Abstract

MENESES, Adélia Bezerra de. Odyssey:: crossing over and the constitution of the subject. Ide (São Paulo) [online]. 2021, vol.43, n.71, pp. 114-125. ISSN 0101-3106.

In the light of Adorno's interpretation of the Odyssey as the metaphorical journey of Western man in pursuit of the constitution of the subject, we address certain narratives that constitute the folkloric nucleus of that epic and reveal Odysseus playing opposite various mythical, archaic and primitive beings, whom he vanquishes through the use of reason (and at the price of self-repression). In addition to these episodes, there is the journey to Hades, important for Odysseus' crossing over, and where two polar types of heroism are confronted: that of "beautiful death" (Achilles) and that of "fidelity to life" (Odysseus). By pointing to the passage from the world of nature to that of culture, one can see the path the subject undertakes when confronting mythical powers and through which he or she becomes an individual; it is the journey from mythos to logos.

Keywords : Odyssey; Adorno; Travel; Mythos/Logos.

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