The Ulysses and the Sirens Painting: Symbol of Reunion and Temptation in The First Time I Saw Him

What Is the Ulysses and the Sirens Painting?

In Chapter 15, Hannah discovers a photograph of Picasso’s Ulysses and the Sirens on the flash drive Owen left her. It is a painting housed at the Musée Picasso in Antibes, not in Paris where the couple spent their honeymoon. Hannah immediately notices the anomaly: “the painting’s not in Paris.” This discrepancy alerts her that Owen is not merely sharing memories but leaving a coded clue. The painting itself depicts the ancient Greek myth of Odysseus plugging his crew’s ears with wax and having himself tied to the mast to resist the Sirens’ song—a story about resisting deadly temptation.

Where the Painting Recurs

The painting appears again in Chapters 28 and 31, now from Bailey’s perspective. She visits the Musée Picasso in Antibes on the last tour of the day, following the instructions her grandfather Nicholas Bell passed along from Owen. The art becomes the literal meeting point: she is supposed to wait on the bench in front of the Ulysses and the Sirens painting. The chapter titles—“The Sirens Have a Story to Tell” and its part two—underscore the motif’s centrality. Bailey sits on that bench, struggling to remain calm while a man in wire-rim glasses watches her. She uses breathing techniques Hannah taught her and waits. Finally, in Chapter 31, Owen sits down beside her. The painting serves as both the physical location of their reunion and the emotional anchor of the scene.

How Its Meaning Changes

Initially, for Hannah, the painting represents a cryptic clue—something that “doesn’t belong” in the honeymoon album and therefore demands investigation. It signals that Owen needs her to follow a trail to the South of France.

For Bailey, the meaning shifts from a source of anxiety (she fears she has missed her father) to a place of patient trust. She recalls her eighth-grade project on the Odyssey, which she completed with Owen’s help. The Sirens myth becomes a metaphor for the temptations she must resist: the urge to panic, to leave the bench, or to let her anger override her longing. As she waits, she embodies the test Odysseus faced—except her test is about stillness and faith, not about battling external threats.

By the end of the reunion, the painting symbolizes the fragile, chosen nature of their bond. Owen does not force the conversation; he sits beside her and waits for her signal. Bailey speaks first with a joke about her B-grade, breaking the tension. The artwork that once represented danger (the Sirens’ lure) now frames a moment of deliberate, mutual coming-together.

Connections to Characters

• Owen Michaels chooses this painting as the meeting point because he knows it will mean something to Bailey—and because the myth mirrors his own situation. Owen has spent five years in hiding, resisting the temptation to contact his family in order to keep them safe. He is, in a sense, the Odysseus figure who has endured isolation and now must navigate a reunion that could destroy everything if handled poorly.
• Bailey recalls her Odyssey project as a memory of her father’s unwavering support. The painting triggers that memory and allows her to see Owen not as the man who abandoned her but as the person who “was never going to give her grief” when she needed him. She uses the breathing techniques taught by Hannah Hall to steady herself, showing how Hannah’s protective influence has become Bailey’s internal compass.
• Hannah Hall never physically stands before the painting but deciphers its meaning from the flash drive. Her analytical reading of the anomaly demonstrates her role as the family’s problem-solver and guardian. Later, in Chapter 44, she walks the Antibes docks and realizes the boat is the same model she learned to operate—another clue that led them to safety. The painting is one thread in a web of signals she and Owen have woven.
• Nicholas Bell indirectly facilitates the meeting by arranging the tour guide. His knowledge of the museum and the painting links the older generation’s efforts to the younger ones’ hope.

Connections to Themes

• Trust: Bailey must trust that Owen will appear, and that the precarious plan will hold. The painting becomes a test of her willingness to believe in him again.
• Protection: Owen’s choice of a crowded, public space with a scheduled tour shows his ongoing need to protect Bailey from unseen threats. He balances the risk of exposure with the necessity of a safe handoff.
• Forgiveness: Bailey’s joke about her grade and her decision to take Owen’s hand imply a suspension of resentment. The painting is the setting where forgiveness begins—not through words, but through shared silence and a remembered inside joke.
• Family Bonds: The myth of the Sirens traditionally warns against straying from home. Here, the painting draws the family back together. Owen, Hannah, and Bailey are each “tied to the mast” of their love, choosing to resist the forces that would pull them apart.
• Second Chances: The reunion at the bench offers Owen and Bailey a second chance at a relationship. The painting, which Hannah did not originally see on her honeymoon, becomes a new memory they create together.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Owen choose the Ulysses and the Sirens painting as the meeting point rather than a more neutral location? Owen selects the painting because it carries personal meaning—Bailey’s Odyssey project—and resonates with his own situation. The Sirens myth symbolizes the temptation to abandon his mission of protection, a temptation he has resisted for five years. The art also provides a plausible reason for Bailey to loiter in the museum without suspicion, and its location in a busy tourist site helps ensure their safety.

2. How does the painting’s meaning shift between Hannah’s discovery of it on the flash drive and Bailey’s encounter with it in Antibes? For Hannah, the image is a puzzle piece that does not fit the honeymoon album, alerting her that Owen is communicating a location. For Bailey, the painting is a waiting place that tests her patience and trust. By the time Owen sits beside her, the painting has transformed from a clue into the backdrop of their reconciliation.

3. In what ways does the Odyssey myth parallel Owen’s journey in the novel? Like Odysseus, Owen endures a long separation from his family, faces constant danger, and must resist the pull to reveal himself prematurely. The Sirens represent the lure of easy solutions—such as returning to Hannah and Bailey before it is safe. Owen ties himself to the “mast” of his plan, using coded messages and disguised appearances to navigate toward home.

4. What role does Bailey’s eighth-grade project on the Odyssey play in the reunion scene? The project is a shared memory that allows Bailey to remember Owen as the parent who stayed up all night to help her finish an assignment. Recalling that night softens her anger and reminds her that her father’s love was never conditional. When she makes a joke about the B grade, it bridges the five-year gap and gives them a first point of connection—an inside joke that proves their bond is still alive.