The odyssey is odysseus journey to home. And home is where family is. And key to every relationship is communication, and there are for sure some parts where there are unhealthy relationships. Those affectionate relationship with family and precious values worked for odysseus, that didn’t died in him and helped him made his journey to home.
In this way, love in odysseus life is a great motivation that steer him as a hero. Odysseus even slept with Circe(a goddess and witch) with keeping in mind, Odysseus has been married for 20 years to a wife he still loves and is trying to get back to. To odysseus, he has done nothing wrong because to him, he is still loyal to his wife Penelope in his heart, and that is the thing that matter the most.
Their true love stood by them on their good days and stood even stronger and closer on their bad days. “A man who has been through bitter reality and traveled far enjoys even his difficult and misery after a period of time”. (basic from the Homer’s Odyssey) Well, Homer wrote this beautiful stanza in his out-breaking “Odyssey”. In the story Odysseus wanders on an island to island, from danger to the most dangerous place just to go back to home from the Trojan war. And in spite of difficulties from where the Odysseus gets his motivation and heroism, there is where this metaphor of wisdom and courage originated. No relationship is ever perfect until and unless you work on by giving it a shot. Whereas love is a big focus of today’s society on dating websites, wedding shows, etc. People see love as the loyalty in each other. When Odysseus came back to Ithaca he appreciates his wife when he meets him after a long time.“My lady, never a man in the wide world should have a fault to find with you. Your name has gone out under-heaven like the sweet honor of some god-feathering king, who rules in equity over the strong” (Homer, pg.727) In here Odysseus compare his with god-feathering king because everyone likes her and wants to be her husband.
Basically, What strikes me is that while Odysseus sleeps with the Goddesses, he still lacks the emotional provision that only Penelope can provide. While Odysseus might give his physical being to the Goddesses, it is never apparent that his heart is in it. Penelope continually remains faithful but never kicks out the suitors. She has no intention to remarry but shows no anger about them inhibiting her house. During that time when she couldn’t anymore tolerate the suitors she says “If he returned, if he were here to care for me. I might be happily renowned!” (Homer pg.728) But she thinks that all that is written in her destiny is years of pain. When odysseus came back to Ithaca, no one knew about the real him as he came as a beggar where he meets his son and his wife. Penelope again and again asks the beggar to tell about himself. He makes up a tale in which Odysseus is mentioned and declares that Penelope’s husband will soon be back. Which makes her actual happy. And then the challenge came up where she will marry whoever can string the bow and shoot through pass 12 axes. And called out that “May his fortune grow an inch he bends it!”(Homer pg.730) It’s an irony as it every inch bends, he gets closer in killing suitors.
In while we live in such a mysterious different time that which Odysseus lived and it is clear that we would react negatively and in a cruel manner in which he dealt with the greedy suitors. “You yellow dogs, you thought i’d never make it home from the land of troy. You took my house to plunder…you dared bid for my wife while I was still alive contempt was all you had for the gods who rule wide heave. Contempt was all you had for the gods who rule wide heaven contempt for what men say of you hereafter Your last hour has come. You die in blood.” (Homer pg.734) In his absence, the suitors not only lavished his earned money but also chased his beloved wife and planned to kill his son. And that was the reason that led to bloodshed in return of revenge.
In the end true love is spoken in between Odysseus and Penelope as they share this unique and beautiful part of life together, even after when he was far away and was considered dead. She remains loyal even when he is disguised, and his sweet pretty words to her only signifies true love. The fact that over twenty years of thinking her husband was never going to return, she remained loyal and praying gods for his return. That is the odyssey’s definition of love. True love is not bring out from evilness, selfishness and hostility but from a true, pure heart that is devoted to one’s being no matter in death or in life.True love is what is reflected off the story of Odysseus and his return, his longing for his country, and that is true love, whether it be for his wife, or his son, or his country, or his gods.
