« On m'appelle Outis» : une impuissance dérangeante chez Homère et Aristophane

Abstract

«I am known as Outis» ; About an Unpleasant Powerlessness in Homer and Aristophanes In the first scenes of Aristophanes' Wasps (vv. 179-186), critics have well seen that the dramatist is parodying Odyssey's book IX, and specially Odysseus' smart behaviour when facing the Cyclop Polyphemus, as he says that his name is ουτις. But when Philocléon uses this pseudonym, his trick fails whereas Odysseus manages to escape the cave in which he was emprisoned. In this article, we try to understand why Aristophanes has chosen to parody this very famous passage from Homer at this very moment of his drama. Some parallels exist indeed between the situation of these literary heroes : as they both have lost their public position, they cannot regain - at least for a certain amount of time - their prerogatives nor their status, be it social or even literary. Ulysses is almost not an epic hero anymore, except for his ruse, and Philocléon is not a comic old man anymore, because instead of being sour and bad-tempered, he is undergoing a magic rejuvenation. As they both are lost in the margins of literary caracterology, they indeed seem to be «nobody». But the difference lies in their ability to get out of this deadlock : Ulysses manages to be something else than ουτις thanks to a wise use of his outiç whereas Philocléon becomes ουδέν, which proves his unability to regain his status of a father and head of family. This is why we believe that the meaning of this parody is deeply linked with a genuine obsession of Aristophanes : the criticism of patriarchy .