The Odyssey by Homer: Day 2
Book 2, lines 1-434
The Odyssey is, above all else, a postwar narrative. This is visceral from the start. Telemachus calls the Ithacans to council and with them, their accumulated losses and grief, both private and shared.
Telemachus flails: he is a teenager tossing around his woes and blame:
“They ruined my whole house! It is not fair! / You suitors should feel ashamed!”
He begs and cries and suffers and makes threats.
“You make me so unhappy! This is pointless!”
And just like that, over the course of a single book, Telemachus becomes decisive. He speaks firmly, and Eurycleia swears to keep his secret. He leads, and the Ithacans follow him. God-orchestrated (Athena, “just like a father”), it’s an accelerated bildungsroman.
Join us on March 18 for a virtual discussion of The Odyssey with Stefania Heim
I am really enjoying reading the day’s lines and then watching Emily Wilson do a dramatic reading (with props!) of what I’ve just read. https://www.emilyrcwilson.com/odyssey-a-day
The weaving and unraveling and weaving and unraveling isn't a trick (as the suitors accuse) , but a way to mourn. Because isn't mourning a disappearing, reappearing, disappearing shroud...