Literary Epistle: Brave New World

14 May 2017

Sophomore English  

Room US028  

Dear Students:  

Aldous Huxley's Brave New World can be classified as a novel, but it is also clearly a satire. As such, it represents a form of satire that flourished in the twentieth century and continues to thrive in the current century: the dystopian novel. You all have heard the term dystopia before. It designates a world that is the polar opposite of a utopia (which, after all, is a Greek word meaning “no place”); often it is the result of efforts to create a utopia that have gone horribly wrong. But Huxley doesn't employ the typical dystopian vision where a powerful centralized government exercises absolute control through propaganda and terror. In Huxley's World State, a powerful centralized government exercises absolute control through conditioning and pleasure. The stunningly nightmarish premise of Brave New World is that the inhabitants of the World State voluntarily submit to their own servitude. They don't have to be coerced whatsoever because they are too distracted--being too well entertained--to notice that the price of the continual pleasure they enjoy is their freedom and individuality.

 

The world that Huxley creates for us in his novel is one that is far removed from that of Homer's Odyssey, except perhaps for the island of the Phaeacians. In Brave New World the ongoing struggle for self-mastery achieved through deferred gratification is gone. In Huxley's World State, the subjects are created and conditioned to seek immediate gratification of every appetite. Yet the author whom Huxley chooses to represent the lost world of the self-mastering quest is not Homer, but Shakespeare. In fact, the title Brave New World comes from Shakespeare's The Tempest.

 

One of Shakespeare's final dramas, The Tempest tells the story of Prospero, formerly Duke of Milan, whose brother usurped his title when Prospero neglected his duties to study magic. After being exiled from Milan and set adrift on the sea, Prospero has lived on a deserted island with his daughter Miranda for twelve years. One subplot of the play has Miranda meeting Ferdinand, the son of Prospero's old enemy, the king of Naples, after Prospero magically forces his enemies who are sailing from Africa to Italy to abandon ship and swim to the island. The youngsters fall madly in love with each other. To Ferdinand, Miranda embodies every perfection. To Miranda, Ferdinand is the most handsome and gentle of his sex that she has ever seen. Prospero allows them to become betrothed--indeed, that seems to be part of his plan--but continually warns them to act with restraint and abstain from sexual activity until they can return to Italy and marry. Near the end of the play, upon seeing all of the recent arrivals gathered together before Propsero's cell, Miranda utters the line, "O brave new world that has such people in it." She pronounces this line in wonder because she hasn't seen this many representatives of her race before. What she doesn't realize is that some of the men that stand before her are the very ones that overthrew her father, a couple of whom may still be unreformed. Much of The Tempest has to do with the difficulty of mastering one's impulses and appetites, as well as valuing more highly that which is obtained through great effort and difficulty, and so Huxley's references to it carry a great deal of irony.

 

Huxley sprinkles in other Shakespearean allusions as well, notably from Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Hamlet, and Othello. Huxley introduces Shakespeare to the novel as a measure of what the masters of the Brave New World have sacrificed in order to attain the goals of "Community, Identity, Stability." Shakespeare, among other authors, has become taboo in the World State. Ingeniously, as with everything else that the Controllers proscribe, they accomplish the eradication of Shakespeare less by actually banning his works than by making them irrelevant. Providing continuous sensual stimulation and satisfaction seems to erase from the inhabitants any inclination to strive for anything more profound than the feelies, synthetic music, obstacle golf, and soma holidays.   

 

Another point of interest about the novel is the odd nature of its protagonist: Bernard Marx. Marx possesses several less-than-desirable traits: He's conniving and self-pitying to name a couple. Yet Marx is sharp enough to detect that something is amiss in the Brave New World, if only because of the mistreatment and discomfort that he suffers. At the Reservation, he makes a connection with John, and immediately devises a plan to exploit John's trust in him to strike a blow against his enemy, the DHC. But the fact that John feels a certain sympathy for Bernard and he for John indicates that, for all his imperfections, there is something profoundly human about him. Bernard's friend Helmholtz Watson possesses more admirable qualities, yet Huxley chooses to keep the focus on Bernard. It seems entirely appropriate that he does so.

 

In this prescient novel, Huxley raises some questions that, in the age of globalization, are worth asking. One of the chief questions seems to be whether a life of shallow satisfaction in a climate of engineered order and stability is superior to a life that involves struggle and perhaps even turmoil and disorder that create opportunities for the growth and excellence of the individual. Our very understanding of what it means to be human rests on how we may answer that question.

   

I hope that’s helpful. What do you think?  

Bravely yours,  

Dr. Carlson  

 

Literary Epistle: Macbeth (Final)

Room US028

2 May 2017

 

 

 

Dear Students,

 

What can we learn from Shakespeare’s Macbeth that we can carry into our lives today? We’ve discussed the historical circumstances of its creation at a time when England suffered considerable turmoil because of the religious differences among the subjects of King James. The play definitely holds a mirror up to its own time period and shows us what were some of the foremost concerns on the minds and in the hearts of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, yet in later times others have still been able to find in the play a mirror of themselves and their own lives. It’s interesting and significant that this tragedy was the favorite of Abraham Lincoln, for instance. In a time as tumultuous as our own, we may be able to find wisdom and solace in the play as well.

 

One element of the play that seems to hold a timeless and universal interest for its audiences is its dissection of evil. The play stands out among Shakespeare’s other creations in this respect. Not that Shakespeare ignores the presence and operation of evil in his other plays. Even his so-called comedies often dramatize the confrontation with evil in the hearts of human beings. Macbeth also doesn’t differ from his other plays by dramatizing the eventual overthrow of evil and the restoration of a way of life based on integrity of character. Macbeth stands out among the other plays for its portrayal of the supernatural, as well as the natural, causes of evil. We know that Shakespeare’s highlighting of the Weird Sisters and their influence over the events of the play has something to do with the fact that King James was fascinated by the subject of witchcraft. One of the sources upon which Shakespeare bases the drama, Ralph Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland recounts the meeting between Macbeth and the Weird Sisters; but the implication that evil may have sources both beyond and within the individual person is nowhere so much present in Shakespeare’s other plays as it is in Macbeth. Yet there is also never a suggestion in the play that outside forces are solely responsible for Macbeth’s descent into evil. Although the Weird Sisters may powerfully influence Macbeth, they only do so by playing upon Macbeth’s natural inclinations. Their equivocation works because, to some extent, Macbeth wants to believe what their statements seem to say on the surface. He never examines their deeper ambiguity because they cater to ambitions and desires to which he is already inclined.

 

Another aspect of evil that Macbeth explores and dramatizes powerfully is its nature as a “slippery slope.” To put it another way: Did you ever know anyone who did something wrong and then had to do something equally wrong in order to cover up the first wrong? Perhaps it was a lie that someone told, and in order not to be found out had to tell another lie later, and so on and so forth, until it seemed that there was no turning back to the truth. That scenario parallels what we see happening to Macbeth. In order to get away with killing Duncan, Macbeth silences the two who guard Duncan’s chamber. Then in order to protect what Macbeth has won by killing Duncan, he has Banquo murdered. As Macbeth says, “I am in blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er” (3.4.168-70).  In other words, he has reached the point of no return. From that point on, the murders he has committed are more bold, bloody, and gratuitous than the ones performed at the beginning of this bloody career. The murder of Macduff’s wife and children represents the low point of Macbeth’s descent from a decent, noble person to one led by ambition to become a bloodthirsty tyrant.

 

The final insight about evil to which the play leads is that evil has an isolating effect. The observation that I shared with you about the loving nature of Macbeth’s marriage with Lady M. applies especially well to the earlier part of the play. A frequent critique of the play is that the second half of the action doesn’t retain the power of the first part because Lady M. drops almost completely out of the action. This, however, is a symptom of the isolation that occurs when someone is far gone in evil. Toward the end of the play, not only do we see Lady M. and Macbeth as being further isolated from one another, but also we see that Macbeth has become more and more isolated from everyone around him, friend and foe alike. As Malcolm and the rebels advance on Dunsinane, everyone seems to abandon Macbeth as the false hopes that he placed in the Weird Sisters’ pronouncements are shown to be false. With his back figuratively against the wall, Macbeth says, “They have me tied to a stake. I cannot fly, / But, bear-like, I must fight the course” (5.7.1-2). In this metaphor, Macbeth refers to the sport--popular in that day--of bear-baiting. The bear was chained to a stake and a pack of dogs were released to attack it. Spectators would bet either on the dogs or on the bear. It was a brutal practice, but the image captures perfectly how alone Macbeth feels at that moment. By that point, Lady M. has died, there are none seemingly that remain loyal to him, enemies surround him, and he is left in isolation to meet his bad end.

 

If these observations about evil and its effects are reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno, it should come as no surprise. Shakespeare was drawing on a long tradition of insights, an age-old conversation or dialogue that has taken place since the earliest days of our culture--about the nature of good and evil. He knew both by instruction and experience how powerful the truth of those insights were. Those who have been unfortunate enough to experience the horrors of evil know that they are still true today.

 

Someone may object that the play is not so much about metaphysical or moral evil in general, but more specifically about political corruption and the abuse of power characteristic of tyrants. After all, the Weird Sisters arouse Macbeth’s ambitions to be king and to gain the power and prestige that comes with wearing the crown, and these ambitions specifically set him off on a course that leads to a reign of terror over Scotland. While this view would not be totally incorrect, upon further reflection it becomes evident that Shakespeare uses this situation as a means of examining evil in a more general way. After all, when Macbeth visits the Weird Sisters a second time to chart his course after the death of Banquo, they do not “all hail” him as king, but their words of welcome rather emphasize the evil creature he has become. As he approaches, the Second Witch intones, “By the pricking of my thumbs, / Something wicked this way comes” (4.1.44-5). These lines are a clear indication that Macbeth has not just become a corrupt ruler, but a thoroughly evil man.

 

Still, it is fully characteristic of Shakespeare that in spite of these recognitions about evil, he doesn’t allow us to reach an easy judgment about Macbeth the man. Shakespeare cultivates both an ethical and aesthetic ambiguity in our verdict about Macbeth. Toward the end, as he displays ever greater defiance and courage, even Macbeth’s enemies grudgingly admire him, as Caithness reveals when he says of Macbeth, “Some say he’s mad; others that lesser hate him / Do call it valiant fury” (5.2.15-6). Shakespeare forces us to acknowledge the magnificence of Macbeth by giving him some of the best lines and greatest poetry of the play. Finally, if you were an actor wanting to test your skills and build your reputation, which part would you be auditioning for: Macbeth, Macduff, or Malcolm?

 

I know what the answer would be for me.

 

I hope that’s helpful. What do you think?

 

Dramatically yours,

Dr. MacCarlson    

Shakespeare and Psalm 46

The King James Version of the Bible was published in 1611. King James I initiated this new translation of the Scriptures into English in 1604, shortly after being crowned. That means the translation was in the process of being made from 1604-1611, a period in which Shakespeare (1564-1616) wrote some of his greatest plays and during which his sonnets were published. The Book of Psalms, included in the Old Testament, is a collection of poetry and songs in praise of God, most of which are attributed to King David. Some have claimed that Psalm 46 has a special connection with William Shakespeare. Examine the psalm carefully and post in your comments below what you think that connection may be. Hint: Ignore the word Selah, used three times in the psalm.The numbers in the left margin are the verse numbers of the psalm. Further hint: It has something to do with the number 46. 

Try to come up with an answer on your own. Googling or doing other internet searches is not allowed. If you already know, please don't tell anyone else. 

 

Psalm 46 King James Version (KJV)

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Literary Epistle: Shakespeare and Macbeth

5 April 2017

Room US028

Dear Sophomores,

Why, you may ask, is Shakespeare still such a revered poet and playwright four hundred or so years after he wrote his final work? The answers are manifold, but at least one answer has to do with the seemingly infinite number of ways that Shakespeare’s work has been and can be adapted to fit the needs of audiences in different times and places. Take Macbeth, for example. Not only can you attend performances staged in either modern or traditional dress, but also it is known or reputed to be an inspiration for such popular culture mainstays as House of Cards; Empire (along with King Lear--according to the Folger Shakespeare Library, there is a quote from Shakespeare on the first page of the script for every episode); Scotland, PA; Throne of Blood (by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa); and one segment of The Simpsons: “Four Great Women and a Manicure” (Episode 20 , Season 20) to name a few.

As I’ve already mentioned to you, William Shakespeare was born in April of 1564, in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, a country town in the Midlands of England. Here’s a link to a map that shows the location of Warwickshire in England:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwickshire#/media/File:Warwickshire_UK_locator_map_2010.svg. The little that we know about Shakespeare can be summed up in a few bullet points:

• Shakespeare was the son of John and Mary (Arden) Shakespeare and was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon on 26 April 1564, so he could have been born anywhere between 23 April and 26 April.
• Shakespeare’s father was a prominent citizen of Stratford. As a boy, William attended The King’s School (a grammar school), where he would have learned Latin and Greek, grammar and rhetoric, his prayers in English, some basic mathematics, particularly geometry, rhetoric, and history. William left school around the age of fourteen, but did not attend university.
• In 1582 when he was 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway from the nearby village of Shottery. She was 26. About six months later, their first child, Susanna, was born. In 1585, William and Anne had twins: Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet died in 1596.
• From 1586 to 1590 or 1591 little to no record exists about William’s activities or movements. All sorts of conjectures exist about Shakespeare’s “Lost Years.” It is possible that during that time Shakespeare joined a company of players (actors) travelling through Stratford and continued touring with them until finally settling in London where he eventually became a member of an acting troupe called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men.
• From the early 1590s to about 1598, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men staged performances at the playhouse called The Theatre in East London. When they were prevented from using The Theatre because of a dispute over the lease to the land, they performed in The Curtain, also in East London, and perhaps The Rose, on the south bank of the Thames River.
• In 1599, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men built a new playhouse called The Globe in Bankside across the street from The Rose using material from The Theatre, which they disassembled around Christmas of 1598 and transported across the river. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar was probably the first play performed at The Globe in 1599. Shakespeare also became a “sharer” or shareholder in the company in this year, which meant that he received a portion of the profits from performances.
• In 1603, Queen Elizabeth died. She had been queen since 1557. James Stuart, aka James VI of Scotland, was named as her successor and became James I of England. Upon his accession to the throne, James became the patron of Shakespeare’s acting troupe. They changed their name to The King’s Men.
• In 1606, the first recorded performance of The Tragedy of Macbeth takes place. The play is set mostly in Scotland and features a protagonist based on a historical Scottish king. The play reflects James’ fascination with witchcraft and demonic possession (he had actually written and published a book on the subject) as well as events of the day, especially the Gunpowder Plot and the subsequent arrest and execution of Henry Garnet, the Jesuit superior in England, in connection with the plot.
• In 1608, The King’s Men begin to use an indoor playhouse, Blackfriars, across the river from The Globe. Their use of this space may have affected the style of Shakespeare’s final plays, although the company still performed at The Globe.
• In 1609, Shakespeare’s sonnets were published in a collection that includes 154 poems. Shakespeare may or may not have been involved in their publication.
• In June 1613, The Globe burned down because a special effect involving the firing of a cannon set fire to the thatched roof. Shakespeare seems to have gone fully into retirement at this point and to have returned to Stratford-Upon-Avon to live full time.
• On 23 April 1616, William Shakespeare died. He was buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church. In his will, the only thing he left his wife Anne was their “second best bed.”
• In 1623, his former colleagues and friends, John Heminges and Henry Condell, collected his plays and published them in a book now known as “The First Folio.” The folio, titled Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, preserved at least 18 plays that had not been published during Shakespeare’s life, including Macbeth. The First Folio included 35 plays in its first edition. The second edition included a 36th play, Pericles, Prince of Tyre. The Folio is the basis of all subsequent editions of the complete plays of William Shakespeare.
• To recap, Shakespeare is given credit for authorship of 38 or 39 existing plays, some of which are collaborations with other authors. There are three lost plays that are credited to Shakespeare: Edward III, Love’s Labour’s Won, and Cardenio. Shakespeare is also known to have collaborated with two or three other playwrights on a play titled The Book of Thomas More, which was never performed. In addition, Shakespeare is known to have written two long narrative poems, 154 sonnets, and a short elegy titled “The Phoenix and the Turtle” published in 1601 in collection titled Love’s Martyr along with poems by several other poets.

Shakespeare’s contributions have been both linguistic and artistic. Scholars have assessed that Shakespeare’s works employ a vocabulary of over 17,000 words. About a tenth of those are words that Shakespeare is known or thought to have invented or coined, although many of those words are not new coinages but creative uses and variations of existing words. Words such as assassination (from Macbeth) and swagger (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which also gives rise to the word swag) are still in common use today.

To me the greatness of Shakespeare can be explained both by his masterful use of poetic language to create larger-than-life characters and intriguing situations in his plays and by the way in which he invites the audience to enter into the drama of his plays and poems by raising questions and problems that don’t have definitive answers or solutions. Thus, Shakespeare begins a conversation with his audience that has been continuous since the first performances and publication of his plays and poems into the present day, and will continue for years to come. That must be what his friend and rival, the poet Ben Jonson, meant when he wrote in his dedicatory poem for the First Folio that Shakespeare’s work “is for all time, not just for an age.”

I hope that’s helpful. What do you think?

Yours in the Bard,

Dr. C.

    

The Penelopiad (Final)

27  March 2017

Fort Worth, Texas

Dear Sophomores,

The purpose of Penelope’s retelling of her story in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, so well known from The Odyssey, is to debunk or demythologize the original story. And why not? Should we really overlook things such as servants and women being treated like commodities to be used, traded, given, and thrown away? And then to glorify such things by portraying the perpetrators to be virtuous, heroic men? These questions lie at the heart of Atwood’s treatment of the tale. Another word for what Atwood does in her novel is “deconstruction.” She deconstructs the story she parallels in The Odyssey to lay bare the unpleasant reality of an unacknowledged aspect of this revered poetic work: the abuse of power and the use of language to oppress.

“Deconstruction” is a post-modern school of philosophical thought that traces its origins to the French critic Jacques Derrida (1930-2004). The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines Deconstruction thus: "To deconstruct is to take a text apart along the structural 'fault lines' created by the ambiguities inherent in one or more of its key concepts or themes in order to reveal the equivocations or contradictions that make the text possible" (iep.utm.edu). Deconstruction therefore is often used as a tool by its proponents to demonstrate that those in the culture who control language and determine artistic tastes do so for the purpose of legitimizing their own use of naked power for self-aggrandizement. Whether it’s imperial European and Western powers colonizing and maintaining control over the undeveloped countries of the world for their own benefit or men bullying women into subjection to serve them, the official channels of culture--the art, poetry, literature, and music that are officially sanctioned by the culture--are designed to help the dominant classes and groups to stay in power by promoting and disseminating biases in their favor. So the advocates of deconstruction would have us believe. Deconstruction unmasks the oppressors and their oppressive techniques in the hope that the established order can be overturned. Margaret Atwood’s novel seems to be inspired by this deconstructionist impulse.

So in The Penelopiad, Penelope seems to be relating her story in such a way as to lay bare the misogynistic male bias of the original. But there’s an added twist to Atwood’s tale, one that may be unexpected. I wonder if you caught it? As much as Penelope appears to be a champion for the lot of women, her own story is flawed. The opening paragraph of the story highlights Penelope’s unreliability as a narrator. That’s because Penelope also may have her own ulterior motives in telling the story as she does, some skeletons in the closet that she wants to keep hidden.

The key to unveiling her unsavory motives lies in the occasional outbursts of the hanged maids in the story. They act as a Chorus to punctuate Penelope’s story with commentary undercutting or deconstructing the credibility of Icarius’ daughter as just another pampered upper class oppressor who exploits those beneath her. You may have noticed that Penelope consistently bemoans the deaths of the maids as an accident, something she would have tried to prevent if she could have. Unfortunately, she falls asleep during the slaughter of the suitors, and Odysseus/​Telemachus kill the maids before she can save them. Both she and they, she implies, are victims of forces beyond their control. But the maids’ several appearances in the story imply something much more sinister: If Penelope was not directly responsible for their deaths, she was complicit with Odysseus in their murders. And so, they blame not only Odysseus for their deaths, but Penelope, as well. After all, their deaths guarantee that they will not be able to report to anyone Penelope’s possible acts of marital infidelity with the Suitors. Therefore, it’s in Penelope’s best interests that they be silenced. The maids’ occasional interference in the story is their attempt to get a fair hearing in circumstances in which the deck is still stacked against them.

Another example of a parallel story to The Odyssey can be found in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? In past years, my classes have been able to view the film, something not possible because of our time constraints this semester. However, if you ever have a chance to view it on your own, I’d highly recommend it. The film also contains elements of deconstruction, although the emphasis is somewhat different from the Atwood novel. Perhaps we can grudgingly admit in response to detractors that that old dead Greek dude Homer must have done something right to have his story continue to spin off in new directions that make it speak to each new epoch of history in different ways. As the negative sides in my classes might argue, the value of studying Homer’s work is its ability to generate impassioned responses and to keep renewing the conversation that underlies our civilization, keeping it alive and vital.

I hope that's helpful. What do you think?

Go Trojans!

Dr. C.

Ithaka

By C. P. Cavafy Translated by Edmund Keeley

As you set out for Ithaka

hope your road is a long one,

full of adventure, full of discovery.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:

you’ll never find things like that on your way

as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

as long as a rare excitement

stirs your spirit and your body.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul,

unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.

May there be many summer mornings when,

with what pleasure, what joy,

you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;

may you stop at Phoenician trading stations

to buy fine things,

mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,

sensual perfume of every kind—

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

and may you visit many Egyptian cities

to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you’re destined for.

But don’t hurry the journey at all.

Better if it lasts for years,

so you’re old by the time you reach the island,

wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.

Without her you wouldn't have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Literary Epistle: The Penelopiad

3 March 2017

Room US028

 

 

 

Dear Students,

 

Though unusual, Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad belongs to a type of literary work that has gained popularity in recent times. Dubbed “parallel novel,” this kind of story is a spin-off, sometimes in the form of a sequel, written by a recent author, of a well-known classic work of literature. The parallel novel often contains elements of parody with satirical elements that make fun of its predecessor. Sometimes the new work merely pays homage to the work of the earlier author. In addition to novels and other literary works, such as plays and poetry, you are probably familiar with films that use the same strategy of paralleling well known stories, not as a film adaptation, but as an original story apart from the work that it parallels.

 

Probably the most famous parallel story inspired by the Odyssey is James Joyce’s Ulysses. The story takes place in one day--16 June 1904--during which the movements of protagonist Leopold Bloom around the city of Dublin correlate with Odysseus’ adventures. The tale also features a Telemachus figure, Stephen Dedalus, a young Dubliner in search of a father-figure, as well as a Penelope figure, Molly Bloom, Leopold’s wife, a singer who is having an affair with another singer named Blazes Boylan, who, in turn, corresponds to Penelope’s suitors.

 

As we’ve said before, in one way or another, the Odyssey has influenced a number of other original literary and artistic pieces across the ages, but Atwood’s is the first that I know of to retell the story in exactly the way it does. A Canadian author who studied at Harvard and has authored highly regarded works, such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood first published The Penelopiad in 2005. In an effort to address the masculine bias of Homer’s tale (the story mostly focuses on either Telemachus or Odysseus), Atwood takes as her narrator and protagonist Penelope, who speaks to the present-day reader as a shade in the land of the dead. In telling the story from Penelope’s point of view, Atwood also abandons the heroic tone and style of the Odyssey. In other words, she takes characters, such as Odysseus, Telemachus, Nestor, Menelaus, even the Olympian gods, who are portrayed as noble and larger than life in Homer’s story, and takes them down a notch so that they lose the glamor of the heroic treatment afforded them by Homer. In doing so, Atwood undercuts the notion that the heroic figures from the epic are more virtuous or noble than ordinary people. Characters whom we may find admirable from the Odyssey become less so because Atwood takes care to depict them in a realistic (as opposed to heroic or mythic) style that does not strive to hide their warts and blemishes but actually plays them up.

 

Atwood also gives voices to the twelve maids executed by Telemachus at Odysseus’ command after the slaughter of the suitors. She portrays them as the victims of life in a world in which they occupied the very bottom rung of the social ladder and in which they were treated no better than mere objects. By doing so, Atwood brings to the surface the darker side of the world that the Odyssey may gloss over. Whereas Homer’s epic portrays these maids as corrupt because they have slept with the suitors, Atwood emphasizes their powerlessness to have acted in any other way because of their station in life.

 

Atwood reimagines Penelope in a like manner. In retelling the story of what happened in Ithaca during Odysseus’ long absence, Penelope reveals things about herself that we would not recognize as belonging to the character we know from the Odyssey. It’s true that Atwood plays up Penelope’s cleverness, but she also includes surprising details about her heroine and how she managed her household in Odysseus’ absence and even how she managed the ordeal of being courted by the suitors. To bring this new perspective to Penelope’s character, the author consulted alternative sources to the Odyssey, myths and ancient stories that involve Penelope, that are either foreign to Homer or whose information about Penelope falls beyond the scope of Homer’s tale. Along with these alternate sources, Atwood consults her own considerable wit and fertile imagination to give us a story that may make us reevaluate Homer’s classic and to understand it in a new light.

 

I hope that’s helpful. What do you think?

 

From a parallel universe,

Dr. Carlson

P.S. I created the image at the top of the epistle using the words that the four groups in your class complied in your lists of the most important words in Chapter 1 on wordle.net. The words that appear most prominently in the graphic are the ones that were mentioned most frequently. Devote one of your three comments to naming four possible patterns in the story based on these words you chose from Chapter 1, "A Low Art."