Free A Guide to the Odyssey: A Commentary on the English Translation of Robert Fitzgerald by Ralph J. Hexter, Robert Fitzgerald Page B

archeologically into recent response to
The Iliad
, we note that scholars, readers, and poets touched by the epic struggle of World War II have a special appreciation of
The Iliad
—earned at a terrible price. 19
    The Odyssey
is set at a cooler pitch, representing a more domestic world, less tragic but no less subtle. As
The Iliad
presents—in the figures of Akhaians—Greeks at war and—in the figures of Trojans—Greeksat home, the first group ravaging and at the edge of order, the latter defending their home and city, a city still very much in order,
The Odyssey
presents the Greek man traveling and at home. In other words,
The Odyssey
is a postwar poem. If World War II is the war that most readily comes to mind to readers of the previous generation when they read
The Iliad
, for my generation (of Americans)
The Odyssey
speaks to many issues that seem to engage us in a society still obsessed with Vietnam and its aftermath. The post-Vietnam War era is doubly postwar: most obviously, the end of that conflict lies now some decades in the past, but, more subtly, that war was already post-World War II. However unjustly, the country constantly compares the two wars. In its own eyes, America emerged victorious over unambiguous evil in the first, but in the second it was forced to walk away from a conflict which was considerably more controversial. The debates that still swirl around our involvement in Vietnam, the wounds and losses still unhealed, sensitize us to a certain dimension of
The Odyssey
which addresses a similar issue, so that we would not be wrong in seeing
The Odyssey
as the quintessential postwar epic.
    We can see Odysseus’ challenge as that of readjustment to a civil society. Perhaps ten years of decompression is not so bad an idea; perhaps Agamémnon would have acted less arrogantly had he not come directly from the high command at Troy to Argos (not that this would necessarily have saved him from Aigísthos or Kassandra from Klytaimnéstra’s ax). Returning veterans too need to become reacquainted with their country, which will have undergone its own development while the fighting forces were away. They need to reestablish contact with their spouses and parents, and often to establish contact with children for the first time. The emotions of those left behind also need to be addressed. Those (usually males) who are too young to have gone to the war or were otherwise unfit for military service need to deal with their diminished prestige. Telémakhos looks up to his heroic father. The suitors, by contrast, while they are not “protesters,” are in the awkward position ofseeking honor and glory in a sphere where it cannot be obtained, and for personal reasons it is not in their interest to remain ever subordinate to the absent Odysseus. Political candidates whose war records (or lack thereof) remain the subject of public debate will be sensitive to the feelings of all the Ithakans. I take it that the reason feelings run so high in every postwar generation is that all of us are haunted by the question: Would we have measured up?
    The Odyssey
, which literally brings Odysseus back from the dead after ten years, almost seems calculated to be the perfect story for our time, when stories about those missing in action fill the popular press. The poem offers a way of healing, both for those who come back and for their families. And there are many moments when we see
The Odyssey
healing wounds opened by
The Iliad
. Early on there is the magical, somewhat mysterious visit by Telémakhos to Meneláos and Helen in Sparta. The woman whose abduction started the Trojan War is now back home, at her husband’s side. Questions of guilt and responsibility are glanced at ever so slightly and always politely, and Helen herself administers a drug that can ease the suffering of memory. The action of retaking Odysseus’ home offers roles for all those who stayed behind. Telémakhos, though too young to have participated in the