Tuesday, December 20, 2011

In Book 14 of The Odyssey, why doesn't Odysseus reveal himself to Eumaeus when the swineherd gives ample evidence of his loyalty?

This is a great question. You might find you get a range
of answers, but my own idea is that we see in this section of The
Odyssey
an Odysseus who displays his customary flair for storytelling. It is
as if he loves to weave stories for other people. It is important to note that although,
strictly, the story that he tells Eumaeus is a "lie," actually, Odysseus incorporates
many actual adventures into this "lie," making it a strange commingling of truth and
fiction. Of couse, we must remember too, that Odysseus is returning to his kingdom after
a massive length of time away from his wife and his people, and so we can understand why
he is very wary about being honest and revealing himself, even to the most loyal of his
subjects such as Eumaeus. You always get the sense, though, that Odysseus loves telling
stories so much that he gets somewhat carried away. He could have revealed himself, as
you say, but delights in testing, and telling stories, so much, that he
delays.

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