“The Silence of the Girls” by Pat Barker is a retelling of the “Iliad” from the point of view of Briseis. The novel has some moments that are told through the thoughts of Achilles, the Greek warrior and protagonist of the “Iliad,” but mainly follows the journey of Briseis as she navigates her new life. Briseis is only a minor character in Homer’s “Iliad,” but Barker puts her front and center of her Trojan War tale. We learn about Briseis’ life before, during and after the 10-year Trojan War.
Many know Briseis as a captive awarded to Achille after the raiding of Lyrnessus. Her role becomes bigger in the “Iliad” as she is turned over to Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, and leader of the Greek army, which is followed by Achilles’ refusal to continue fighting. However, the “Iliad” focuses on the men fighting in the Trojan War while “The Silence of the Girls” focuses on the horrific treatment of the women captives of the Greeks. It shows us the physical and mental mistreatment of these women as they watched their fathers, brothers and husbands murdered, and then themselves were taken as prizes of war for the Greek soldiers. They were seen mainly as objects to be taken to bed and then serve the men of the camps. There is a particular line that stuck out to me about what these women were forced to do in this book. It goes, “And I do what countless women before me have been forced to do. I spread my legs for the man who killed my husband and my brothers.”
Some Hollywood retellings of the Trojan War try to look at it through rose colored glasses. They portray Achilles and Briseis as falling in love and dance around the treatment of all the female captives of war. Barker refuses to play into this trope and instead gives an honest and at times brutal look at the lives of these women. She shows their suffering but above all their strength that, in my opinion, rivals that of the male Greek heroes who are glorified in mythology.