Calypso In The Odyssey

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Everyone wants love and happiness, and when people find that love and happiness — even if it is a delusion and the other partner does not love them back — they tend to not want to let go. In The Odyssey, Calypso suffers from the delusion of love also, for she is madly in love with Odyssey. Calypso, who the text depicts to have held Odysseus captive for seven years, is portrayed in a negative light, which leads readers to misinterpret Calypso for a manipulative, malicious goddess; however, Calypso actually is an extremely benevolent person who is just madly in love with Odysseus.
Calypso is often thought of as some evil, cold-hearted goddess, but she is actually a very hospitable individual after thorough analysis. Calypso sees Odysseus, a complete …show more content…
Calypso — a woman who is there for Odysseus when he is stranded — takes him in, gives him a place to stay, gives him food, and gives him clothes, but still, it is not enough. Still, she is portrayed as the “bad” person, despite all her compassion. True, Odysseus may have not wanted to be in a relationship with Calypso; however, there was no evidence in the text showing how Odysseus is repeatedly telling Calypso that he does not love her and wants to go home prior to Hermes’s arrival. There is no evidence in the text where Odysseus expresses dissatisfaction and unhappiness prior to the arrival Hermes. After arrival of Hermes, however, the text shows that Odysseus did in fact took pleasure in Calypso; however, when she no longer pleases him, he starts to miss home. As he states, “He wept for his foiled journey home, since the nymph no longer pleased” (page 157). How is Odysseus in captivity, if he once found Calypso pleasuring? Therefore, Odysseus obviously did not feel “trapped” until he became unhappy in the relationship. It is unethical to claim Calypso is trapping Odysseus in a relationship simply because he is no longer fond of her. If Odysseus never complains about the relationship, then Calypso had all the reason to believe Odysseus was happy, especially if he was willfully having sexual relations with her. True, it can be argued that Calypso is delusional and should know that …show more content…
Calypso, who could probably be with any man she pleases with her striking beauty, loves Odysseus so much that she offers him immortality if he will stay with her, like a woman who is trying to find one last tactic to convince her lover to stay. Nevertheless, Odysseus decides to leave, which is when Calypso’s true colors of kindness, generosity, and love really shows. Even though Odysseus makes it clear at this point that he does not want to be with her, Calypso decides that she will still do all that she can to help Odysseus get home, as she states, “I’ll will gladly advise him - I’ll hide nothing- so he can reach his native country all unharmed” (page 156). Although Odysseus rejects her, Calypso is still so loving of Odysseus that she makes sure that Odysseus will not lack anything on his journey back home, as she states “I myself will stock her with food and water, ruddy wine to your taste – all to starve off hunger – so you can reach your native country all unharmed” Line (page 157). It takes a woman truly in love and filled with kindness to help her lover get back home, despite the fact that he is leaving
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