Hermes

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"Who would expect the Melbourne Argus would ever be interested in poetry" (Carey 47).

"Argus Panoptes (the bright one, all eyes) was a watchful giant. He had a hundred or more eyes all over his body; some of his eyes would sometimes close for sleep, but never all of them. I take him to be an image of the watchfulness of a shame society" (Hyde 319).

"Sydney has a reputation as a raffish sort of town, but this was 1952 and even her customers at Nousette's were amazed to see their beautiful hostess making her putatively fatherless pregnancy a public event" (Carey 146).

"[Monkey's] constant fluency in situations that would silence more sensitive creatures is an ironic boon to Triptaka on his journey, for it is hard to travel in this fallen world if you lose the power of speech every time evil meets you on the path" (Hyde 154).

Reflecting on the trickster's role in a shame society*, I find myself amused at the differences between Hermes and his animal cousins, Coyote, Monkey, and Raven. Hermes is a little more discreet in his misadventures, always a little hobbled by propriety. He's a great deal more in love with himself too. After all, because he was "full of his own power", he was able to throw the cattle on the fire. Yet he also refrained from eating the meat because of his "proud heart" (321). Hermes makes this work in his favor ultimately. In confronting Argus, Hermes defeats the giant not in an open show of strength, but with the "charms of sleep" (166). In essence, he eludes the trap of the shame cycle by shutting the watching eyes with his wiles.

Certainly, Coyote is less narcissistic. The way that various animals "make a fool of him and steal his meat", or cause him to break his neck and get killed trying to imitate them, leaves Coyote no room to imagine he is free of the shame cycle (20, 42). He is no pretty boy, like Hermes, trying to deflect criticism with his charms. He, like Raven, can laugh at himself and say, "My, my! Correctly, indeed, am I named Foolish One, Trickster!" while he adjusts his shortcomings and moves on (30).

Monkey, on the other hand, takes it all in stride. He is neither in denial nor playing the fool. His pragmatic frankness leads him placidly along, untroubled by what people might think one way or the other. Monkey has gone beyond slipping the trap of appetite, and has entered the blessed realm of slipping the trap of what other people might think. He seems to have gone beyond the shame and the guilt cultures to a place of radical acceptance. "When we have crossed this mountain," he tells Tripitaka (154). Later. There will be time for assessment and worries when we are done. For now, let's just enjoy life.

* "We certainly have not left shame behind, for one thing (all American high schools are shame cultures; advertising promulgates a culture of shame)" (Hyde 155).