Essay on Auerbach and Everything is Illuminated
Auerbach’s book Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature discusses the manner in which Homeric story telling is leisurely and digressive. To Auerbach, the Homeric technique illuminates through relating detailed past events and easy discussions. As such, there is no rush to create suspense. This aspect is typified by the long digression in the center of a significant moment from which the essay draws its title. That is moments before the nurse is on the point of recognizing Odysseus. What matters at this point is the outer description rather than the psychological aspect, narrative suspense, or historical development. ...