Introduction: The Paradox of the Hesitant Hero
Aeneas, or Hesitation in Hesperia
The Context
The Problematic Ending
To Kill or Not to Kill
Inhibition: The Pause That Represses
The Historical Analogy
Orestes, or Anguish in Argos
The Curse of the Atrides
Orestes' Hesitation
The Consequences
The Dramatic Context
The Historical Dimension
The Trojan Dilemma
Parzival, or Silence at Munsalvaesche
Parzival's Hesitation
The Mysteries of Munsalvaesche
The Sequel
The Hesitation Re-Viewed
Fin-de-sic̈le Concerns
Hamlet, or Anomy in Elsinore
Hamlet, Aeneas, Orestes
Preliminaries
Hamlet's "Antic Disposition"
The Rotten State
Time out of Joint
Wallenstein, or Evasions in Bohemia
The Background
Wallenstein's Delay
Wallenstein's Hesitation
War as Paradigm
Wavering Heroes, from Scotland to Spain
The Wavering Hero
The Hegelian View
Romantic Varieties
Modern Modifications.