What is the significance of erotic longing in the downfall of epic protagonists?
One could argue that the most compelling aspect of an epic story is how its heroes suffer their downfalls. It is no secret that great literature, including epics, often explores human frailties to their fullest extent. From the Greeks to modern literature, readers have been captivated by stories where tragic figures stumble through life because of seemingly innocuous character flaws that eventually destroy them. What's more interesting is that many of these downfalls arise from a single source: the protagonist's erotic longing.
In "The Iliad," written between the eighth and sixth centuries BCE, Homer tells a tale about Achilles, a Greek warrior who fights alongside his fellow soldiers against Troy. As the narrative progresses, it becomes clear that Achilles has become dissatisfied with his place among the army. He refuses to go home after being slighted by Agamemnon, the commander-in-chief of the Trojan War. Instead, he sulks away for a while, until he finally agrees to fight again when his companion Patroclus dies.
Throughout the story, we see hints of a deeper motivation behind Achilles' behavior. When he was still a child, Thetis, his mother, dipped him into the River Styx to make him invulnerable to harm.
She had to hold him by the heel to prevent the water from touching every part of his body, which explains why he can be killed in his one vulnerable spot. The irony here is that Achilles also suffers from unrequited love. His lover, Patroclus, dies at the hands of Hector, leaving Achilles devastated and angry.
Achilles' rage over the death of Patroclus leads him to kill Hector and drag his corpse behind his chariot in retribution. This act displeases the gods, leading them to punish him by causing him to die on the battlefield shortly afterward. In the end, Achilles falls because of his sexual longings for Patroclus, which blind him to other things in life.
Another example of this type of tragic flaw comes from "The Aeneid," written around 19 BCE. In this epic poem, Virgil tells a tale about a Trojan prince named Aeneas who flees Troy after its destruction and makes his way to Italy. He marries Queen Dido of Carthage and has a daughter with her before he decides to return to his homeland. Unfortunately, he leaves without telling Dido anything, which causes her to commit suicide.
Dido's death haunts Aeneas throughout the rest of the story as he struggles to establish a new home for himself and his people. Eventually, Aeneas meets his fate when he goes into battle against Turnus, king of the Rutulians. During the fight, he is wounded by an arrow that penetrates his armor and mortally wounds him. Despite this injury, he manages to slay his enemy, but only barely so - he doesn't make it out alive.
It turns out that Aeneas' downfall stems not just from his actions towards Dido but also his erotic feelings for her. While there are many factors at play, one of the most prominent is Aeneas' own longing for the woman he left behind. His desire for Dido keeps him from moving on with his life, causing him to become trapped in emotional turmoil.
In modern literature, we can see examples of this theme in James Joyce's "Ulysses." The novel follows Leopold Bloom through a single day in Dublin in 1904, where he wanders around the city while engaging in various activities like eating, shopping, and masturbating. Throughout all this, he contemplates his relationship with Molly, his wife who is having an affair with another man.
The more he thinks about their troubled marriage, the more obsessed he becomes with getting revenge on her lover. He even contemplates killing the other man, which leads him down a path of self-destruction. In the end, Bloom realizes that his infidelity has led to his downfall and decides to return home to his family.
These three stories show how epic protagonists tend to fall because of their sexual desires. Whether it's unrequited love or a lack of loyalty, these characters lose themselves in their pursuit of physical pleasure, leading them to make poor choices that ultimately cost them everything. It may be difficult to control such urges, but these tales teach us that living without passion is not worth dying for.
What is the significance of erotic longing in the downfall of epic protagonists?
Erotic longing has often been depicted as a significant contributor to the downfall of epic heroes in literature. In ancient Greek tragedies like "Antigone" by Sophocles and "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles, the main characters' obsession with sexual desires leads them into ruinous paths.