1. At the end of Bk. 6, Hector returns to Troy, where we first see him with his mother Hecuba, then with Paris and Helen, and finally with his wife Andromache and infant son. What new dimension do these encounters, especially the one with Andromache, add to the story? What impact will defeat have on the people of Troy?
Hector's encounters with Hecuba, Paris and Andromache offer a deeper insight into the intrapersonal relations amongst the Trojans than previously given. The view of the Trojans as individuals, fighting to save what they love and not just for self preservation, allots a greater amount of humanity to their side of the story - magnifying to the reader what they face to lose.
Until Hector confronts his brother, Paris's cowardice, self-indulgence, and wanton squandering of others' lives reflects upon the Trojans as a whole. With little else referring to the humanity of the Trojans, it is relatively easy for the reader to lump all the Trojans as simply being in the wrong as a whole. This mass classification of the Trojans as the antagonists prevents reader sympathy, and diminishes the impact losing the war will really have for them. Hector lucidly delineates how severely Paris's character differs from that of the general population when he berates him for his absence from the battle field for fear of "the ill that the Trojans speak of" Paris. The fact that the Trojans do not support Paris, and yet are forced to defend themselves from the war he brought down upon them, strips them of any culpability for the war.
Hector's encounter with his mother and loving respite with wife and infant son not only increases the humanity attributed to the Trojans, but also painfully illustrates exactly what is to be lost if they are to lose. When Hector talks with Andromache he states that he cannot shirk from battle, not because of his honor or fear of his life, but fear of what will become of her and his son. This fear strengthens the emotional depths attributed to the Trojans; Hector would rather "lie dead" than have his wife carried off, expounding that he is not fighting the battle for himself but simply for preservation of the one he loves. It also blatantly declares what the Trojans will lose should the Achaeans win the war: destruction of the city, death of loved ones, and enslavement of the women. The subsequent meetings with mother, wife and son demonstrate how Hector has everything to lose should he fail