An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic

by Daniel Mendelsohn

I think, she said, that when Odysseus talks about the immovability of the bed he’s really referring to his unwavering faith and love for his wife. Tommy offered what I thought was the most interesting observation anyone made that day. Actually, the sex isn’t the most important part of the reunion. Talking is. I thought it was interesting that they make love first but then they spend the rest of the night telling stories to each other before they sleep. It’s like they need to emotionally process what they’ve been through, and the way they do that is through storytelling. The real emphasis is on communicating, you could say. It’s like the Cyclops story. In the end, it all comes back to language. Yes, I said. Remember, we were just saying that bodies are unreliable, that outward appearances can be altered, whereas the inner self remains—