Survival

The author uses the Greek and Trojan conflict in order to explore the ways in which the individual might survive great loss. By writing the novel from a range of different narrative voices and perspectives, she is able to capture Briseis's, Pyrrhus's, and Calchas's distinct relationships with loss and suffering. For Briseis, the war has destroyed her home, stolen her title, and compromised her safety. At the start of the novel, she is wrestling with the implications of carrying the renowned Greek fighter Achilles's child. In Chapter 3, she says that "What protected me from the drunken gangs roaming the camp was not the presence of a teenage girl, but the sword arm of Alcimus, as once, only five months ago, it had been the sword arm of Achilles" (17). She knows that she must rely upon her new husband for protection, and thus for her survival. However...