The tears of remembrance and the power of stories
Abstract
In trying to make sense of the wars and displacement of her lifetime, Hannah Arendt looked to the Trojan War and Homer’s epic poem of homecoming, when Odysseus is compelled to answer the question, ‘who are you?’. The chapter compares Arendt’s reading of The Odyssey through the ‘tears of remembrance’ with subsequent interpretations by François Hartog, Adriana Cavarero, and Hans Ruin. Reconciliation with the past cannot completely close the gap between historical events and the stories about them. Instead, as Arendt demonstrates, Odysseus is confronted by two different durations of time: that of lived experience and narrative.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Hannah Arendt's Political Philosophy
Philosophy
History
and Historiography
Memory
Trauma
Identity
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Routledge eBooks
- Pages
- 40–55
- Publication date
- 6 March 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter