Colm Tóibín’s novel House of Names proposes an engaging reinterpretation of the ancient myth of the Atreidae, which becomes an occasion for bitter reflections on po-litical oppression and violence. It is at the same time a Bildungsroman of Orestes, whose childhood is protected against the violence of his mother and Aegisthus by his stay, to-gether with two young friends, Leander and Mitros, in a totally isolated place, a house without time where ancient myths are still alive in the narrations of an old woman. This essay deals with Tóibín’s complex relationship with his ancient sources, that are some-times directly referred to, while in other occasion they are freely manipulated with the introduction of new characters and a substantial redefinition of traditional ones, such as Iphigenia, Cytemnestra, Orestes, Electra and Aegisthus.
Quando il mito perde i suoi dei. La Storia degli Atridi in House of Names di Colm Tóibín.
Enrico Medda
2022-01-01
Abstract
Colm Tóibín’s novel House of Names proposes an engaging reinterpretation of the ancient myth of the Atreidae, which becomes an occasion for bitter reflections on po-litical oppression and violence. It is at the same time a Bildungsroman of Orestes, whose childhood is protected against the violence of his mother and Aegisthus by his stay, to-gether with two young friends, Leander and Mitros, in a totally isolated place, a house without time where ancient myths are still alive in the narrations of an old woman. This essay deals with Tóibín’s complex relationship with his ancient sources, that are some-times directly referred to, while in other occasion they are freely manipulated with the introduction of new characters and a substantial redefinition of traditional ones, such as Iphigenia, Cytemnestra, Orestes, Electra and Aegisthus.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
