Book 6: The Princess and the Stranger (Nausicaa) Introduction: How does Odysseus, destitute, naked and outcast, win acceptance from Nausicaa, the Princess of the Phaecians and gain admittance to the royal palace? Odysseus is in a delicate and dangerous situation. He will need to deal immediately with an extraordinary situation; after all, he stumbles out of the olive brush naked and haggard before a group of teenage girls who have come to the river to do their laundry. Even after negotiating help from the girls, he will need to convince King Alkinoos and his wife Queen Arete to provide him with a boat to get home. This will not be an easy task because the Phaikians are distant relations of Odysseus' enemies, the sea god Poseidon and his evil nephew, the Cyclops. To win their favor, Odysseus needs to play on the goodwill of their teenage daughter who, to complicate matters even further, has fallen in love with him. Eventually he will need to reveal who he is, a married man, but not too soon lest Nausicaa's parents conclude that he has toyed with their daughter's affections. In this adventure Odysseus must be at his most eloquent and deceptive. What dangers does Odysseus face? Odysseus must cope with Nausicaa's attraction for him (and her own disarming beauty). He must find a way to reverse the Phaikians' aversion for him. Although the Phaikians are a youthful, civil and remarkably gentle people, they are as dangerous to Odysseus' homecoming as the brutal Cyclops had been. He could easily fall prey to the temptation to stay with them and marry Nausicaa. He flirts with the dream of reliving his youth (much like the way he had flirted with the chance of becoming an immortal with Calypso.) How does Odysseus overcome these obstacles? Instead of exhibiting the heroic characteristics of a warrior, Odysseus must show tact, courtesy, self-awareness and sensitivity to others' needs and fears if he wants to get home. Just as important, he must cling to his objective and reject this gentle illusion of happiness.  How does "Nausicaa" fit into the overall structure of the epic? The homey atmosphere and sense of family in Phaecia is a deliberate contrast to the sweeping panorama of Book 5. The warrior Odysseus needs the nurturing of home and family. After his rebirth, he relives the earlier stages of manhood: wooing and winning a girl, then meeting her parents. This experience helps to domesticate the martial character of the Iliadic hero. The Nausicaa episode of The Odyssey is a delicate tale of love, youthful innocence and middle-aged experience. Close Reading: How had the Phaekians come to live in Scheria? (6. 4-12) The Phaekians had once lived in Hyperia ("Beyond Land"), neighbors to the brutal Cyclops. They used to belong to the fairytale world. Their mythic King Nausithous had led them in a great migration to their new home, midway between the realm of dream and the waking world. (Homer is making historical reference to the period of the great migrations from the 10th to the 8th century b.c., a period of cultural amalgamation.) What does Nausicaa dream of during the night of Odysseus' arrival in her land? 6. 15-52) Athena assumes the person of Nausicaa's best friend, the shipman Dymas' daughter, and admonishes her for having such a messy room with her wedding day so near! She commands Nausicaa to pick up all her sashes, dresses and bed spreads and take them to the river where she can clean them and so prepare for her impending nuptials. What a great excuse for a picnic! To innocent Nausicaa, getting married means only beautiful clothes and connubial bliss! How does Nausicaa convince her father to give her permission to go off to the beach on her own? (6. 53-95) By indirection. She flatters and wheedles permission from her father by appealing to his own needs, not declaring her secret hopes of marriage. Even so, Alkinoos knows what she is up to. The closeness of their relationship is depicted without being openly stated. "Dad, can I borrow the car?" How does Homer characterize Nausicaa through his description of the girls cavorting at the riverside? (6. 96-121) With delightful clarity, vividness and immediacy, Homer describes the girls' trip to the river, their washing, bathing, eating and play. Nausicaa leads these activities. He describes her beauty with a wonderful simile: she chases the ball like the goddess Artemis flying after her arrows (6.111-120) In this manner Homer characterizes Nausicaa and prepares us to believe the poise with which she greets Odysseus. What simile does Homer use to describe Odysseus' awkward entrance into this enchanting scene? (6. 139-146) Odysseus is described like a rain drenched mountain lion charging his prey. This is the type of simile that would have been used to describe a warrior going to battle in The Iliad, but here the image is used to comic effect. The girls all run for their lives, except Nausicaa who firmly stands her ground. How does Odysseus deal with this highly embarrassing situation? (6.157-204) His first reaction is to perform the ritual act of supplication. In combat a beaten warrior can save his life by kneeling before his enemy and grasping his knees. Odysseus quickly realizes that in this particular situation such an act might be misinterpreted. He must calm her fears of rape. He keeps his distance and starts talking, finding a way to speak of the act of supplication without actually touching her. He carefully flatters Nausicaa by comparing her to Artemis, the goddess of chastity. He compliments her family and describes how her beauty has filled him with wonder, not desire. He compares her lithe form to a young palm tree, hardly an erotic image but still quite a compliment! Finally, in asking for her help he calls upon the gods to reward her with her greatest wish…a loving husband. It's a pass, no doubt about it, but artfully obscured in respectful language. This guy is slick! How does Nausicaa respond with appropriate formal xenia to Odysseus' noble entreaty, yet still betray the fact that she is attracted to this handsome, mysterious stranger? (6. 204-272) She comments philosophically on how we all must bear hardship. (Is she intelligent, or just trying to sound that way?) Nausicaa admonishes her friends for running away and not showing proper deference to a stranger who has asked for help. Then she orders them to bathe this man in the river and then anoint him with oil (while she watches). They tell him to go wash himself! Odysseus demurely requests that the girls stand off while he cleans and dresses himself. When he reappears, Athena has transformed him into a glistening hero who awes the girls with his strength and nobility. The first stage of his transformation is complete. Nausicaa is impressed! How does Nausicaa plan to gain for Odysseus the favor of her parents (as well as subtly indicate that she is interested in him as a possible husband)? (6. 280-345) In a highly Odyssean manner (ie. indirectly), Nausicaa concocts a plan to get Odysseus to the palace without arousing malicious gossip, and she tells Odysseus the secret to obtaining her parents' favor: ask her mother for help, not her father. She knows who really runs things in her household! She'll pass him off as some sailor that the girls met en route to the river. The plan is a good one. She also manages to indicate to Odysseus that she is a princess of marriageable age, but only to the best class of suitors.  How confident is Odysseus that this plan will succeed? (6. 350-360) He prays to Athena for her help in the next, even more dangerous stage of this adventure, but he sounds desperate. He is aware of the dangers he faces at court, and the innocence of Nausicaa heightens his problems. He has a very tricky situation with which to deal. Remember that the Phaikians are allied with Poseidon, Odysseus' enemy. He must carefully conceal his true identity until he has found a way to bring Kink Alkinoos and Queen Arete around to his side. He must delicately deal with Nausicaa, maintaining a good relationship yet resisting her charms. He does not know exactly how he will proceed, but he knows that he will have to be very lucky if he is to succeed in getting a boat in which to head home. At this point after the shipwreck Odysseus believes that the gods have abandoned him, but Athena is there, shadowing and protecting his every move.