pr_will

Hero

While Odysseus is the named protagonist of the story - and Athena is arguably the most influential character in the story, the hero who truly goes on the 'journey of the hero' is Telemachus - whose adventures in the story serve as his coming of age.  (Odysseus's own 'journey of the hero' began decades earlier when he first set sail for Troy.)

Plot Summary

Ten years after the end of the Trojan War, the legendary trickster Odysseus - whose "Trojan Horse" strategy had been instrumental in winning that war - was nowhere to be seen.  In Odysseus's home in Ithaca, his wife Penelope and son Telemachus had been waiting for Odysseus to come back - while trying to ward off a horde of men, each of whom would love to marry Penelope and steal Odysseus's house for himself.  The goddess Athena has decided that now was the appropriate time for Odysseus to return... and that it was time for Telemachus to set out on an adventure to request news of his father.  After both father (Odysseus) and son (Telemachus) complete their respective journeys and return back to Ithaca, they need to fight off the suitors to reclaim their rightful status!  Fortunately, they have Athena on their side...

Departure

Call to Adventure:  This happens about a quarter of the way into Book I (which Wilson titles "The Boy and the Goddess").  The goddess Athena serves as the herald for the adventure; disguising herself as the king Mentes (who is an old friend of Telemachus's father Odysseus) as she visits Odysseus's house - where Telemachus is having dinner along with "suitors" of Penelope (Telemachus's mother and Odysseus's wife).  After Telemachus invites Athena to dinner, she introduces herself (as Mentes) and tells Telemachus how to proceed:  call a meeting, banish the suitors from Odysseus's home, and go on an adventure to seek news of Odysseus.

Refusal of the Call:  There is no refusal of the call (after Athena gives the 'call to adventure', Telemachus wants her to stay longer - but she immediately has to leave, and with her flight - towards the end of Book I - Telemachus realizes that Athena is a goddess... which leaves no room for him to refuse the call!)

Supernatural Aid:  A little over halfway through Book II (titled "A Dangerous Journey" by Wilson), after the meeting Telemachus had called on Athena's advice we see Telemachus calling out for Athena at a nearby beach.  Athena (who serves as the supernatural helper) appeared in the form of Mentor (another of Odysseus's friends) expressing her confidence in Telemachus, saying that she will get a ship ready for him, and giving him orders to pack for the journey with wine and grain.  While Telemachus does this, Athena (in the form of Telemachus this time!) goes around the city of Ithaca to recruit men for Telemachus's journey - which is completed at nightfall.

Crossing of the First Threshold:  Towards the end of Book II, with the events I summarised in Supernatural Aid complete, Athena (disguised as Mentor) goes to Telemachus telling him that it is time to leave.  At the very end of Book II, Telemachus is on the ship with his crew and they begin to sail - with the help of the wind (encouraged on by, of course, Athena).  I would say that the crossing of the first threshold is the moment that Telemachus first gets on his ship.

The Belly of the Whale:  I would say that the beginning of Book III (titled "An Old King Remembers") fits as this phase:  after a night of sailing, Telemachus and his crew land sometime during the next day at the first destination Athena had told him to visit:  the island of Pylos - home of King Nestor (a friend of Odysseus).  There, Athena gives Telemachus advice to head over to Nestor's home in the center of town, where Nestor then invites Telemachus to dine.  Although feasting at the house of a family friend may not necessarily feel like an adventure (even if he is there on a mission to obtain adventure)... this is exactly what Harry Potter did his first night at Hogwarts (if you consider Hogwarts to be the "home" of Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall)!

Initiation

-The Road of Trials is best represented by Book III ("An Old King Remembers") and the first part of Book IV ("What the Sea God Said").  The trials in question are Telemachus's visits to various nearby kings to seek news of his father, Odysseus:  first to the home of King Nestor in Pylos (as discussed towards the end of Part 2 of the project) and then to Sparta to visit King Menelaus, who had fought alongside Odysseus in the Trojan War.

Both visits went successfully for Telemachus:  in both cases, the king in question received Telemachus well with feasts, gave him the information he was looking for about his father (along with great memories of how heroic Odysseus was), and gave him supplies to help out with his journey.  In fact, Nestor's own son, Pisistratus, joined Telemachus's party as an ally!

-I would argue that there is no Meeting with the Goddess for Telemachus in this story:  he does not fall in love anywhere in this journey.  (According to some versions of the myth, Telemachus falls in love after the events of The Odyssey with the enchantress Circe, who had housed Odysseus on her island, Aeaea, for a year during his wanderings).  While the goddess Athena stays at Telemachus's side throughout The Odyssey, the support of a literal goddess does not fit the love-based description of "Meeting with the Goddess" from a "Journey of the Hero" perspective.

-The best depiction of a Woman as Temptress happens a little more than halfway through Book IV, when King Menelaus invites Telemachus to stay at his palace for a long time: "until eleven days or twelve have passed" and then take horses, chariots, and a cup as a gift.  Telemachus declines this offer, in part because his home of Ithaca is not suited for horses; the gift he agrees to accept instead is a silver bowl made by the god Hephaestus.

It is worth noting that Telemachus's journey is then put aside for a little while:  Book IV finishes with the suitors planning to sabotage Telemachus - followed by Athena soothing Telemachus's mother Penelope... and then the next ten books feature the journey of Odysseus, not of Telemachus.

Telemachus's journey resumes with Book XV ("The Prince Returns") where Telemachus is having trouble sleeping on the porch of Menelaus until he gets more advice from Athena on how to proceed (for example, how to avoid the suitors lying in wake) - which he then follows.

-Atonement with the Father happens with Book XVI ("Father and Son").  At the beginning of this chapter, Odysseus is back in Ithaca, eating breakfast with his swineherd Eumaeus... but disguised as an old peasant.  He recognizes that a visitor is nearby, but his dogs - who normally bark at strangers - are placid.  From this, Odysseus knows that the visitor is Telemachus, Odysseus's son.  Telemachus does not yet recognize his father due to the disguise, but declines Odysseus's offer of a seat.  Not long after, though, Athena changes Odysseus's disguise so he looks like a god - and Odysseus then tells Telemachus who he really is.  Telemachus does not believe his father, however, until he explains that it was Athena who changed Odysseus's disguise.  At this point, the two embrace and Odysseus begins planning - with Telemachus - on how to reclaim their home from the suitors.  In my opinion, this discussion - along with the corresponding planning - is the closest to an "initiation" for Telemachus in a "Journey of the Hero" sense.

-I do not believe that Apotheosis really happens for Telemachus in The Odyssey:  nowhere in the story does Telemachus really have any sort of "death"-like experience or even any real enlightment induced thereof.  One could argue that the closest experience happens at the very end of The Odyssey, when Telemachus is ready to fight alongside his father and grandfather but Athena urges them to stop fighting and instead make peace... but this isn't really at the right time for it from a "Journey of the Hero" perspective.

-The Ultimate Boon in this story is Telemachus's status as heir of Ithaca (because he is the son of Odysseus, the master of the house).  In order for Telemachus to achieve that goal, he needs to work with his father, Odysseus, whose goal is to reclaim his status in Ithaca along with the love of his wife Penelope (though, of course, Penelope never stopped loving Odysseus!)  I would say that Telemachus's pursuit of his Ultimate Boon is finally achieved in Book XXII, "Bloodshed", which features Telemachus and Odysseus finally defeating the suitors in combat.

Return

NOTE:  Because Homer chose to end The Odyssey with a battle interrupted by Athena before it had a chance to actually get going, the book did not really provide a satisfactory denouement for the character I am focusing on, Telemachus.  Therefore, to try and fit these stages into Telemachus's story, they may end up being out of order - even to the point of preceding some phases of Initiation!

-The closest possible moment to Refusal of the Return would be at the very end of the work, when Telemachus was ready to fight alongside his father, Odysseus, to defend his honour - but Athena called off the fighting.  It is worth noting that Telemachus was not mentioned in the rest of the work past this point (though Odysseus tried to fight on for just a little bit longer); if it were apparent that Telemachus was trying to insist on fighting as well, that could have been a 'refusal of the return'.

-The Magic Flight for Telemachus takes part in Book XV, "The Prince Returns", when he leaves Menelaus's palace in Sparta with two gifts:  a silver bowl from Menelaus and a bridal robe from Helen.  Although Telemachus himself did not transform during his journey back to his home in Ithaca, he still needs to use trickery to 'escape':  Athena tells him how to avoid the suitors that are lying in wait to capture him before he returns.

-Telemachus experiences Rescue from Without in both Book XV and Book XVI ("Father and Son").  First, when Telemachus sets sail back to Ithaca, Athena herself provided the favourable wind needed to ease Telemachus's journey back.  But after he lands, Telemachus encounters two other allies:  the family swineherd Eumaeus (who was always loyal to Odysseus and Telemachus) - and then his father Odysseus (though Odysseus is disguised at that point - and Telemachus doesn't recognize Odysseus until Athena transforms him again!)  

-The Crossing of the Return Threshold is best described by the moment in Book XVI when Telemachus recognizes his father Odysseus and the two embrace.  Up to that point, Telemachus was adventuring more or less independently (while guided by Athena and being feted by family friends).  But from this moment, Telemachus's quest joins up with Odysseus's and the two need to work alongside each other.  Even though Telemachus and Odysseus had never worked alongside each other before (Odysseus had left for Troy shortly after Telemachus's birth), the fact that Telemachus is now scheming with his dad on their home island gives the sense of return.

-One could argue that Telemachus is, in a sense, the Master of Two Worlds by the end of The Odyssey:  the worlds in question are "adventuring out at sea" (Telemachus has proven that he can lead adventures when guided by the goddess Athena) and "prince and heir of Ithaca at home" (which he had successfully joined his father and grandfather in defending).  But I think this is fairly unsatisfying, especially since Athena interrupted one of the truest coming-of-age moments for Telemachus at the end of The Odyssey.  In fact, if one looks to find out what happened to Telemachus after the story ended (either through the 'sequel' The Telegony or the more modern interpretation Circe - by Madeleine Miller), most interpretations would say that Telemachus declined both of those worlds for an entirely different possibility:  although he may have ruled Ithaca for a time after Odysseus's death, he ultimately turned down both Athena's favour and the opportunity to continue ruling Ithaca.  Instead, he ended up marrying the sorceress Circe - who had previously hosted Odysseus for a year during his wanderings.

-Likewise, The Odyssey does not cover enough of Telemachus's story to see him reach the point of Freedom to Live.  If one is to look for that stage in Telemachus's story, the place to look is in the follow-up works:  The Telegony and Circe - as mentioned in the "Master of Two Worlds" section.  As discussed there, Telemachus exhibits his "freedom to live" by leaving Ithaca (where he might have already spent some time as king, with his mother Penelope as "dowager queen") for Aeaea, where the sorceress Circe lived.  And at the end of that story, Telemachus ended up marrying Circe.  Although accounts differ as to how the story really ends, I prefer the version where Circe made Telemachus as immortal as herself:  that would be a true "freedom to live"!  (Of course, Circe goes the opposite route and sees her make herself mortal like Telemachus... but for some reason I find that a lot less satisfying.)

Final Thoughts

When I was first acquainted with the Monomyth (by skimming through the class notes in previous years, as well as the beginning of this term), my thoughts were that it was too cliched and too straightforward to describe actual protagonists.  After all, while certain straightforward stories could follow this pattern, most of my experience seemed to be a bit too nuanced and nonlinear to fit the bill.  I know my own experiences are very far from the fixed "Journey of the Hero" pattern... and quite a few literary protagonists really didn't come close to fitting that bill either.  If we look at someone like Huckleberry Finn, who definitely did not "return" to his prior state... or stories that do not even have a single constant protagonist (many Shakespeare plays fit this description)... I still don't think the Monomyth really applies!  That said, the lessons have indeed shown me that elements of the Monomyth are more prevalent than one would think.  For example, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone exemplifies the Monomyth even if it barely scratches the surface on Harry's own story!  

Going back to the story I chose: The Odyssey comes significantly closer to fitting the pattern than I would have expected (even if a few of the elements end up being out of order).  The hard part of applying the Monomyth to any part of the Trojan Wars is that Homer really does not follow the rule "one person; one story".  Odysseus's story, for example, is divided between The Iliad and The Odyssey - while Homer often loves to place many characters' story "offscreen", only alluded to through the characters talking about their respective pasts!  And while Telemachus can be said to come of age through his adventures in The Odyssey, the culmination of his story takes place outside that work - and different authors have different thoughts about where he ends up when his journey is complete!

My final thoughts are that while the Monomyth is a bit too straightforward to describe most protagonists' adventures, it is still a better descriptor than what I originally believed.  Of course, if you want to follow a character's entire heroic journey, you often need to look outside a single book!  Note that Harry Potter's childhood adventures require seven volumes to describe... and even with the words "all is well" at the end of the epilogue, his life story was nowhere near complete at that point!