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Mythic Man, Woman’s Voice
Waiting for Odysseus
By Clemence McLaren
Simon Pulse, 2000. 178 pages.
Reviewed by Christy Risser-Milne
Tales of the great hero Odysseus are plethora. Some go back millennia; others are as recent as Xena: Warrior Princess. Clemence McLaren has, however, successfully recreated these ancient myths in a manner not often attempted.
Waiting for Odysseus recounts what are originally tales told by men for men, and exchanges the yang for the yin perspective. Four women, Odysseus’s Queen Penelope, the witch goddess Circe, Pallas Athena, and nursemaid and servant Eurycleia, each take a turn in telling part of the story.
McLaren has given each woman a distinct voice and perspective on the man who is Odysseus and the conflict surrounding his leaving for war in Troy and the trial-filled years it takes him to return home to Ithaca. In giving voice to these previously silent women, the story takes on new depth and appeal for readers of all ages.
Penelope’s love for this man who deserted her for nearly twenty years is as solid as the rocks on which Ithaca was founded. Circe, though a witch with a reputation for hating men, is shown as a woman longing for the sort of love Penelope has found and to which Odysseus clings. Athena -- daughter of Zeus and goddess of war and wisdom, long a favorite goddess for many -- is powerful and yet somehow human at the same time. McLaren with crystalline simplicity captures the essence of the Greek gods in Athena. Finally, the nursemaid who raised Odysseus completes the tale as only a mother of the heart could.
One of the most striking features of this small book is McLaren’s depth of understanding of Greek myth and the archetypal meanings held within them. With a simple turn of phrase, she is able to make a believable passing reference to the mythology students are required to study in junior high, bringing it to life in ways standard translations do not.
Engaging readers’ imagination through passionate narrative, McLaren allows us to enter these age-old myths with eyes wide open to the inherent power of story. Anyone who has forgotten these tales need only read this small volume to rediscover why the stories have endured for more than three thousand years.
Although McLaren can never replace Homer, students slogging through poor translations of Homer’s poetry are well served in supplementing their reading with Waiting for Odysseus. McLaren’s obvious love for Homer will heighten interest in the original for all but those who stubbornly consider literature to be “irrelevant.”
A teacher herself, McLaren’s epilogue is a seminar on mythology encapsulated in just a few pages. While it sometimes feels like sitting in school again, her brief survey of the various ancient accounts of adventure and heroism provides many ideas for further study.
If you’re looking for the profundity of myth, it can be found in the pages of Waiting for Odysseus. Just realize from the start that it will be hidden in an unexpected disguise: the story of a mythic man, spoken by the voices of the women who love him.
Christy Risser-Milne is a freelance writer and photographer living in Boston, Massachusetts.
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