Book XIX--Recognitions and a Dream
|Summary|Characters & Their Lessons|Symbolism|Connections|Links & References|
Summary
After the suitors leave for the night, Odysseus, still disguised as the beggar, and Telemakhos, gather all of the armor and hide it in a storage room. Athena lights up the room so they can see what they are doing. After Telemakhos goes to bed, Odysseus waits in the main room. Penelope enters and sits in her chair by the fireplace. Melantho starts to criticize Odysseus for staying, and Odysseus fights back saying that he was once wealthy. Penelope interrupts and says that she wants to talk to the beggar. She asks him who he is and where he came from; he does not answer right away. She tells him the weaving story and of her despair, then again asks him of his name and homeland. He makes up a story to tell her that is very similar to the one that he told to Eumaeus in Books XIII and XIV. She asked him of proof and he described how Odysseus had looked. Odysseus tells her that her lord will come soon, but she does not have faith in it. Penelope offers the beggar a bed, but he declines, saying that he is used to sleeping on the floor. He would only let Eurykleia wash his feet; his one flaw was forgetting the scar on his thigh that he had gotten as a child, boar hunting with his grandfather. The second she saw it, Eurykleia recognized Odysseus. He silenced her not to tell Penelope, whose attention was distracted by Athena. Before they go to bed, Penelope asks Odysseus to interpret a dream she had: 20 geese came to graze, only to be eaten by an eagle. The eagle tells her that the geese were suitors and that he was Odysseus. She also tells him of a contest that she wants to hold: 12 axe heads lined up, and whoever can string Odysseus’ bow and shoot through all 12 axe heads she will marry. Odysseus says not to delay the contest long, and that her lord will return before the contest is over. She went to bed and cried until Athena cast her to sleep.
Characters & Their Lessons
Character: Odysseus
Description: As the protagonist in the
Odyssey, Odysseus learns many lessons on his journey. As he listens to Penelope talk about her sufferings, he learns that she has been faithful to him; she didn’t just rush and marry one of the suitors. She has been waiting for him to come home.
Character: Telemakhos
Description: Playing the role as a second main character, Telemakhos also learns many lessons, just like Odysseus.
Lesson: He learns that the gods are backing them up in the fight against the suitors. Before, he doubted that he and Odysseus alone could kill all of the suitors, but now he has faith in the fight and knows that he needs to be courageous and fight alongside his father.
Character: Penelope
Description: Penelope flashes back to when she was weaving for Laertes and Odysseus. She tells the beggar of her troubles and sufferings and when he tells her that Odysseus will come home, she learns to have faith. She begins to have faith that her lord, her husband, will still return.
Character: Eurykleia
Description: The minor character Eurykleia learns that Odysseus, who is disguised as a beggar, is really Odysseus. She wanted to run to Penelope and reveal that Odysseus is home, but was loyal to Odysseus, showing him that his maids and nurses are still loyal and will follow his ruling.
Character:Athena
Description: Athena, the goddess of wisdom, holds the light for Telemakhos and Odysseus as they move the armor into another room. She is showing Telemakhos that the gods are behind them and that he had nothing to worry about.
Symbolism
Eagle
In Penelope’s dream, the
Eagle comes and kills all of the geese. The eagle is symbolizing that Odysseus will come home and kill the suitors. It is a recurring image throughout the epic and is always translated as a sign from the gods.
Water
Eurykleia washes Odysseus’ feet in
water, which symbolizes life, a new beginning, and purification. Odysseus is about to be given a new beginning as he starts his life over with Penelope and Telemakhos.
Dream
As Penelope dreams, it shows her what is going to happen in the future; Odysseus will come and kill all of the suitors. Dreaming is a way of foreshadowing what is to come.
Lying
Odysseus lies a lot throughout the epic. Lying helps protect his name and himself from danger; he learned his lesson from his mistake of revealing his name with the Cyclopes. Many times have lies protected Odysseus.
Storytelling
Storytelling comes up a lot in the Odyssey. Storytelling is a way of flashback; Odysseus tells Penelope the made up story of his journey and his meeting of Odysseus.
Light
Athena lights up the room with golden light when Telemakhos and Odysseus are hiding the armor.
Light symbolizes intelligence, something Odysseus will need to fight the suitors. It also shows them that the gods are aiding Odysseus with their intelligence.
Connections
Gods/Goddesses
Each mythology has its own versions of the gods and goddesses, but they all connect in similar ways. All mythologies have beliefs in
deities, though they vary. Celtic mythology, for example, features a lot of female goddesses. Greek mythology has a lot of nature gods and goddesses: Poseidon, Dawn, Zeus, etc. In Greek mythology, the deities live on Olympos and are all powerful compared to mortals. In all mythologies, every deity is a god or goddess of something. You cannot have a goddess or god of nothing. Eagles also appear across mythologies. The Eagle symbolizes gods and power. The gods send messages to mortals through the flights of eagles.
War in Iraq
In the war in Iraq, it is said that we do not have enough troops to fight. We haven’t had enough troops to practice certain stratigies, and some say that we will fail if we do not get more troops into Iraq. Telemakhos did not think that there were enough people to fight the suitors. He thought that he and Odysseus alone could not kill them all. But just like the troops in Iraq, if they have faith and work together, they can succeed.
Links & References
Dictionary of Symbols
Quick Quiz
This Section By:
Lucy B.
