A Thousand Ships Chapter 11: Thetis Summary & Analysis

Thetis, a sea nymph, cries for her dead son, Achilles. When Zeus heard a prophecy that Thetis’s son would be “greater than his father,” she was forced to marry a mortal named Peleus (so her son would be less powerful). Thetis tried to protect Achilles from the war by dipping him in the River Styx, but Odysseus rooted him out. When Achilles withdrew from the war, he asked her advice. Thetis said he must choose between a long obscure life and a short, glorious legacy. Achilles returned to battle and was slain by Apollo (disguised as Paris). One day, Odysseus finds Achilles regretting his choice in the Underworld. Feeling Achilles is ungrateful to her, Thetis weeps once again.

Thetis is the novel’s first immortal perspective (besides Calliope, who is acting as a partial author). Like mortal mothers, Thetis tried to protect Achilles from needless war but could not stop him from heeding the call of battle and glory. Her status as a goddess conflicts with her identity as the mother of a mortal man: while she mourns Achilles when he dies, she is also angry to hear he regrets choosing legacy over a long life. Despite these contradictory emotions, Thetis’s perspective once again implies that women are disproportionately burdened by the aftermath of war.

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A Thousand Ships: Chapter 11: Thetis Summary & Analysis