The
Song of Achilles
Written
by Madeline Miller
In the movie, Troy,
directed by Wolfgang Petersen, the story focuses on the beauty of Helen and the
invincibility of Achilles. However, the novel The Song of Achilles,
written by Madeline Miller, emphasizes on a plain character: Patroclus. The
story line centers on the love between Achilles and Patroclus and the struggle
between fate and nemesis. Miller not only successfully re-represents the
legendary war from an exiled prince’s point of view, but also leads readers to
discover the answer, which did not lie in Iliad, why Achilles
finally went to war.
Achilles withdrew from the Greek
coalition because he felt being insulted by the commander in chief, Agamemnon.
His anger came from their disrespect which disgraced his title of demigod and
diminished his importance of engaging in the war. No matter how his fellows
including Patroclus pleaded him for changing his mind and bringing back
victory, he never approved. However, after Patroclus died, heart-broken
Achilles went to war to take revenge from Hector, the greatest fighter in Troy.
In the movie version, the director
merely concluded Achilles’s wrath as kinship. However, on a second thought,
this kind of interpretation might not be convincing enough to explain why
Achilles gave up his prestige and life to fight again. If Achilles valued
kinship, he would never cruelly abandon Deidameia, the princess who bear his
own child. Also, he would never leave his men in the lurch. From this stand
point, we can infer that the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is
beyond family love, and that is the point that Miller tries to deal with.
When it comes to the characteristics of a
historical hero like Achilles, we may unconsciously think of masculine,
bravery, and intelligence. However, Patroclus has none of these features,
instead, he is weak, powerless, and even pissed off by his own father. Since
they are so different from each other, why a great warrior like Achilles
chooses a man like Patroclus to be his companion and lover? Miller herself explained
that she left this ambiguous in the novel quite deliberately. In my
understanding of this novel, I especially mention three aspects to answer this
question. First, it is Achilles’s admiration for Patroclus that draws them
closer and closer. Second, Patroclus’ life experience as well as his value
toward life and human heart has a great influence on Achilles. Third,
Patroclus’ unflinching love for Achilles connects them together. With these
detailed description and strong argumentation, Patroclus, instead of Achilles,
is shaped as a hero by Miller, and that is part of the reason why Achilles is
so deeply in love with Patroclus.
Achilles admires Patroclus because of his
courage to fight against fate. In other people’s eyes, Patroclus is nobody but
a loser who is destined to fail and die. However, Achilles discovers the other
side of Patroclus and keeps him accompanied. For example, Patroclus was not the
most outstanding candidate of being Achilles’s companion, but he won the
position without efforts. Achilles’ decision made people wonder, even Achilles’
father, Peleus, was once curious about why he chose Patroclus to be his
companion. He asked Achilles, “For many years now, I have urged companions on
you and you have turned away. Why this boy? ”Achilles simply answered, “He is
surprising.” To a man who is so close to perfection, how could there be
something that surprises him? I think, for a half-god like Achilles who is “the
best warrior of his generation”, he cannot imagine how he survives in this
cruel and unjust world if he has been so weak and powerless. As a result, he is
surprised by Patroclus’ perseverance and courage. For example, what caused
Patroclus to be exiled was that he accidentally killed a nobleman’s son who
snatched a toy from him. The only time he dared to fight back, he was banished
from his own country. Even though his life was so tragic, he never gave in to
destiny. Instead, he gradually developed his expertise in medication and
surgery in order to save those injured warriors. Patroclus’ persistence and
goodness not only attract Achilles but also make him look the part of a hero.
Moreover, Patroclus teaches him how to be
a real man. Even though Achilles is able to fight, to slay, but he know little
about compassion, empathy, and good will. What he pursues is reputation and
fame. Therefore, Patroclus shows him something more valuable than slaughtering.
We can see this from the conversation, which took place after Patroclus was
killed by Hector, between Briseis and Achilles. Briseis agitatedly and
mournfully accused Achilles of letting Patroclus to fight in disguise. She
said, “He (Patroclus) was worth ten of you. Ten! And you sent him to his death.
You care only for yourself! ”
Patroclus showed him a man should care for the minority, for example,
refugees and women who were treated as war prize. A man should not blindly slaughter
and take someone’s life without compassion. This is the right reason why
Patroclus replaced Achilles to fight and further caused his death because he
could not bear to see both innocent Greeks and Trojan die for Helen. Therefore,
he dived into danger and tried to capture Helen, the cause of the Trojan War,
but finally was killed by Hector.
What is more noticeably is Patroclus’s unconditional love for Achilles which builds up the foundation of their affection. Although the love between human and divine is only possible beyond the limits of humanity, that is, in death. Despite that he has to give in his life, Patroclus always considers Achilles’s need, feeling and reputation as the priority. For example, at first, Patroclus did not want Achilles to take part in the war because Thetis, the sea goddess as well as Achilles’s mother, predicted that it would cause Achilles’s death, which is equal to Patroclus’ death. However, he let him go and promised to go with him. On the one hand, he could not bear to see Achilles suffer from being underestimated by others. On the other hand, he knew by heart that Achilles was born to make a legend in the history. That kind of compromise cannot be made without great love. After all, love is a condition in which the happiness of another person is equally important to yours.
Just as the comment from New York
Times “Miller has taken on a heroic task: to fashion a modern work of
literature out of very ancient story.” At the same time, the individual roles
formed by Miller differentiate from the original ones, especially Achilles and
Patroclus. Achilles is more like a victim of destiny who lives under the shadow
of her mother’s will and prophecy. On the contrary, Patroclus who believes in
human goodness and his compassionate toward people make him more like a hero in
this novel. Besides the characters with brand- new features, Miller’s subtly
writing approach which starts from creating the dispute about the relationship
between Achilles and Patroclus, and then setting the mood for readers to
discover the secret by themselves both contributes to the success of The
Song of Achilles.
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