Date Submitted: July 22, 2009
References: Wikipedia, About.com, enotes.com
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Comments: OMG. I totally forgot to put 's to "Astyanax('s) death"!
In Greek legend, she's the daughter of Eetion, prince of Thebe in Mysia, and of course, the wife of Hector. Her father and seven brothers were all killed by Achilles, when their town was taken by him. Her mother was ransomed at a high price, was slain by Artemis (daughter of Zeus and Leto, also the twin sister of Apollo; a goddess.) She was a famous a subject in both Euripides' and Racine's tragedies.
Andromache is one of the very few female characters in both Iliad and Odyssey. We mostly recognized her in the Iliad's 6th book, where she and Hector shared their parting words before the Trojan War, in which, Hector was later killed by Achilles.
Indeed, a tragic character at first read. She had faced a lot, I must say. Not only she was a perfect example of a loyal wife, we also see her as a weak character, though she stood firm. Very much distinguished by her love and affection for her husband and son, as shown in the Farewell and the funeral for Hector. She's very emotional--- the result of having her whole family killed, then add the Hector's death part, and later her son will be killed as well.
Impressive that she predicted this statement at Hector's funeral:
“My husband, you have perished out of life, still young, and left me a widow in the house! The boy is only a baby, your son and my son, doomed father, doomed mother! And he I think will never grow up to manhood; long before, our city will be utterly laid waste. For you have perished, you our watchman, you our only savior, who kept safe our wives and little children! They will soon be carried off in ships, and I with them. And you, my child--- you will go with me where degrading tasks will be found for you to do, driven by a merciless master; or some enemy will catch you by the arm, and throw you over the wall to painful death, in revenge perhaps for some brother that Hector killed, or father, or son maybe, since many a man bit the dust under the hands of Hector...
Hector! But for me most of all, cruel sorrow is my lot. For you did not stretch out to me your dying hands from your deathbed. You said no precious words to me, which I might always remember night and day with tears!” The italicized statement is what will happen later in the epic. It's like, she predicted Troy's future. Trojans being slaves because of Hector's failure. Especially, the part where she said that Astyanax will experience painful death, because that's what exactly be Astayanax death. Then she will be a concubine to one man, the son of Achilles (Neoptolemus), bearing three children to him. After he was slained, he left the kingdom to Hector's brother, who will later become Andromache's husband. After the death of her third husband, Andromache returned to Asia Minor with her youngest son Pergamus, who there founded a town named after himself.
For the most part of Andromache's journey in the whole story, she lead a tragic subject. The word lovelorn fits her. She never felt any love, although she was in love, especially with Hector, still she was unhappy with his business as a warrior and a hero. She viewed Hector as a man of honor, even though Hector convinced his love for her and also addressed her as “precious”, she never felt anything. Lovelorn simply because she lived in tragedy.
pessimistic
cynical
awake
