Building a Novel: The Buildungsroman

Building a Novel--the Bildungsroman

In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer portrays Telйmakhos, the son of Odysseus, as a young man trying to find his place in the world. The opening part of the book, the Telemakhiad (the first four books in the poem) is perhaps meant to be a bildungsroman, which studies the maturation of a young character by focusing on this maturation with respect to his or her traits and environment by, in turn, making him or her face a series of social encounters. Starting out little more than a boy, Telйmakhos matures over the course of the Telemakhiad and finds himself close to achieving his implied dream of being a man--or rather of becoming one like his hero of a father. Indeed, the Telemakhiad, the story of Telйmakhos' short yet crucial adventure to find his father, fits the description of a bildungsroman; Telйmakhos, being taught and initiated in the ways of the world by the actions of Athena, matures a great deal in the open of the book alone.

Although Telйmakhos first appears "a boy, daydreaming" (I, 145)--truly a far shot from what he wants to be, a warrior and hero like Odysseus, of whom he daydreams--Athena stirs him into action and thereby sparks his initiation into the world as a man. In the shape of Mentкs, Athena advises Telйmakhos to stop sitting around and daydreaming, and to start looking for his father, or at least news of him. With her description of Telйmakhos as Odysseus' boy by his looks, Athena makes Telйmakhos realize that even though he may be young yet, he is no boy: "The way your head is shaped, the fine eyes--yes, / how like him! We took meals like this together / many a time." (I, 252-254) Her description of him, so close to his father's, helps Athena make Telйmakhos realize that he is indeed the son of the great Odysseus, and he can easily become a man like him, which seems to be the young man's dream. Even Mentкs' reminiscence of dining with Odysseus in the old days being linked to eating with Telйmakhos makes this assertion of his likeness to Odysseus more real for the young man. Before Athena talks to Telйmakhos, as far as anyone can tell, Telйmakhos is but a boy, meaning that he has not yet traveled the seas and has yet to stand up to the grown men wronging him. However, stirred by Athena's urging and her creation of parallels between Odysseus and himself, Telйmakhos finds himself confronting the "insolent men" (I, 417), the suitors of his mother, stunning the suitors with his "bold speaking" (I, 432), when he tells them to lay off his home and livestock. With his first assertion of manhood and of being master over his father's house, marked by his boldness of speaking and his aggressiveness in showing hostility toward the men, he receives cold welcome into the world of men, from Antнnoцs, the tacit leader of Penйlopк's suitors: "Telйmakhos, no doubt the gods themselves / are teaching you this high and mighty manner. / Zeus forbid you should be king in Ithaka, / though you are eligible as your father's son." (I, 434-437) Antнnoцs, asking a god's favor in not making Telйmakhos king after Odysseus, makes himself seem to be righteous and on the god's good side. In fact, as he himself casually says, the gods--namely Athena--seem to have taught Telйmakhos to stand up to the raiders of his patrimony (whom Antнnoцs leads), making his own connection to Zeus void. However, Telйmakhos has not been taught to speak antagonistically to the suitors, yet he picks up on Athena's hostility toward the suitors and, adding it to his own, puts together his own words for them. Antнnoцs shows the suitors' view of Telйmakhos, by thinking of Telйmakhos as a hindrance to ascension to the throne after marrying his mother.

Telйmakhos' convening of the assembly and his seafaring make him a man, but since he wants to be the like of his father, he has a long way to go. With his unrelenting hostility toward the suitors, Telйmakhos calls forth an assembly for the first time since Odysseus left for Troy. The gathering of the assembly affirms both the lawlessness of Ithaka without Odysseus and the manliness of Telйmakhos; Telйmakhos calls and the Ithakans seemingly listen, making him as much a man as Odysseus himself. Nevertheless, Antнnoцs once again interferes on behalf of the suitors, all but saying that it is Penйlopк's fault that the suitors eat up Telйmakhos' patrimony. He further says that if Penйlopк would only marry one of them, Telйmakhos could keep his patrimony for himself. After being put down by the entirety of the assembly, Telйmakhos invokes Athena, who again gives him heart, reminding him of how great his parentage is: "You'll never be fainthearted or a fool, / ... / [your father] finished what he cared to say, / and what he took in hand he brought to pass." (II, 285-288) Once again, Athena inspires Telйmakhos to be the man his father was, and then goes on to flatter him, claiming, "the son is rare who measures with his father," (II, 292) with Telйmakhos obviously being one of those few. Her flattery has a purpose though--"to give [him] a fair chance of winning through." (II, 296) With this inspiration, Athena goads Telйmakhos into seafaring for news of his beloved father. By setting out to sea, Telйmakhos finally "makes his bones" (so to speak) to be known as a man within his island nation. When first he proposes gathering a crew (or even just hitching a ride as a passenger) and going as far as Pylos--and possibly farther--the suitors take it as a joke; they think of him as a boy, so they do not believe he can even do it: "Telйmakhos has a mind to murder us. / He's going to lead avengers out of Pylos, / or Sparta, maybe; oh he's wild to do it." (II, 343-345) Nevertheless, Athena does gather a crew and ready a ship for Telйmakhos, and he captains