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The Odyssey, not only one of the greatest, but one of the most influential works of literature of Western civilization, has attracted surprisingly little psychoanalytic scrutiny. Various authors have elaborated one or another aspects of the poem, usually an interpretation of some particular character. Devereux (1957) presented a subtle and illuminating analysis of the role and figure of Penelope. (Also note Wormhoudt (1953), an extended, but confused psychoanalytic discussion.) Some modern literary critics have elaborated, with a large measure of psychological finesse, important aspects of the structure of the poem or the character of Odysseus, but have not adequately utilized psychoanalytic constructs (Taylor, 1963); (Stanford, 1963). Apparently Jung and some of his students have dealt with the Odyssey in various contexts, primarily as providing illustrations of various archetypes (Ellenberger, 1970, p. 670 and fn. 40); (Stanford, 1963, p. 279f.).
The purpose of this communication is to argue that there is an important unconscious fantasy configuration that structures the poem as a whole, and that underlies the portrayal of the character of Odysseus. The argument will first be presented in outline, and then some supporting, and illustrative evidence will be presented, as well as more detailed psychodynamic discussion. The concluding section takes up, all too briefly, some possible ramifications of this psychoanalytic construction. The thesis is as follows.
A core unconscious fantasy finding representation in the Odyssey is that of the struggle among male siblings for the prizes of victory. The prizes are food, durable material possessions, and full rights of possession, including sexual possession, of a highly prized woman. In terms of fantasy language, one variant of the sibling rivalry theme is an oral-rivalry fantasy expressed in the imagery of an intrauterine struggle of the brothers over the issue as to who will get more of the available nutriment, as