I personally do trust in Odysseus’ desire to return home, even though I can see why some readers may think otherwise. Odysseus (and his men) do get placed in some “sticky” situations during his voyage home, and sometimes they make stops that may be unnecessarily long. However, I believe that this showcases the “polytropos” concept that we talked about in class. Yes, Odysseus does have sexual intercourse with Calypso and yes, Odysseus does have emotional and/or physical relationships with other females (Nausicaa, Circe, etc.) – but Odysseus made the best of every situation he was in. He was just saving himself and tried to use his abilities to get himself out of tight spots. He went on the good sides of people/goddesses that could have hurt him, but chose not to because of Odysseus’ charm and cleverness. At the end of the day, I still believe that Odysseus wants to get home to his wife and son. Otherwise, he would stay with Calypso or just not show an interest in returning.
I also believe that Homer himself trusts in Odysseus’ desire to return home. The reason why there is such a delay in his return is because Homer wants to show his readers how much of a heroic figure Odysseus is. By showing what Odysseus overcomes throughout his journey home, it makes the readers feel a great sense of relief when he finally makes it home. The stops that Odysseus makes are necessary because they record his journey and showcase his persistence and strength.
I completely agree with your response to the Homer portion of the question. Odysseus having to overcome these obstacles only emphasizes his desire to get back home.
I totally agree with you. At first, I suspected his desire to return home because he had spent good time with Calypso and other females while justifying himself he was still belong to his land and loyal to his wife. But, now I believe that Homer was trying to depict how much Odysseus desired to come back by showing readers with several hardships he had to overcome. Odysseus returned to his land overcoming all the difficulties and resisting to all the temptations, especially from emotional/physical interaction with women, throughout the story.