1. Homer, The Iliad, Richard Lattimore, trans. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961), Book 1, pp. 59-75.
This is my first encounter with The Iliad, and as such, I had a variety of reactions to it. I was struck by the similarities between the stereotypical gender roles of today and of yesterday. Men are war-hungry and power-hungry. They settle misunderstandings with threats or acts of violence. The women in their lives fulfill one of two roles; they are either trophies from whom they seek sexual satisfaction or mothers who sooth bruised egos. The women in The Iliad who have a voice use that voice to seek divine intervention or to counsel patience instead of violence. Although Havelock writes that the domestic code is broken in The Iliad (p. 79), the gender stereotypes nevertheless remain. I am reminded of Rachel Simmons' book Odd Girl Out in which she explores the socialization of young boys and girls. Boys engage in physical conflict. Girls fight with words. If this is a gender divide that has always existed, is it something that can (or should) ever be changed? Or is it just the way things are?
2. Havelock, Eric. Preface to Plato (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1963), Chapters 4 and 9.
In Chapter Nine, Havelock writes of the poet, "[t]o control the collective memory of society he had to establish control over the personal memories of individual human beings." (p 145) If we accept this statement, then poets are not very different from historians. History has two meanings: that which happened, and that which is said to have happened. The historian's job is to gather evidence in the former category and construct a narrative of events for the latter category. Anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot categorizes the process in this way (Silencing the Past, pgs. 2, 6):
Here, we can substitute the word "poet" for "historian" and we have Havelock's perspective of poets, memory, and history. For me, this underscores the fact that history (whether told by a poet or historian) is one fiction among many. It also reinforces the importance of the role that poets play in chronicling historical events.3. Personal Reflection
One thing I found personally interesting in this week's reading is the reference to prayer in The Iliad. "Over and over the old man prayed as he walked in solitude." (verse 35) In this world of mortals and gods, it is fascinating that some characters still resort to the "traditional" notion of prayer: one-way communication to a deity believed to have the power to intervene in one's affairs, in the affairs of others, indeed, even in global affairs. I think of the title of this course - The History of Communication - and wonder what role prayer plays in this history. Prayer is certainly a varied form of communication. Some people pray alone; others pray in groups, in traditional ceremonies. People pray to a god that they have not met, and prayer (unlike other forms of communication) is a monologue. Is prayer a legitimate form of communication?
I really like the questions you posed, Janelli. The male vs. female characteristics is certainly one that is an ongoing debate. For example, the Chris Brown and Rihanna drama seemed to strike up this conversation of whether it is okay to hit a girl back if she hits you first. I have witnessed facebook conversations where a lot of moms who have sons get very upset when little girls hit their boys. I mention this debate because you brought up the gender divide, and I wonder if the divide exists because history continues to communicate that men and women should behave and communicate a certain way. Do we all just adapt to what is seemingly right? Should women remain docile and submissive in relationships? Should a man/husband always be the one to say a prayer before family dinner? Is this just the way things are, as you said?
ReplyDeleteI think the comparison between the epic poet and the historian is a fascinating one. I suppose one big difference would be that once writing - and especially printing - were developed you could have many different versions of history floating around. You could compare them, and in so doing note that different versions claiming to be "true" existed. The media environment Havelock describes is quite different: the audience embodied the poet's version of history to such a degree that they were unable to contrast it with some other version. This strikes me not only as a different degree but also as a qualitatively different kind of control over collective memory than what we see later.
ReplyDelete