“A fire blazed on the hearth, and the smell
Of split cedar and arbor vitae burning
Spread like incense across the whole island.
She was seated inside, singing in a lovely voice
As she wove at her loom with a golden shuttle.
Around her cave the woodland was in bloom,
Alder and poplar and fragrant cypress.
Long-winged birds nested in the leaves,
Horned owls and larks and slender-throated shorebirds
That screech like crows over the bright saltwater.
Tendrils of ivy curled around the cave’s mouth,
The glossy green vine clustered with berries.
Four separate springs flowed with clear water, criss-
Crossing channels as they meandered through meadows
Lush with parsley and blossoming violets.”
(The Odyssey, Book 5, Line 62 – 76)
This passage contains a strong, descriptive imagery of Calypso’s cave, where she holds Odysseus captive. Homer begins the description by tingling with one of our senses — smell. We begin with the burning of two different types of wood: cedar and arbor vitae, which both give off a rich aroma while being burnt. The burning of wood, especially arbor vitae, whose name means “tree of life”, symbolizes a much darker aspect of the cave. Similarly, to the burning of the “tree of life”, Odysseus’ life is rotting and draining away in Calypso’s cave day by day as he is held hostage. Every moment he spends in the cave, his eyes become more lifeless and hallow. Moreover, the longer Odysseus stays in the cave, the happier Calypso is, which corresponds to the richer and stronger aroma of wood that has been burning longer.
Homer entices our sense of hearing by describing Calypso’s voice as “lovely”. Calypso’s uses her voice to enchant Odysseus. Although her singing is lovely and attractive, there is a hint of wariness and skepticism.
Then Homer moves on to describe the sights around the cave in astonishing detail. The Island of Ogygia is described as a luscious, green woodland, where the fertility and beauty of the land juxtaposes the blood-drenched and barren plains of Troy. The land seems to be completely embraced by Mother Nature with its cypress, “tendrils of ivy”, and “blossoming violets”. The cave’s mouth, where Odysseus remains, can be seen as a womb. For years, Calypso has protected Odysseus from Poseidon’s wrath, and has nurtured Odysseus, like a devoted mother, which brings us to question why Odysseus is so unwilling to remain on the island.
The passage highlights the theme of femininely verse masculinity by depicting the feminine and motherly aspect of the island and Odysseus’ need to escape from it. After ten years of killing and destroying during the Trojan War, Odysseus has been desensitized towards violence and detached from his emotions. He has lost touch with his feminine psyche after years of being surrounded by men, but through Calypso he is able to reunite with it. The tears Odysseus has shed on the island prove that the feminine was within him. Calypso emasculates Odysseus and strips him of any power, making him feel like a powerless boy. However, Odysseus despises his union with his feminine psyche, because after being in touch with his masculinity for many years, there is no space for the feminine. As a result, he tries to escape from it and Calypso. Odysseus seeks masculinity and fears femininity. In essence, The Odyssey is about Odysseus search for masculinity, which he can only find at home, next to his wife, Penelope, who can make him feel like a husband, a father, and a king.
A very sensitive, careful reading of the passage. Your sense of the island as a feminine space–at odds with the masculine arena of war–is particularly strong. The luscious plants and tendrils seem to signify fertility, fecundity. The cave itself is, in your reading, a kind of womb (which is both a space of comfort–no one is suffering or dying here!–and a trap). This is a space of life, of constant regeneration, and it is a space Odysseus rests in, but longs to escape.
You note that “Odysseus seeks masculinity and fears femininity,” in his effort to escape the island. I wonder if it’s more complicated than that, though? In the passage you chose, Calypso sings as she weaves. Who else weaves? Does this domestic, feminine action link the space Odysseus longs to leave, and the space to which he wants to return?
I really appreciate all your attention to detail and your serious deconstruction of these imagery-filled lines. I particularly resonated with your interpretation of the trees; that was an altogether nuanced reading to me.
It seems that your analysis of the lines is somewhat speculative, however. The conjecture is quite good and may be found in the text, but I am curious to know if you find this theme elsewhere in the text. It is certainly unique and I had not thought myself that Odysseus was obsessed with his masculinity. But that approach seems altogether plausible.