ACROSS LANDS FORLORN: THE EPIC JOURNEY OF THE HERO, FROM HOMER TO CHANDLER Volume One Sergio Sergi ACROSS LANDS FORLORN: THE EPIC JOURNEY OF THE HERO, FROM HOMER TO CHANDLER. SERGIO SERGI B.A. University of Adelaide M.A. University of Ottawa M.A University of Sydney A thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Canberra. March 2006 i Certificate of authorship of thesis. Except where clearly acknowledged in footnotes, quotations and the bibliography, I certify that I am the sole author of the thesis submitted today entitled ‘Across lands forlorn: The epic journey of the hero from Homer to Chandler.’ I further certify that to the best of my knowledge the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. The material in this thesis has not been the basis of an award of any other degree or diploma except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. This thesis complies with University requirements for a thesis as set out in http://www.canberra.edu.au/secretariat/goldbook/forms/thesisrqmt. pdf …………………………. Signature of Candidate …………………………. Signature of Chair of the supervisory panel Date: ……………………………. Acknowledgements I acknowledge a number of people who have helped with the realization of this thesis which was begun at the University of New England. Professor Peter Toohey, before he left that University, listened to my ideas about the hero and encouraged me to develop them into this thesis. I am most grateful to him for the confidence he placed in my abilities to conduct a complex study. At the University of New England, Professor John Ryan was my principal supervisor. Dr Charles Tesoriero, my co-supervisor, provided invaluable assistance, criticism and advice on the classical literature sections particularly, and on the overall thesis as well. He also offered friendship and his untimely passing is acknowledged for the tragedy that it was: vale Charles! I am also thankful for the encouragement provided by Professor Greg Horsely and Professor Ron Bedford, also from the University of New England. Dr. Trish Payne of the University of Canberra was the first of many who made me welcome at that University. Professor Jen Webb read the first draft and saw merit in persevering with the work, her encouragement was much appreciated. An excellent supervisor was found for me, Dr. Greg Battye and it was he who helped to give the thesis its present shape and who ensured that this study saw the light of day. I express my sincere gratitude to him and to Dr. Jordan Williams for their incisive comments and for insisting on rigour and on meticulous research. I am indebted to them also for the kindness and patience they showed me. Every one at the University of Canberra has been kind and has always provided help, particularly Louise Cooper in the Library. I am grateful towards my parents, Antonino and Eleonora Sergi who read me tales of heroes when I was very young; Pecos Bill still lives in my imagination. I was inspired by the many boys to whom I taught Latin, who never failed to be moved by the heroism of the aquilifer of Caesar’s Legion at the landing at Deal. I dedicate this thesis to my wife Leigh Stewart Sergi who is the sine qua non of anything worthwhile in my life. She is truly conjunx dilectissima. Sergio Sergi Armidale and Canberra ii Across lands forlorn: the epic journey of the hero from Homer to Chandler. CHAPTER OUTLINES Preface: Niccolo Machiavelli described men not as they should be but as they are. The character of the hero in the Western epic is the exact opposite. This fictional creation of classical antiquity has provided a mould into which each succeeding generation has poured its aspirations and ideals. The epic hero has endured for two principal reasons: first, he serves a moral didactic purpose, he shows men as they could be. Secondly, the hero helps us escape from our imperfect world to a golden age full of enchantment, hope, and promise where we learn self-trust, the very essence of heroism. CHAPTER I: Introduction; Naming the Parts • This is a military expression for labeling the component parts of a weapon after it has been disassembled. The term is appropriate for describing the nomenclature of the language of epic and its essential component, the hero. The methodology for the presentation of the material contained in this study is outlined in the ‘Preface’. • The following terms are glossed: hero; knight; private eye; adventurer; champion; outsider; epic; quest; bounty; onomastics /pedigree; nostos /nostalgia; ruina; ubi sunt and the heroic imagination. • What is the purpose in the Western tradition of writing epics with the hero at their centre? The two types of epic, primary and secondary are considered. Excluded from the discussion are, • (a) epics not part of the Western tradition, such as the horse epics of the Mongols, as this is not a comparative study but one that follows a sequence of epics in one tradition. • (b) drama: the link between the two genres is noted (Aristotle). However, the hero is presented on stage by his actions rather than by his ‘voice’. In addition, the genre is vast and thus merits its own analysis of the representation of the hero. There is some mention of the iv representation of some heroes in Greek classical drama because of its proximity with epic such as using the same characters as those in epic. • Films are included principally to show the effect of the transformations of epic stories from the original mode of communication of the oral/printed to a visual mode. Also discussed are several ‘performances’ by actors, thus delineating the presentation for audiences of a specific hero ,e.g. Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlowe. • Focus for the geographic location of these epics is on Greece, Rome, Western Europe, and the U.S.A. as these are the cornerstones of the western literary tradition. • Explanation of the social /cultural/moral context for the key texts. ( Iliad/ Odyssey; Aeneid; Le Morte DArthur; the Philip Marlowe novels of Raymond Chandler.) • Identification of the distinct literary genres: Greek, Roman, Late Mediaeval, Modern. • Also examined are concepts of masculinity; benefit for society, the safe haven, patriotism/patriarchy; gender bias; honour; moral conflict (earthly/divine).Epic as a microcosm of human existence. • Audience: males ‘reading’ from a masculine stance within the context of actual historical heroes. The Iliad may be read as an expression of the futility of war and of the warrior as hero. • Epics as part of the formal education of males. • Conflict between Hero and King. Have all the physically challenging adventures been done? While space travel relies on technology, the Apollo13 mission was saved with a slide rule and human ingenuity. • Women in epic, wives and mothers of heroes; Psyche as ‘hero.’ • Foils to the domestic woman; femme fatale, sorceress, temptress. CHAPTER II: From Force to Cunning: how the warrior became a leader. (Achilles) Part a), i Homeric epic • The Iliad; focus on Achilles; Odysseus and Aeneas introduced. The nature of epic and of its hero. • Part a), ii Proud-hearted Achilles • Characteristics of the hero and the concepts of honour and glory in the epics of antiquity. How the construct of the hero as character has become the template for the ideal of the male v • Part b), the code and combat. • Weapons, tactics, and the fighting style of the hero. • Part c), Kings and Captains, Greek and Trojan. Heroes and their foils • Part d), The hero’s women • Women as adjuncts to the hero. (Helen; Andromache; Thetis; Brisseis.) • Patriarchy as a social mores. The absent father; father substitutes, mentors, significant male friendships; agape. • Part e), Άριστεία (aristeia) • Ceremonies, the expression of grief, Funeral Games. The culture of shame (aidos), the effects of the code of the hero (aristeia). CHAPTER III: From Rage to Duty; how the chieftain became a statesman (Odysseus.) • The focus on Odysseus and the quest motif; nostos; cunning; curiosity, maturity. Telemachus as tyro, a hero in waiting. • Variations of the hero; feasting, the Bard, the end of grieving. • Women: Penelope, Calypso, Nausicaa; slaves/serving women • Transformation of the epic and the hero, how Odysseus becomes Ulysses. CHAPTER IV: From antiquity to Christianity: how Aeneas became Arthur. Part a), the Trojan Prince. • The precursors and the heirs of Virgil. Ennius, Navius, Lucan, Silus Italicus, the hero in the Georgics. • Aeneid; focus on Aeneas and Turnus, responsibility for the homeland, the warrior as statesman. • Aeneas as Homeric and as Virgilian epic hero. The metamorphosis of Aeneas into Arthur. The political usefulness of the hero. • Dido and Lavinia. • Part b), The Matter of Arthur • The precursors of Malory. vi • The harvesting of the Arthur material by Malory and his writing of an ‘Arthuriad’ • The Winchester Manuscript and William Caxton’s version of 1485. The concept of worthies. The Morte, Episodes of a unified tale or separate ‘Works’? CHAPTER V: From King to Gentle: how the hero and the king are in conflict (Arthur and Lancelot). • Sir Thomas Malory’s heroic imagination; the characteristics of the Christian hero in Malory’s writings. • The shift in focus from Arthur to Lancelot as the hero. Conflict between hero and king. • The characteristics of heroism and chivalry explored through secondary characters (Gawaine, Bors, Galahad et al.) • The effect of printed versus the manuscript versions of the Morte on audiences. Didactic purpose ‘to do good and leave off evil’. The ‘faire ladies’; Guinevere as a protagonist in the Morte. Morgan le Fay and Elaine. CHAPTER VI: From Gentle to Champion; How the epic was revived (Milton to Tennyson) • Transformations briefly mentioned.