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on all but one occasion manages to match the composure of his father during the confrontations with the suitors. At the same time, his unspoken thoughts reveal his youthful temperament: he wants to cry when Odysseus is hit by Antinous' footstool, and eagerly awaits the moment of revenge. |
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Where Penelope is concerned, the device of unspoken thought helps us to get a clearer idea of her proverbial prudence and cleverness (cf. her stock epithet ), which she displays not only towards the enemy, the suitors, but also towards Odysseus. |
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And finally, there is Odysseus himself. Not once does he lose his self-control when provoked by the suitors or disloyal servants, nor when faced with his wife, who is crying over him, and his father, who is debasing himself as a sign of mourning for him. His capacity to endure is proverbial (cf. his stock epithet ), but whereas in the first half of the Odyssey his endurance was put to the test mainly in physical circumstances, in the second half it is mental strength which is required of him.41 |
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In addition to characterizing Odysseus and Penelope individually, the analysis of their unspoken thought has also brought to the fore their 'like-mindedness' ().42 In the first place, Odysseus is the only one who understands what is going on inside Penelope's head even without her disclosing her thoughts. In the second place, their exceptional, almost superhuman self-restraint is described (by other characters) in very identical terms: |
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(22) (Athena about Odysseus) |
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"Anyone else come home from wandering would have run happily
off to see his children and wife in his halls; but it is not
your pleasure to investigate and ask questions, not till
you have made trial of your wife . . ."
(Od. 13.3336) |
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(23) (Telemachus about Penelope) |
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41 See Rutherford (1986). |
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42 Cf. on this subject: Austin (1975) 181238, Foley (1978), and Marquardt (1985) 48. |
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