In Homer's Book XV of the epic The
Odyssey, there are several reasons I would expect Telemachus' journey is
delayed somewhat.
First, it heightens the suspense in the
waiting that Telemachus has to go through to get home, just as we (and Odysseus) have
begun to grow impatient with Odysseus' inordinately long return home. It is safe to
assume that the delay is a good storytelling tactic.
It is
also possible that Telemachus is being taught patience by the
gods.
Additionally, it gives the audience a view of hosts
who are welcoming and kind, as opposed to Polyphemus (the Cyclops) and Circe who were
malicious. (Inhospitable behavior on the part of a host was frowned upon in Homer's
time, and this was still the case in Shakespeare's
time.)
Whereas Odysseus suffers from the dangers of wicked,
malevolent "hosts," Telemachus endures the extreme opposite: hosts who are so gracious
as to be insufferable, especially when the guest wants to or must leave, as with
Telemachus's host Nestor. Though comic in one sense, Telemachus has been told his father
will be returning home soon for vengeance against the suitors, and Odysseus's son is
desperate to be there when his father arrives.
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