Repurposing the Homeric Epic in Natalie Haynes' A Thousand Ships (2019) and Madeline Miller's Circe (2018)
Author
Summary, in English
Homeric epics have been a continued object of interest across the ages, and it is no different
today. Retellings of Greek myths with a focus on the female characters are especially popular
with the modern reader. Authors Natalie Haynes and Madeline Miller are two of many who,
through their contemporary novels A Thousand Ships (2019) and Circe (2018), have put the
focal point on female characters. In this essay, I analyse five motifs from these novels and
compare their use in The Iliad and The Odyssey, with the way in which Haynes and Miller
participate in Hélène Cixous’ concept of écriture feminine (women’s writing). Drawing on
Cixous, I argue that Haynes and Miller repurpose the Homeric epic by rejecting the
phallogocentric model that the motifs previously have been associated with. I show how these
modern novelists, by using a narrative with a female focal point, enable female characters in
Greek myth to reclaim their bodies and have their story told.
today. Retellings of Greek myths with a focus on the female characters are especially popular
with the modern reader. Authors Natalie Haynes and Madeline Miller are two of many who,
through their contemporary novels A Thousand Ships (2019) and Circe (2018), have put the
focal point on female characters. In this essay, I analyse five motifs from these novels and
compare their use in The Iliad and The Odyssey, with the way in which Haynes and Miller
participate in Hélène Cixous’ concept of écriture feminine (women’s writing). Drawing on
Cixous, I argue that Haynes and Miller repurpose the Homeric epic by rejecting the
phallogocentric model that the motifs previously have been associated with. I show how these
modern novelists, by using a narrative with a female focal point, enable female characters in
Greek myth to reclaim their bodies and have their story told.
Summary, in English
Homeric epics have been a continued object of interest across the ages, and it is no different
today. Retellings of Greek myths with a focus on the female characters are especially popular
with the modern reader. Authors Natalie Haynes and Madeline Miller are two of many who,
through their contemporary novels A Thousand Ships (2019) and Circe (2018), have put the
focal point on female characters. In this essay, I analyse five motifs from these novels and
compare their use in The Iliad and The Odyssey, with the way in which Haynes and Miller
participate in Hélène Cixous’ concept of écriture feminine (women’s writing). Drawing on
Cixous, I argue that Haynes and Miller repurpose the Homeric epic by rejecting the
phallogocentric model that the motifs previously have been associated with. I show how these
modern novelists, by using a narrative with a female focal point, enable female characters in
Greek myth to reclaim their bodies and have their story told.
today. Retellings of Greek myths with a focus on the female characters are especially popular
with the modern reader. Authors Natalie Haynes and Madeline Miller are two of many who,
through their contemporary novels A Thousand Ships (2019) and Circe (2018), have put the
focal point on female characters. In this essay, I analyse five motifs from these novels and
compare their use in The Iliad and The Odyssey, with the way in which Haynes and Miller
participate in Hélène Cixous’ concept of écriture feminine (women’s writing). Drawing on
Cixous, I argue that Haynes and Miller repurpose the Homeric epic by rejecting the
phallogocentric model that the motifs previously have been associated with. I show how these
modern novelists, by using a narrative with a female focal point, enable female characters in
Greek myth to reclaim their bodies and have their story told.
Department/s
Publishing year
2024
Language
English
Full text
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Document type
Student publication for Bachelor's degree
Topic
- Languages and Literatures
Keywords
- Modern Retellings
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey
- Greek Mythology
- Hélène Cixous
- Homeric epic
- écriture feminine
Supervisor
- Cian Duffy (Professor)