Helen is the poster child for pride in Omeros, though she's not the only character to grapple with its fallout. Her rare beauty isolates her from everyone on the island. We have to understand that Helen's beauty can't be measured by everyday standards: She's ancestrally beautiful—we're talking "sometimes the gods will hallow/all of a race's beauty in a single face" kind of beautiful (LXIII.ii.318). Perhaps that's some excuse for arrogance—and as Achille observes, not really her fault.
It turns out that pride is more complicated than simple self-love, though, and that it affects more than Helen. The men of the island also partake in the broad spectrum of prideful behavior, ranging from primal masculine cutlass-wielding to an awakening of ancestral pride in the face of identity loss. In this poem, when it comes to pride, no one is immune. But the healing that Ma Kilman predicts depends on a careful checking of narcissism and a more selfless participation in the life of the island. Fingers crossed they all get there.
Questions About Pride
- What does the waitress on the beach mean when she says that Helen is "too proud" (IV.iii.24)?
- In what ways is pride problematic for the poet? How does it affect his approach to the craft?
- Pride carries several levels of meaning in this work. In what contexts is pride a positive thing? When does it become problematic? What similarities and differences do you see between these contexts?
- How do racial and ethnic identities play into the exploration of dignity in this work?
Chew on This
Walcott uses the epic form to elevate the story of "fishermen cursing at canoes," thereby giving dignity to the untold lives of his countrymen and ancestors.
It isn't that Helen's pride is a problem, per say, but that she lives in a society that expects her to be governed by shame.