Herbert Mason’s translation of Gilgamesh presents a very unique dynamic in the central relationship of the epic between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Scholars have come to the understanding that that the relationship portrayed in this version is different from that found in earlier translations of the text, but Mason’s portrayal seems to represent the most honest image of the situation. Gilgamesh and Enkidu cannot fully be equals because Gilgamesh is seen first as a god-king and Enkidu is identified as his more human protector. When the reader is introduced to Gilgamesh he has the appearance of being more god than man. “Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk, a city set between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in ancient Babylonia… Gilgamesh was called a god
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Though Enkidu has lost most of his animal nature, he still maintains this sense of being a protector to those who need it, be it the animals trapped in hunter’s traps or the new brides. Enkidu has a negative physical reaction to hearing this about the king and decides to take it upon himself to end the practice. He goes into the city and there he meets Gilgamesh for the first time. In their physical altercation Gilgamesh behaves like an animal; the narrator uses animal imagery to describe their fight as being one fought between bulls or horses. But when they finally look each other in the eye Gilgamesh realizes that”…[he] say himself in the other, just as Enkidu saw himself in Gilgamesh” (Gilgamesh/ Mason, p.24). This meeting identifies them as equals on a spiritual level. In his lecture on the text, Professor Rubey identified that the loss of a friend is so profound because a friend is another version of oneself; to see a friend die is to see the death of half of one’s own being. In this respect, Gilgamesh and Enkidu are equals beyond the shadow of a doubt. The narrator himself identifies that, “It is the story of their becoming human together” (Gilgamesh/ Mason, p.15). They complete each other. They humanize each other, each bringing the other in from one extreme of the spectrum. Mentally, they are …show more content…
However, when Gilgamesh is aroused from his sleep, Enkidu makes every effort to soothe and relax him. Meanwhile, Enkidu suffers from the pain in his hand and the knowledge that only one of them will emerge from this adventure alive and yet he finds no comfort in his so called friend. Gilgamesh is woefully unaware of Enkidu’s distress through the night as he wakes only to hear the interpretation of his dreams and then promptly rolls over and goes back to sleep. The narrator’s description of Humbaba could easily apply to Enkidu as well; “He was the slave who did the work for gods but whom the gods would never notice” (Gilgamesh/ Mason, p.40). Enkidu, though the spiritual other half of Gilgamesh, cannot operate as fully equal to Gilgamesh so long as Gilgamesh identifies himself as the king and Enkidu as the
Though Enkidu has lost most of his animal nature, he still maintains this sense of being a protector to those who need it, be it the animals trapped in hunter’s traps or the new brides. Enkidu has a negative physical reaction to hearing this about the king and decides to take it upon himself to end the practice. He goes into the city and there he meets Gilgamesh for the first time. In their physical altercation Gilgamesh behaves like an animal; the narrator uses animal imagery to describe their fight as being one fought between bulls or horses. But when they finally look each other in the eye Gilgamesh realizes that”…[he] say himself in the other, just as Enkidu saw himself in Gilgamesh” (Gilgamesh/ Mason, p.24). This meeting identifies them as equals on a spiritual level. In his lecture on the text, Professor Rubey identified that the loss of a friend is so profound because a friend is another version of oneself; to see a friend die is to see the death of half of one’s own being. In this respect, Gilgamesh and Enkidu are equals beyond the shadow of a doubt. The narrator himself identifies that, “It is the story of their becoming human together” (Gilgamesh/ Mason, p.15). They complete each other. They humanize each other, each bringing the other in from one extreme of the spectrum. Mentally, they are …show more content…
However, when Gilgamesh is aroused from his sleep, Enkidu makes every effort to soothe and relax him. Meanwhile, Enkidu suffers from the pain in his hand and the knowledge that only one of them will emerge from this adventure alive and yet he finds no comfort in his so called friend. Gilgamesh is woefully unaware of Enkidu’s distress through the night as he wakes only to hear the interpretation of his dreams and then promptly rolls over and goes back to sleep. The narrator’s description of Humbaba could easily apply to Enkidu as well; “He was the slave who did the work for gods but whom the gods would never notice” (Gilgamesh/ Mason, p.40). Enkidu, though the spiritual other half of Gilgamesh, cannot operate as fully equal to Gilgamesh so long as Gilgamesh identifies himself as the king and Enkidu as the