It seems to me that if Odysseus had simply walked in to the city of Ithaca and announced his return to the suitors there would have been very little resistance. The majority of the suitors lack the will or bravery to openly challenge such a renowned hero. Even if the most ambitious suitors chose to fight against him, they would not be able to defeat Odysseus, for most of the city would be happy to see their hero and back him. He could still punish the suitors as he saw fit, probably killing the ones who "deserved" it. With this in mind, why then does Odysseus pursue this roundabout plan of disguising himself as a beggar in his own home?
He chooses this scheme partly because Athena wants him to take revenge in an aesthetically pleasing (and bloody) way. But, I think that the main reason that he chooses this roundabout path is that he wants the suitors to have the "oh crap" moment as he reveals himself to be the beggar who they mistreated, and the suitors realize that they are about to die. It is this feeling of absolutely dominating the suitors physically and psychologically that Odysseus craves, that his pride demands. As a hero who is mostly praised for his tactics and wiliness, he cannot be satisfied by just driving the suitors away by revealing himself or taking them unawares and killing them in their sleep. He seems quite vain at some points in this story, especially when he asks a bard to sing about his own deeds, so it makes sense that he wants this plot to be impressive and clever enough to be sung about by bards alongside his other exploits.
The idea that a person is only great if others recognize them as great seems to plague Odysseus throughout the epic. It gets him into trouble with Polyphemus, first when he demands gifts after already taking many of the cyclops's possessions, then later when he cannot resist telling Polyphemus his real name and revealing how he tricked the cyclops. Both of these actions have serious consequences for Odysseus and his men. If he had followed his mens' advice, they could have taken what they wanted from the cyclops's home and left without trouble. However, because of Odysseus's greed and need for glory, many of his men are eaten, and Odysseus barely escapes with his life. However, he obviously does not learn from this since as soon as he is back on his ship and away from shore he taunts Polyphemus. He needs the cyclops to know that it wasn't "nobody" who blinded him, it was the great hero Odysseus. Because of his pride, Polyphemus is able to throw boulders at the sound of his voice, narrowly missing their ship. Furthermore, this whole encounter with Polyphemus angers Poseidon and is therefore the reason that Odysseus takes so long to reach home, which is why there is this issue with the suitors in the first place.
Is it right for Odysseus to kill all the suitors because of his pride? Does he deserve respect for his exploits, or is his overdeveloped sense of pride the source of all the conflict in the Odyssey?
I completely agree with what you are trying to say here! I personally am not much of a fan of violence in books/ movies, so I thought this whole slaughter of the suitors could have been easily avoided. However, Athena does play a major role in this as she wants to see a "good show".
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this post. In my own post I talked about how without Athena, Odysseus' journey would be much less "readable." It is not the same because Athena is not the same as his pride, but I do agree that much of the conflict in this story could be avoided. Odysseus' pride, as well as Athena's controlling of people, and manipulation almost completely (by themselves) form the story.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that, if Odysseus had shown up and announced his return, the suitors would have packed up and gone home. (They would have had little choice, as Penelope would be thus officially out of the marriage market.) But this would not only have been unsatisfying from an aesthetic perspective (Athena's eyes would NOT flash!), but there's a strong sense that it wouldn't have been quite just. They would have "gotten away with" their abuse of Odysseus's household. They need to be paid back, and in classic vigilante fashion, Odysseus is acting as judge, jury, and executioner (with Athena's sanction). He is the king, though, so it's not totally inappropriate for him to assume such far-reaching executive and judicial powers.
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