From Epic Return to Existential Dissatisfaction: A Comparative Reading of Homer’s Odyssey and Eça de Queirós’s A Perfeição

Introduction

The persistence of classical mythology in modern literature demonstrates the extraordinary adaptability of ancient narratives to changing cultural, philosophical, and psychological concerns. Among the many myths that have survived through literary reinterpretation, the story of Ulysses and Calypso occupies a particularly important place in Western imagination. In The Odyssey, traditionally attributed to Homer, Ulysses remains trapped on the island of Ogygia, where the nymph Calypso offers him immortality, sensual pleasure, and eternal comfort. Nevertheless, the hero longs to return to Ithaca, embracing mortality, suffering, and human imperfection instead of divine permanence. Centuries later, Portuguese writer, Eça de Queirós revisits this episode in A Perfeição, transforming the classical myth into a modern reflection on dissatisfaction, existential instability, and the impossibility of fulfillment.

Rather than merely reproducing the Homeric narrative, Queirós rewrites it through irony and psychological complexity. His Ulysses is no longer simply the heroic voyager yearning for home; instead, he becomes a deeply restless individual incapable of enduring even paradise itself. The island ceases to function merely as a place of temptation and instead becomes a symbol of oppressive perfection. Through this reinterpretation, Queirós dismantles the heroic ideal associated with classical epic and replaces it with a modern consciousness marked by anxiety, contradiction, and existential incompleteness; Ulysses feels trapped in a mouse trap.

This essay argues that A Perfeição operates as a modern dialogic reinterpretation of The Odyssey in which heroic transcendence is replaced by psychological dissatisfaction and existential instability. Through the theoretical lenses of intertextuality, myth criticism, dialogism, reception theory, modernity and decadence, and psychoanalytic desire, this paper examines how Queirós transforms Homeric epic into a critique of perfection and an exploration of modern subjectivity.

Homeric Foundations: Ulysses and the Desire for Return

In The Odyssey, the episode of Ulysses and Calypso constitutes one of the central symbolic moments of the epic tradition. Ulysses resides on Ogygia for several years, surrounded by divine beauty and eternal comfort. Calypso offers the Greek hero from Ithaca immortality and freedom from human suffering. Yet despite these gifts, the hero constantly longs for the island Ithaca and Penelope, her Spartan wife. His desire for return, or nostos, defines his heroic identity.

The Homeric hero is characterized not by the pursuit of pleasure but by fidelity to home, memory, and human destiny. Ulysses chooses mortality over divine eternity because his humanity depends on struggle, limitation, and belonging. Homer’s narrative therefore establishes a clear opposition between divine perfection and authentic human existence. Ogygia functions simultaneously as paradise and prison, for perfection ultimately alienates Ulysses from his human condition.

According to Northrop Frye (1947), myths establish archetypal structures that continue to reappear throughout literary history. The Homeric Ulysses represents the archetype of the wandering hero whose journey toward home symbolizes spiritual and existential completion. The epic structure of the narrative reinforces ideals of perseverance, identity, and heroic endurance. Consequently, the original Homeric framework provides the mythic foundation upon which Queirós later constructs his revisionary interpretation.

At the same time, Homer’s narrative already contains tensions that modern writers would later expand. Although Ulysses desires return, he also experiences moments of hesitation, temptation, and emotional fragmentation throughout the epic. These ambiguities allow later authors to reinterpret the hero according to the concerns of their own historical periods. In this sense, the Homeric myth remains open to continual reinterpretation.

Intertextuality and Literary Rewriting

The relationship between Homer and Queirós can be productively understood through the concept of intertextuality developed by Julia Kristeva. Kristeva (1980) argues that every literary text emerges from a network of previous texts. Literature does not exist in isolation; rather, texts constantly absorb, transform, and reinterpret earlier narratives.

Viewed through this perspective, A Perfeição is not simply inspired by The Odyssey but actively engages in a dialogue with it. Queirós assumes that readers recognize the Homeric myth and intentionally manipulates expectations associated with heroic tradition. The reader approaches Ulysses expecting grandeur, perseverance, and moral certainty, yet Queirós gradually destabilizes these expectations.

The intertextual relationship becomes especially evident in the transformation of Ogygia itself. In Homer, the island is undoubtedly seductive but remains external to Ulysses’ authentic identity. In Queirós, however, the island acquires a more psychologically complex dimension. Perfection itself becomes intolerable. The protagonist’s dissatisfaction no longer emerges merely from separation from home but from an internal incapacity to experience fulfillment.

Kristeva’s theory helps explain why Queirós’s rewriting possesses such critical power. Because the modern text constantly echoes Homeric structures, readers perceive the distance between classical heroism and modern psychological fragmentation. Meaning emerges precisely from this tension between continuity and transformation. Queirós preserves the mythic skeleton of the Homeric narrative while simultaneously subverting its ideological foundations.

This intertextual strategy also reflects broader nineteenth-century literary tendencies. Modern writers frequently revisited classical myths not to glorify antiquity but to question inherited ideals. Myth became a mechanism for exposing the instability of modern identity. Through intertextual rewriting, Queirós transforms epic certainty into existential ambiguity.

Dialogism and the Conflict of Worldviews

The reinterpretation of Homer in Queirós can also be examined through the dialogic theory of Mikhail Bakhtin. Bakhtin (1981) argues that literary works function through the interaction of multiple voices and ideological perspectives. Texts are never monological; instead, they exist in dialogue with other texts, traditions, and worldviews.

In A Perfeição, two distinct visions of humanity confront one another: a) the classical worldview represented by Homeric heroism and b) the modern worldview characterized by skepticism and psychological instability. Queirós does not completely reject Homer but rather enters into dialogue with him. The ancient ideal of heroic fulfillment becomes questioned from within modern consciousness.

This dialogic tension becomes especially visible in the portrayal of Ulysses. In Homer, the hero’s desire for return possesses moral clarity. His suffering confirms his nobility. In Queirós, however, Ulysses appears emotionally contradictory. His restlessness no longer signifies heroic virtue but existential dissatisfaction. The heroic journey loses its transcendental meaning and becomes psychologically ambiguous.

Bakhtin’s (1981) concept of dialogism also illuminates the treatment of Calypso. In the Homeric narrative, she largely functions as an obstacle or temptation within the hero’s journey. Her emotional interiority remains secondary. Queirós, however, grants her greater psychological presence and vulnerability. As a result, the moral structure of the myth changes significantly. Ulysses’ departure no longer appears unquestionably heroic; instead, it may suggest emotional cruelty or inability to sustain intimacy.

The dialogic relationship between the two texts therefore generates a reinterpretation of values themselves. Homeric certainty encounters modern irony. Epic transcendence encounters psychological fragmentation. Through this literary dialogue, Queirós exposes the incompatibility between classical ideals and modern existential consciousness.

Myth Criticism and the Demythologizing of the Hero

Myth criticism provides another valuable framework for understanding Queirós’s transformation of the Homeric narrative. According to Frye (1957), literature repeatedly employs archetypal patterns derived from mythological structures. However, modern literature often modifies or reverses these archetypes in response to changing historical conditions.

In Homer, Ulysses exemplifies the archetypal hero whose journey culminates in reintegration and restoration. His return to Ithaca symbolizes the triumph of order over chaos and identity over fragmentation. The mythic structure affirms the coherence of the world and the meaningfulness of human perseverance.

Queirós, however, dismantles this archetypal certainty. His Ulysses no longer embodies harmonious reintegration but perpetual dissatisfaction. Rather than progressing toward existential completion, he appears trapped within an endless cycle of desire and restlessness. The mythic hero becomes psychologically unstable and spiritually incomplete.

This demythologizing process reflects broader tendencies within modern literature. As religious and metaphysical certainties weakened during the nineteenth century, writers increasingly questioned traditional heroic models. Myth no longer functioned as unquestioned truth but as material for reinterpretation and critique. Queirós participates in this literary movement by exposing the fragility of epic ideals under modern conditions.

Importantly, the title A Perfeição itself contains profound irony. Perfection, traditionally associated with divine harmony and fulfillment, becomes oppressive and unbearable. Ogygia transforms into a symbolic representation of existential suffocation. Ulysses does not flee suffering toward happiness; instead, he flees perfection itself. This reversal fundamentally alters the meaning of the myth. In Homer, paradise threatens heroic identity because it distracts Ulysses from his human obligations. In Queirós, paradise becomes intolerable because human desire itself depends upon incompleteness and movement. The hero cannot remain within perfection because desire ceases to exist once fulfillment becomes permanent.

Modernity, Decadence, and Existential Restlessness

The transformation of the Homeric myth in Queirós also reflects broader anxieties associated with modernity and decadence. Thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Walter Benjamin explored the spiritual instability and fragmentation characteristics of modern life. To start with, Nietzsche (1968) frequently critiques the exhaustion of traditional values and the crisis of meaning in modern civilization. His philosophy emphasizes the instability of identity and the perpetual tension between desire and fulfillment. Queirós’s Ulysses can be interpreted through this Nietzschean lens as a figure incapable of achieving stable satisfaction because modern consciousness itself is marked by internal contradiction.

The decadent atmosphere surrounding Ogygia also reflects “fin-de-siècle” sensibilities. The island represents aesthetic perfection carried to excess. Beauty, pleasure, and abundance gradually become sterile and oppressive. This corresponds closely to decadent literature’s fascination with exhaustion, ennui, and artificiality. Ulysses experiences not heroic suffering but existential boredom. Within this line of thinking, Benjamin (1969) similarly describes modernity as an experience of fragmentation and disconnection. And for this reason, traditional narratives of coherence collapse under modern conditions, leaving individuals psychologically displaced. Queirós’s reinterpretation of Ulysses reflects precisely this displacement. The Ithacan hero no longer possesses a stable relationship with destiny, home, or identity. His dissatisfaction becomes internalized and perpetual.

Unlike the Homeric hero, whose journey moves toward restoration, Queirós’s Ulysses appears condemned to endless movement without definitive fulfillment. His departure from Ogygia no longer guarantees meaning or completion. Instead, the narrative emphasizes instability itself as a defining feature of human existence. This modern reinterpretation profoundly alters the symbolic function of travel. In epic tradition, the voyage leads toward knowledge and reintegration. In Queirós, movement becomes symptomatic of existential inability to remain satisfied. The hero travels not because fulfillment awaits elsewhere but because permanence itself becomes unbearable.

Lacanian Desire and the Impossibility of Fulfillment

The psychological dimension of Queirós’s Ulysses can be further illuminated through the psychoanalytic theories of Jacques Lacan. Lacan (1977) argues that human desire is fundamentally structured around absence and lack. Desire can never achieve complete fulfillment because it depends precisely upon what remains unattainable. This Lacanian perspective offers a compelling explanation for Ulysses’ dissatisfaction in A Perfeição. Ogygia provides everything traditionally associated with happiness: beauty, pleasure, comfort, and permanence. Yet these very conditions eliminate the tension necessary for desire to continue functioning. Once perfection becomes stable and complete, desire collapses into emptiness.

From a Lacanian perspective, Ulysses cannot remain in paradise because human subjectivity itself depends upon incompleteness. The unattainable object of desire constantly shifts, preventing definitive satisfaction. Consequently, Ulysses’ longing for departure reflects not rational decision-making but the structural impossibility of fulfillment itself. This interpretation radically transforms the Homeric narrative. In Homer, Ulysses chooses mortality because of loyalty to home and identity. In Queirós, however, his departure may reveal a deeper psychological impossibility: the inability of human beings to endure permanent satisfaction.

Calypso’s tragedy also acquires new dimensions within this psychoanalytic framework. She attempts to offer total fulfillment, but such fulfillment proves incompatible with human desire. Her paradise fails precisely because it eliminates lack, movement, and incompleteness. The relationship between Calypso and Ulysses therefore becomes structurally doomed. In this line of thinking, Lacan’s theories help explain why the title “Perfection” operates ironically in Queirós’s narrative. Perfection (Perfeição) destroys the very conditions that sustain emotional and existential vitality. Human beings remain attached not to complete satisfaction but to the endless movement of desire itself. Queirós transforms the Homeric myth into an exploration of this fundamental psychological contradiction.

Reception Theory and the Modern Reader

The reinterpretation of Homer by Queirós can also be understood through the reception theory of Hans Robert Jauss. Jauss (1982) argues that literary meaning changes according to the historical expectations of readers. Each era rereads earlier texts through its own cultural and philosophical concerns. From this perspective, A Perfeição reflects a specifically modern reception of the Homeric myth. Ancient audiences likely interpreted Ulysses primarily as a heroic exemplar of perseverance and intelligence. Modern readers, however, approach the character through psychological and existential frameworks unavailable in classical antiquity.

Queirós’s rewriting therefore reveals how the myth evolves across historical periods. The same narrative structure acquires radically different meanings depending on cultural context. Heroic return becomes existential dissatisfaction. Divine temptation becomes psychological suffocation. Epic grandeur becomes irony and ambiguity. Reception theory also explains why Queirós’s version resonates strongly with modern sensibilities. The modern reader recognizes Ulysses’ dissatisfaction as psychologically plausible. Unlike the morally stable hero of epic tradition, Queirós’s protagonist reflects the fragmentation and uncertainty associated with modern identity.

Furthermore, Jauss (1982) emphasizes that literary history depends upon continual reinterpretation rather than static preservation. Classical myths survive precisely because they can be rewritten according to changing intellectual conditions. Queirós participates in this dynamic process by transforming Homeric material into a critique of modern existential instability. The relationship between the two texts therefore should not be understood hierarchically. Homer provides the mythic foundation, but Queirós generates new meanings through reinterpretation. The value of the modern text lies not in “fidelity” to the original but in its capacity to reveal “previously unexplored dimensions” of the myth.

Conclusion

The relationship between The Odyssey and A Perfeição demonstrates the extraordinary capacity of classical mythology to undergo continual reinterpretation across historical periods. While Homer presents Ulysses as the archetypal hero who rejects divine perfection in favor of human authenticity, Queirós transforms the same narrative into a modern meditation on dissatisfaction, existential instability, and the impossibility of fulfillment.

Through intertextuality, Queirós enters into critical dialogue with the Homeric tradition, preserving its narrative foundations while simultaneously subverting its ideological assumptions. The heroic certainty of epic literature is replaced by psychological ambiguity and existential restlessness. Ulysses no longer appears as a stable moral exemplar but as a fragmented modern subject incapable of enduring even paradise itself.

Theoretical perspectives from Kristeva, Frye, Bakhtin, Jauss, Nietzsche, Benjamin, and Lacan illuminate different dimensions of this transformation. Intertextuality reveals the dynamic relationship between classical and modern texts. Myth criticism explains the demythologizing of heroic archetypes. Dialogism exposes the ideological tension between epic transcendence and modern skepticism. Reception theory demonstrates how myths acquire new meanings across historical contexts. Nietzsche and Benjamin help contextualize the narrative within modernity and decadence, while Lacan explains the psychological impossibility of permanent fulfillment.

Ultimately, Queirós’s reinterpretation of Ulysses reflects a profound shift in Western literary consciousness. In Homer, suffering results from separation from home and identity. In Queirós, suffering emerges from the impossibility of satisfaction itself. This transformation marks the movement from classical epic certainty toward modern existential ambiguity.

Rather than diminishing the Homeric myth, Queirós’s rewriting demonstrates its continuing vitality. The enduring power of mythology lies precisely in its ability to generate new meanings in response to changing philosophical and psychological realities. Through A Perfeição, the ancient voyage of Ulysses becomes not merely a journey toward home but an exploration of the modern human condition itself.

San José, Costa Rica

Friday, June 5, 2026

📚 References

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Benjamin, Walter. (1969). Illuminations (H. Arendt, Ed.; H. Zohn, Trans.). Schocken Books.

Frye, Northrop. (1957). Anatomy of criticism: Four essays. Princeton University Press.

Homer. (1996). The Odyssey (R. Fagles, Trans.). Penguin Books. (Original work published ca. 8th century BCE)

Jauss, Hans Robert. (1982). Toward an aesthetic of reception (T. Bahti, Trans.). University of Minnesota Press.

Kristeva, Julia. (1980). Desire in language: A semiotic approach to literature and art (L. S. Roudiez, Ed.; T. Gora, A. Jardine, & L. S. Roudiez, Trans.). Columbia University Press.

Lacan, Jacques. (1977). Écrits: A selection (A. Sheridan, Trans.). W. W. Norton.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. (1968). The will to power (W. Kaufmann & R. J. Hollingdale, Trans.). Vintage Books.

Queirós, Eça de. (2002). Contos. Livros do Brasil.

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