We have spent a lot of time earlier in the year talking about whether or not Telemachus is a hero in the first four chapters of the book, and the more I think about it, the more it seemed to me that Telemachus is less of a hero and more of a privileged person who steps up to the challenge and uses the gifts of his rank and luck. Before Athena shows up, Telemachus is just sulking, without even trying to improve is situation with the multitude of suitors staying with him. Then, it literally takes a god's insistence to motivate him to act, and when he does he acts in a rather ambiguous way, stumbling through his dismissal of the arrogant suitors. The result of this is that the suitors do not even follow his order to leave, and continue to stay in his land and eat his food and eventually even plot to kill Telemachus. Eventually, Telemachus does use his privilege of royalty to order the suitors around, but this privilege of royalty was inherited and not necessarily earned.
When Telemachus does finally journey to find Odysseus, Athena helps him gather his crew and tells him where to go, leaving Telemachus as just a figurehead to the journey. During his visits to the kings Nestor and Menelaus, Athena guides him on every detail, even becoming Telemachus at one point. Athena also makes him seem more handsome and "glow" in a godly fashion so that these other kings would respect him. Although Telemachus uses Athena's gifts to his advantage, he does not do anything that strikes me as particularly heroic. The other kings respect him for his ability to talk in a kingly fashion, his kingly manners, and his resemblance to Odysseus. None of these are characteristics that necessarily make him a hero. In fact, all three are traits that he either inherited by blood or part of his royal upbringing, but again, he does use these gifts to his own benefit, which could be considered heroic in some way.
Perhaps as the novel progresses, Telemachus will perform some heroic deed or fulfill a quest that will make him actually a "hero," but at this point, Telemachus just seems like a spoiled prince without much backbone or originality that is guided by the gods, his wealth, and his prestige. From what we have heard of Odysseus so far, Odysseus seems to have more of the characteristics of a hero than Telemachus, and Odysseus seems to have more personality and willingness to take action. Although Odysseus has been aided by the gods, he has acted without the gods, and does not completely rely upon their aid, unlike Telemachus.
I totally agree with you and I really disliked Telemachus in this first part of the book actually. One of my least favorite things about his coming of age trip to visit various kings was exactly as you mentioned: his increased credit with people just because of his resemblance to Odysseus. That's totally not anything he can control and doesn't say anything about his character. Now the kings do say that Odysseus was a man of wise words and that Telemachus is comparative to him that way, which is much better except I wasn't really struck by anything Telemachus said. Nothing he did was really that memorable and he was mostly guided by Athena. Especially when he talks to Penelope, he just sounds like an angsty teenager.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Telemachus not being a hero. In books 13 and 14 Athena explicitly says that she only sent him to the kings so that he would come back and be seen as a hero. His "hero's journey" was not natural; Athena fabricated it.
ReplyDeleteThere have been a lot of comments over Telemachus' heroic status (or I guess lack of) and I have to say that I think he could be a hero. I agree with you though, he definitely doesn't seem to have heroic qualities in the first four books and he literally needs Athena to dictate his actions. But I don't think a little divine intervention keeps him from being a hero. Odysseus had plenty of divine intervention. Maybe it's just because we don't see his heroic qualities behind his insecurities (at least that's what I think).
ReplyDeleteI honestly think that Telemachus is a hero. Sure he needs help from a God, but sometimes we all need help from someone and it doesn't make what ever we're doing less significant. He needed Athena's influence to gain confidence, but he didn't need Athena to make that speech at the Assembly for him, he did it on his own. There is a hero in everyone and sometimes we just need a little help to bring it out.
ReplyDeleteYes Telemachus is privileged and doesn't display typical heroic aspects. But I also feel that he hasn't really been given the chance to prove his heroism. Yes, he could have kicked out the suitors, but there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. I feel that if Telemachus was given the chance, and later he is given the chance, he would respond very heroically.
ReplyDeleteThis issue of Telemachus's "individual" heroism is complicated. It's true that he has an aristocratic background, and that he inherits a position of privilege. But when we first meet him, that's a burden as much as anything--he sulks in part because he feels like he *should* be doing something to ameliorate this situation, but he isn't sure he's capable of doing it (and, symbolically, expresses doubt that he really is Odysseus's son). As we see him emerge into the heroic role, it's also a matter of him taking on the identity as "Prince Telemachus"--his "privilege" is inseparable from the expectation that he will assume this royal role. Once he is reunited with his father, Odysseus is more of an influence on him than Athena, and we see them standing side-by-side at the start of the slaughter. All doubts about whether he's Odysseus's son or not have vanished at this point. In some ways, his is a story about living up to the expectations that surround the privileged birth.
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