertes to undergo a transformation through which he regains some of the strength and vitality he once had. “Athena herself intervened to increase his royal stature. As he stepped out of the bath she made him seem taller and sturdier than before, so that his own son was amazed when he saw him looking like an immortal god” (Homer, 368-71). Although not as well-developed as the relationships that can be tracked directly through Odysseus, the relationship between Poseidon, god of the ocean, and Polyphemus, his cyclopsian son, is evident in the way in which the story proceeds. Odysseus, having angered Poseidon to some degree for having attacked a favorite city, suddenly found himself washed to a foreign island upon which resided the wild Cyclops. Not knowing that the Cyclops they encountered was the son of Poseidon, the men of Odysseus’ landing party, those that had survived the two meals of the one-eyed creature, helped Odysseus gouge out the single eye and fool the giant into giving them the opportunity to get back to their ships. However, in their leaving, Odysseus boasted to the giant just who had blinded him, giving a necessary name for the son to request aid from the father. “Hear me, Poseidon ... If truly I am your son, and you acknowledge yourself as my father, grant that Odysseus, who styles himself Sacker of Cities and son of Laertes, may never reach his home in Ithaca. But if he is destined to reach his native land, to come once more to his own house and see his friends again, let him come late, in evil plight, with all his comrades dead, in someone else’s ship, and find troubles in his household” (Homer, p. 528). That Poseidon answers this prayer is obvious in the way in which Odysseus must undergo years of travel and the slow reduction in the numbers of men accompanying him until he finally returns home disguised in evil rags and aged physique to a home full of unwanted suitors and a mistrustful family whom he must once again win over. Here again, the continuity between generations can be seen as neither father nor son are willing to allow Odysseus to get away from them without considerable trouble and heartache regardless of anything they might have done to warrant such actions. In encountering Nestor and his son Pisistratus, Telemachus is provided with a shining example of a healthy father and son relationship, even to the point of being included in the circle of family during his visit. “The first stage of their [Telemachus and Athena] journey is Nestor’s citadel at Pylos. Here we are in the heroic world and we notice that Telemachus does not know how to act, what to do, how to approach the great man” (Clarke, 1967, p. 55). However, Pisistratus, having had the benefit of experience and falling to the same age range as Telemachus, is able to provide an appropriate model for Telemachus as to how a respectful and well-loved son should behave in a kingly court. Likewise, Nestor is quick to accept Telemachus into the household, providing him honored places at the table for feasts honoring the gods, speaking lovingly of the deeds of his own sons, having his daughter provide Telemachus with a bath and generally providing the much-needed father figure Telemachus has been lacking. That Pisistratus offers Athena, disguised as Mentor, a drink before he offers one to Telemachus indicates he has been raised to respect the wise first and social rank second. This is an ideal that finds Athena’s approval and helps to illustrate appropriate relational connections within a healthy environment for Telemachus even as it serves to demonstrate continuity in both father and son’s recognition of status in the figure of Athena and their readiness to honor it, paying great attention to manners in the process. However, continuity between the generations does not always work to the benefit of the family as can be seen in the relationship between Eupithes and Antinous. “Antinous was one of the meanest suitors, one of the most disliked, and the one that was blamed for the suitors having presided at the home of Odysseus” (“Antinous”, 2006). It is Antinous who threatens Telemachus to force Penelope to marry one of the suitors or the group of them will ruin the house and further demonstrates his debased nature by refusing Odysseus himself, posing as an old beggar man, a crust of bread, throwing a footstool at him to chase him away, hitting him on the back and making the other suitors nervous because of his unheroic behavior. Odysseus kills him later with a single arrow through the throat in much the same way that Odysseus’ father Laertes will later kill Antinous’ father Eupithes with a spear thrust through the helmet. That Antinous’ behavior is a reflection of his father’s behavior is traced through the father’s actions following the news of Antinous’ death at the hands of Odysseus. Rather than recognizing that his son behaved in an unheroic manner and therefore deserved to die, or that Odysseus was acting within his rights to protect his family and property, Eupithes declares he will have revenge and goes to battle Odysseus, Laertes and Telemachus. However, now united, the family of honor cannot be defeated. With the collapse of Eupithes, the fight stops and the parties agree to depart in peace. Throughout this epic poem, the importance of the father/son relationship and the continuity of generations is stressed as being key elements in the success or failure of a family, particularly as each generation progresses through the essential stages of the hero myth and provides an example for the younger generations. Without a father, Telemachus is unable to assert himself or to have any concept of a true hero’s honor. His travels introduce him to Nestor and Pisistratus, who provide just the example he needs in order to begin to prepare for the defense of his home and to take his proper place beside his father. This experience also provides him with a role model for the appropriate behavior for one of his particular station within a healthy family and provides him with a sense of an appropriate father figure in the form of Nestor as he honors the gods and loves his family. That such a relationship once existed between Odysseus and Laertes is also evident as they are reunited, Laertes receives his transformation and the pair of them trace through the various aspects of life on Ithaca that reassert Odysseus’ identity. At the same time, negative relationships also lead to negative consequences for the family as a whole. Poseidon, long carrying grudges against Odysseus and others, finds his son blinded and forlorn after a visit from Odysseus as a result of his own actions. That the family is important, however, is emphasized by the way in which Poseidon makes sure that Odysseus is made to suffer many years of absence and returns home just as his son requested. Similarly, despite Antinous’ willful destruction of Odysseus’ property and family and profound unheroic behavior in how he treats visitors to Odysseus’ home, Eupithes still finds it necessary to seek vengeance for the death of his son. Throughout the epic, Homer seems to be indicating the importance of family to bind the generations together, make the family strong and to uphold honor and righteousness because those families that don’t are not able to have healthy family relationships nor are they permitted by the gods to have significant success in life. Works Cited "Antinous Son of Eupeithes." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. (March 24, 2006). December 19, 2007 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinous_son_of_Eupeithes> Boeree, C. George. “Carl Jung.” Personality Theories. Shippensburg, PA: Shippensburg University, 2006. Clarke, Howard W. The Art of the Odyssey. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall Publishing, 1967. Garbis, Michelle R. Archetypes. (2002). December 19, 2007 Guthrie, William K. The Greeks and Their Gods. Boston: Beacon Press, 1960. Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. E.V. Rieu. New York: Penguin Books, 1946. Wohrle, Georg. Telemachs Reise: Vater und Sohne in Ilias und Odysee oder ein Beitrag zur Erforschung der Mannlichkeitsideologie in der homerischen Welt. (The Telemacheia: Fathers and Sons in the Illiad and Odyssey or a Contribution to Investigation of the manhood ideology in the Homerian World). Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1999. Read More