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ENG150: Literary Traditions
“The memory increases my despair”: Odysseus as a victim of violence inThe Odyssey
The Odyssey, by Homer, is an epic poem which discussesviolence, namely the
aftermath of violence on its survivors. This is best demonstrated in the portion of the Odyssey
in which Odysseus is the sole survivor of his crew, such as his time in Alcinous’ court in Book
8, where Alcinous invites Odysseus to feast with the Phaecian council. There, Odysseus listens
to several of Demodocus' songs, including the third on Odysseus’ exploits in Troy. In
describing Odysseus’ emotional response to this particular song, a simile compares him to a
weeping woman being led to slavery after her husband is killed in war. This simile is
significant in that Odysseus is portrayed both as the victor and the victim of war, effectively
conveying the ambiguity of both positions in violence. Achieved through the usage of
ambiguity and sympathetic language, which reinforces Odysseus’ status as a victim, as well as
contrast, which emphasizes Odysseus’ emotional distress, this essay will focus on this simile as
a means of conveying how all survivors of violence are victims of its effects, regardless of their
victory.
To first argue that Odysseus' emotions conveyed in the simile prove his stance as a
victim of the Trojan War, it must be proven that Odysseus’ tears are caused by emotional
distress at remembering the Trojan War, rather than pride or nostalgia. The simile itself fails to
demonstrate this, as it is not directly comparing Odysseus’ emotions to that of the woman’s,
but rather the “same desperate way” in which they are both crying (8.531). Further, the simile
also proves to be prone to the use of hyperbole. Despite the simile that describes Odysseus to
be crying the same way as the woman does, the woman is described to vocally cry out in her
mourning in a way that Odysseus evidently does not, as none but Alcinous notices him crying
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and does so by seeing his tears rather than hearing him cry out. Hence, despite the clear
descriptors of emotions in the simile, it cannot be directly stated that they directly equate to
Odysseus’ emotions. As an example, although the woman’s (and, by extension, Odysseus’)
face “is marked with despair,” the simile alone does not directly allow readers to make the
inference that Odysseus is feeling despair but rather only cries in a similar manner (8.530).
This technicality is one of the few reasons that causes difficulty in interpreting this simile.
Hence, the reason for Odysseus’ tears must be found outside of the simile. Such
evidence can be found in the subsequent interactions between Alcinous and Odysseus. After
witnessing Odysseus cry, Alcinous overtly states to the court that Odysseus “[had] been in
pain” (easily omitting pride as a possible reason behind his crying) throughout Demodocus’
song, asking him to stop singing (8.540). Although this observation of Alcinous can mean very
little—as previously mentioned, Odysseus crying like a woman grieving her husband does not
mean he feels exactly like such, and Odysseus seeming as though he is in pain can follow a
similar logic—Odysseus himself affirms it when he states that “the memory increases [his]
despair,”referring to the memories he must recallto tell his story as Alcinous requests and
answer his multiple questions, including where he has been and whether he is mourning for
someone who had died at the Trojan War (9.14).
This described memory of Odysseus’ can be inferred to either be that of the Trojan War,
Odysseus’ struggle to return home in its aftermath, or both. The answer can be inferred to be
either the first or last, in relation to other instances in which Odysseus demonstrates or even
openly acknowledges his own suffering during the Trojan War. An example of such an instance
is in his working of his request to Demodocus, where he asks that he sing of not only “what the
Greeks achieved,” but also “what they suffered”(8.489-490).Thus, Odysseus’ reason for
ENG150: Literary Traditions
“The memory increases my despair”: Odysseus as a victim of violence inThe Odyssey
The Odyssey, by Homer, is an epic poem which discussesviolence, namely the
aftermath of violence on its survivors. This is best demonstrated in the portion of the Odyssey
in which Odysseus is the sole survivor of his crew, such as his time in Alcinous’ court in Book
8, where Alcinous invites Odysseus to feast with the Phaecian council. There, Odysseus listens
to several of Demodocus' songs, including the third on Odysseus’ exploits in Troy. In
describing Odysseus’ emotional response to this particular song, a simile compares him to a
weeping woman being led to slavery after her husband is killed in war. This simile is
significant in that Odysseus is portrayed both as the victor and the victim of war, effectively
conveying the ambiguity of both positions in violence. Achieved through the usage of
ambiguity and sympathetic language, which reinforces Odysseus’ status as a victim, as well as
contrast, which emphasizes Odysseus’ emotional distress, this essay will focus on this simile as
a means of conveying how all survivors of violence are victims of its effects, regardless of their
victory.
To first argue that Odysseus' emotions conveyed in the simile prove his stance as a
victim of the Trojan War, it must be proven that Odysseus’ tears are caused by emotional
distress at remembering the Trojan War, rather than pride or nostalgia. The simile itself fails to
demonstrate this, as it is not directly comparing Odysseus’ emotions to that of the woman’s,
but rather the “same desperate way” in which they are both crying (8.531). Further, the simile
also proves to be prone to the use of hyperbole. Despite the simile that describes Odysseus to
be crying the same way as the woman does, the woman is described to vocally cry out in her
mourning in a way that Odysseus evidently does not, as none but Alcinous notices him crying
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and does so by seeing his tears rather than hearing him cry out. Hence, despite the clear
descriptors of emotions in the simile, it cannot be directly stated that they directly equate to
Odysseus’ emotions. As an example, although the woman’s (and, by extension, Odysseus’)
face “is marked with despair,” the simile alone does not directly allow readers to make the
inference that Odysseus is feeling despair but rather only cries in a similar manner (8.530).
This technicality is one of the few reasons that causes difficulty in interpreting this simile.
Hence, the reason for Odysseus’ tears must be found outside of the simile. Such
evidence can be found in the subsequent interactions between Alcinous and Odysseus. After
witnessing Odysseus cry, Alcinous overtly states to the court that Odysseus “[had] been in
pain” (easily omitting pride as a possible reason behind his crying) throughout Demodocus’
song, asking him to stop singing (8.540). Although this observation of Alcinous can mean very
little—as previously mentioned, Odysseus crying like a woman grieving her husband does not
mean he feels exactly like such, and Odysseus seeming as though he is in pain can follow a
similar logic—Odysseus himself affirms it when he states that “the memory increases [his]
despair,”referring to the memories he must recallto tell his story as Alcinous requests and
answer his multiple questions, including where he has been and whether he is mourning for
someone who had died at the Trojan War (9.14).
This described memory of Odysseus’ can be inferred to either be that of the Trojan War,
Odysseus’ struggle to return home in its aftermath, or both. The answer can be inferred to be
either the first or last, in relation to other instances in which Odysseus demonstrates or even
openly acknowledges his own suffering during the Trojan War. An example of such an instance
is in his working of his request to Demodocus, where he asks that he sing of not only “what the
Greeks achieved,” but also “what they suffered”(8.489-490).Thus, Odysseus’ reason for
