Suffering and Masculinity in Homer's The Odyssey

Introduction: The Question of Suffering's Value

Much of Homer's epic poem The Odyssey deals with the trouble the titular character finds himself in, and the suffering he and his men must endure as he makes his way home over the course of ten years. Upon cursory examination, one might think that suffering in The Odyssey has some actual value, in that Odysseus is ultimately rewarded for his long-suffering efforts by being able to return home and kill everyone who wanted to marry his wife. However, this reading does not account for the majority of the poem, in which Odysseus' men suffer with no reward, being brutally killed and condemned for no reason other than to fulfill Poseidon's curse against Odysseus. This is most clear when Odysseus and his men visit the island of the lotus eaters, and by examining this scene in conjunction with the conclusion of the story, it becomes clear that the suffering in The Odyssey has no real value except to reinforce the biases of the day by arguing in favor of a violent masculinity. For nearly every character except Odysseus, this value is nowhere near enough to compensate for the pain experienced throughout the story.

One of the first places Odysseus and his men stop is the island of the lotus eaters — just after pillaging a town and fleeing from the angry relatives of the murdered and raped townspeople — and examining the reactions of both Odysseus and his men to the lotus eaters reveals the poem's conception of suffering (9.42–44). Essentially, the poem seems to argue, through Odysseus, that suffering is not only worthwhile but desired, as long as it is ultimately in the service of the dominant power structure. After surviving the Trojan War, escaping from the relatives of the murdered villagers, "a freak hurricane," and "nine days of bad winds," Odysseus and his men finally make it "to the land of the Lotus-Eaters" (9.70, 84, 86). Once there, the lotus eaters, "who meant no harm," give Odysseus' "men / some lotus eat," so that "whoever ate that sweet fruit / lost the will to report back, preferring instead / to stay there, munching lotus, oblivious of home" (9.93–96).

The Lotus Eaters and the Nature of Unnecessary Suffering

It is important to recall that Odysseus is narrating these events to Alcinous after the fact, so this recollection is undoubtedly biased — Odysseus attempts to portray the men who wish to remain with the lotus eaters as simpletons "oblivious of home." When considered objectively, however, the fact that some among Odysseus' men wanted to stay with the lotus eaters makes perfect sense, and reveals how the poem, through the character of Odysseus, seems to celebrate a kind of useless suffering as a means of reinforcing the hegemonic social structure.

Considering the details surrounding the men who wish to stay behind with the lotus eaters demonstrates how Odysseus forces others into unnecessary suffering in order to validate his own attachment to the dominant social structure — the structure that gives him his status and power. This in turn helps to refute the argument that suffering in The Odyssey has value because Odysseus is eventually rewarded, because it reveals the unspoken assumption underlying that argument: namely, that Odysseus is the one who actually suffers.

Conclusion: Suffering as a Tool of Social Legitimization

In The Odyssey, suffering holds little to no value for those who actually do the suffering. The results of Odysseus' journey only reinforce this conclusion: that suffering is not made useful or worthwhile by any reward it produces, but is instead used as a means of legitimizing someone who, by any reasonable standard, is a cruel and vindictive person with little understanding of what human suffering is truly like.

Homer. The Essential Odyssey. Trans. Stanley Lombardo. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2007.