The tears of Achilles / Hélène Monsacré ; translated by Nicholas J. Snead.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Monsacré, Hélène, author.

Contributor:

Snead, Nicholas J., translator.

Series:

Hellenic studies ; 75.

Hellenic Studies Series ; 75

Standardized Title:

Larmes d'Achille. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Achilles (Mythological character)--In literature.

Achilles.

Homer--Knowledge and learning--Psychology.

Homer.

Psychology.

Achilles (Mythological character).

Epic poetry, Greek--History and criticism.

Epic poetry, Greek.

Women and literature--Greece.

Women and literature.

Greece.

Suffering in literature.

Emotions in literature.

Sex role in literature.

Heroes in literature.

Crying in literature.

Tears in literature.

Literature.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xxix, 167 pages ; 23 cm.

Distribution:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2017.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : Center for Hellenic Studies, Trustees for Harvard University, 2017.

Summary:

Warrior, hero, super-male--Achilles, by the protocols of Western culture, should never cry. And yet Homeric epic if full of his tears and those of his companions at Troy. This path-blazing study by Hélène Monsacré shows how later ideals of stoically inexpressive manhood run contrary to the poetic vision presented in the Iliad and Odyssey. The epic protagonists, as larger-than-life figures who transcend gender categories, are precisely the men most likely to weep. In a rich series of lucid and detailed close readings, pursuing the paradox of the tearful fighter, Monsacré examines all aspects of the interactions between men and women in the Homeric poems. Her illuminating analysis, first published in French three decades ago, remains bold, fresh, and compelling for anyone touched--like Achilles--by a world of grief--back cover.

Contents:

Foreword / Richard P. Martin

Translator's note : Truchement = caretaker / Nicholas J. Snead

Preface to the English edition / Hélène Monsacré

Introduction

Part I. The borders of heroism. Proper relations to Aphrodite : a criterion in the definition of heroic conduct

Physical evidence of the hero

Erotic images of war

The feminine and the warrior

Part II. Femininity in the epic. Women in the epic

The specificity of women

Virile women...or heroines?

Part III. Sobs of men, tears of women. Crying in the heroic space of the Iliad

Tears in a different world : the Odyssey

The tears of women

The language of tears

The weeping body of Achilles

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [137]-146) and indexes.

ISBN:

9780674975682

0674975685

OCLC:

971893205