Telemakhos

            
             It is only natural for a mother to attempt to shield her child from the world. The rite of passage a male must go through indicates his change from one stage of life to another. Mothers often see this change as a necessary "letting go" of their beloved child. So there is usually some opposition. During this process of adolescent to adult there are many stages that the son must go through. I have broken this process down into four general stages: realization of independent thinking, asking questions, giving up adolescent ways, and rebirth. .
             The first step in the process is Telemakhos" realization that he has independent thoughts. Up to this point his thoughts and opinions had been silenced by his mother's intellect. Suddenly, he starts to question the truths his mother has presented to him throughout his life. Telemakhos" first debut of wisdom comes when he tells his mother to let the minstrel alone to sing of whatever adventures he pleases. He told his mother to calm down and reminded his her that Zeus was the one in control of things. After that, the story describes Penelope's response. Usually it takes a child a certain amount of time to come to the point of crossing over the line of telling the parent what to do. This is all a part of the whole rite of passage theme. The roles of the parent start to change and there is sometimes some resistance to that.
             Telemakhos is hungry for the physical father instead of the implicated image which his mother had painted. Under the guidance of Athena, Telemakhos went on a journey. He had questions about his heritage, and longed for the time he never had with his father. Instinctive for a male to look to his father in the development of his identity. He keeps the journey from his mother so she will not worry. He says, "And you must swear to kept it from my mother she must not tear her lovely skin" (Bk.). I believe Telemakhos also kept the journey from his mother because he didn't want her to tell him not to go.