Andromache

Book 6, Part 5.1: Fate and Denied Blessings

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ Leave a comment

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I told you we would have an issue in a later post because Hector doesn’t have a helmet… Oh well. Astyanax is supposed to be crying because Hector has a scary helmet on and doesn’t recognize his dad and that’s why Hector and Andromache start laughing so… The humour works better in the original. Helmets are just difficult to draw and then Hector wouldn’t have such fabulous hair.

As for Andromache’s servant lady, what’s up with her? Why is she glaring all the time? At first I wasn’t quite sure, but then I was thinking about it and the servant ladies who took care of rich people’s children were really the ones raising them and acting as the child’s parents, and here these two keep passing the child around and laughing at it’s terror and… well. I’d be upset to and feel a bit possessive of the kid.

She’s probably glaring and rolling her eyes and thinking, “Rich people, ugh.” I wish she had a name. It is moments like these when I miss teaching, because my students would just make up names for all of the unnamed characters we came across. *is reminiscent*

ANYWAY. Zeus showed up way angrier than I had intended *shrugs* I’m sure there’s a reason for it.

Fate is creepy and wonderful and I love her.

I’m going to try and continue posting twice a week *fingers crossed* I’ll just make the segments shorter if I need to. If it takes me longer to make my way through Book 7, so be it. OHMYPENGUINS. WE’RE GOING TO START BOOK 7 SOON! Ahahahahahaha…hem. *clears throat awkwardly*

Have a good rest of your day, lovelies!

 

Book 6, Part 4.2: Hector’s Response

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ 2 Comments

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Hector is definitely better (in my opinion) than many of the other men in The Iliad, but damn, he’s kind of a donkey’s derriere here. I think this conversation really highlights how much men did not understand what women went through. Hector lists all of the terrible things that he believes are absolutely 100% going to happen to his wife and his reaction is all about his pain and how terrible this is for him and how glad he is he will DIE before he has to see it happen. Um… But what about Andromache? She’s the one who will actually have to suffer through all of these things? It’s so easy for the warriors to go around talking about pillaging and stealing ladies and ladies being stolen, but they have no real concept about what it would be like to be pillaged or stolen.

Anyway. That’s my feminist moment of the day.

Today’s was a shorter post and I’m thinking about possibly moving to shorter posts instead of only posting one day a week? I haven’t quite decided yet. I’ll keep you posted. Have a lovely day!

 

Book 6, Part 4.1: Blameless Woman, Poor Dear

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ 1 Comment

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It really should not be a surprise that the women of the house are just staring at Hector considering, remember, how he’s covered in blood and guts, holding a sixteen foot spear and wearing a golden helmet.

Also, Andromache is often portrayed as the sad wife who doesn’t want her husband to fulfill his duty to his troops, as selfish, as a “seductress” trying to thwart the hero, etc., etc., and so forth. However, the more I think about this scene the more I think that’s not really what’s going on here. She asks Hector to stay inside the walls with a retinue of men BECAUSE this is the weakest part of the city, there is a prophecy about how this side of the city is dangerous (or something? my translation is unclear?) AND it is the only part of the city with scaleable walls and Ajax, Idomeneus, AND Diomedes keep making attacks at this WEAKEST PART OF THE CITY. Sure, Hector is the next in line to the kingdom, but it was normal, from what I remember, for kings in Asia Minor to personally fight for their cities. I don’t think Andromache is asking Hector to stop being a dutiful soldier, I think she’s asking him to be a SMARTER one. I think she is an intelligent woman who has thought this through and, yeah, sure, she doesn’t want her husband to die. But she also doesn’t want her city to be overrun by Greeks.

ANYWAY. Those are my two cents. Or five cents. Whatever. There’s some cents of mine, take it or leave it or share thoughts of your own.

In addition: Andromache going on about how Hector is her father/mother/brother/husband reminds me of Ruth and Naomi, I’m not sure why.

AND I have been thinking and I might have to go down to posting only once a week? I’ve just been working 40+ hours a week and trying to write more, stay up with my reading, keep up relationships with friends, and also trying to post 2-3 times a week and it’s not working. I keep missing days/weeks and I’d rather be consistent less often than inconsistent more often, if that makes sense? I also want this to be something fun I do, and I never want it to become some sort of chore I dread, because that defeats the purpose of this. Anyway. I’ll let you know what I decide about that by the end of the month (WHICH is RIDICULOUSLY soon WHERE THE HECK did May go?)