Antique discourse in the short story ‘Tea at the Midland’ by D. Constantine

The article is devoted to the antique discourse in D. Constantine’s Tea at the Midland. The antique discourse is presented through Eric Gill’s bas-relief «Odysseus Welcomed from the sea by Nautsicaa» and some references to Homer’s epic poem in the retelling of the woman. The author aims at research the dialogue between Constantine and Homer and to trace what kind of passages from ancient epic poem can be related to antique allusions in the short story of Constantine. The author concludes that the characters of Homeric epic are corresponded to Man and Woman from D. Constantine’s story; the difference is that the British author deepens psychologism and shows the loss of love, «the difference between the woman and the man is that the woman is still trying to hold on to the romantic sense of the moment set apart from the everyday world, a moment of beauty, of freedom, or art for art’s sake, love for love’s sake» (Charles E. May). Constantine’s story is inscribed in timeless context.