Book 6

Towards the end of book 6, the interaction between Hektor and his wife, Andromache is very interesting. This scene shows the the sacrifice the wife have to go through when their husband is out at war. Before Hektor returns to the battle, he decided to go back home to visit his wife and his son, Astyanax. Andromache is not happy and asks Hektor why he has to keep fighting. She said “Dearest, your own great strength will be your death, and you have no pity on your little son, nor on me, ill-starred, who soon must be your widow” (Line 406-408). Here, she predicts that Hektor will soon be killed in the battle just like how her father and brothers were killed by the Achilleus and her mother was once taken prisoner by Achilleus and held for ransom. Andromache begs Hektor to not leave and telling him he will not only leave behind her wife as a widow, but also his son as an orphan. However, nothing was going to change Hektor’s mind about returning to the battle, but instead, he told Andromache that if he was killed, it is was fate and no one can escape fates.