Tiresias in Home Fire
I am not sure a direct parallel to Tiresias exists in Home Fire. While, as we discussed in class, Karamat’s wife could be a potential similar character, she does not possess the same authority that Tiresias does. However, they both engage in civil discourse with the head-strong characters (Karamat and Creon). Tiresias changes Creon’s mind, while Karamat’s wife simply makes Karamat think a little more deeply. The main reason why I think a parallel does not exist is because Tiresias carried so much palpable authority that the audience members would have known about. Seers were respected and listened to, and the Athenias would have understood this. That same sense does not really exist in Home Fire. While yes, a successful marriage contains an equal amount of power, Tiresias carries all the power. He speaks for the gods, while Karamat’s wife merely shares her opinion. Another thought I had is that, while Tiresias speaks for the gods, maybe his presence in Home Fire is the basic idea of religion/ the Quran. The Quran is the ‘rulebook’ for Muslims, and it is possible that its significance in Home Fire parallels that of Tiresias. They both speak for the gods/ God. However this does not entirely pan out, because the Quran is not really mentioned in the novel as a force/ a character. Thus, I do not have an answer to this question. Like the two brothers in Antigone, who do not have a direct character similar to them in Home Fire, it is possible that the character of Tiresias got broken into pieces to be a part of many other characters.
I am actually becoming more and more convinced that Tiresias's character is, indeed, split up between multiple characters in Home Fire.
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