Bashkirtseff
Orig | CZ

Iliad (L'Iliade)

Basic Aktualizováno: 2025-12-07

Research Status: Basic Last Updated: 2025-12-07 Diary Coverage: Up to 1873-12-28

Overview

Homer's epic poem "The Iliad," which Marie reads in French translation during December 1873 in Nice. She finds profound parallels between the ancient Greek heroes' emotions and her own experience of love and loss.

Key References

December 26, 1873 - Antilochus Parallel

Marie discovers a passage that perfectly describes her emotional reaction to learning of Hamilton's marriage:

"Un passage dans 'L'Iliade' m'a frappée, c'est lorsque Ménélas apprend la mort de Patrocle à Antiloque: 'A cette nouvelle Antiloque, saisi d'horreur, demeure muet; ses yeux se remplissent de larmes, sa voix sonore est étouffée'! C'est comme je me suis trouvée lorsque pour la première fois j'ai lu que mon Patrocle se marie. Je ne savais pas comment m'exprimer, mais Homère m'a enseigné, car c'est exactement ce que je sentais."

Translation: "A passage in the Iliad struck me, it's when Menelaus tells Antilochus of Patroclus's death: 'At this news Antilochus, seized with horror, remains mute; his eyes fill with tears, his sonorous voice is stifled!' It's how I was when I first read that my Patroclus is marrying. I didn't know how to express myself, but Homer taught me, because it's exactly what I felt."

December 28, 1873

Marie completes reading the Iliad, working on it throughout the Christmas season.

Literary Analysis

Marie identifies:

  • Patroclus = Duke of Hamilton (her beloved who is "lost" through marriage)
  • Antilochus = Herself (the one receiving devastating news)
  • The parallel of death to marriage is telling - both represent absolute, irreversible loss

This is sophisticated literary interpretation for a 14-year-old, showing Marie's classical education and her ability to find ancient precedents for her modern emotional experience.

Historical Context

The Iliad was standard reading for educated Europeans in the 19th century, typically read in translation (Greek being less common than Latin for women's education). Marie's French translation would likely have been a standard prose version or one of the poetic translations available in the period.

The Patroclus/Achilles relationship was understood in Marie's era as ideal male friendship, though modern scholarship recognizes the erotic undertones. Marie's identification of Hamilton as "her Patroclus" is striking.

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