In addition to being a loving and loyal daughter, Penelope portrays the perfect faithful, obedient, and loving wife to Odysseus and Telemachus,and sets an example for woman in ancient Greece. Penelope is loyal to Odysseus for the 20 years he was away on his journey. Even when it appeared that Odysseus had passed on, she still had faith that he would return. She resisted the suitors on the sole basis that she loved Odysseus and could not see herself with another man, when he could still be alive. She was smart, and cunning. In Book 2, Penelope deceives the suitors by promising them that once she “finishes off [the] … shroud for old lord Laertes” (2:107-109) she would choose one of the suitors to marry. Each night she would sit and “unravel all she had done” (2:117). By carrying out this plan, Penelope gains more time and believes that Odysseus would come home to her. Penelope is obedient to her son and follows his orders without question. When Telemachus orders his mother to “go back to [her] quarters” (1:410), Penelope “withdrew to her own room” (89:416) without a word. She never protests or disobeys an order that her husband or son gives her. Penelope is the perfect image of a devoted Greek wife. …show more content…
Nausicaa is the young princess of Scheria and daughter of King Alcinous and meets Odysseus when he lands of the land of Phaeacia. Nausicaa is loyal to her parents by obeying their commands without question. Like most daughters from the Greek civilization, she greatly respects her parents. She thinks highly of her father because she refers to him as her "excellent father" and tells Odysseus about everything her father can give to him. Nausicaa wants to please her father. She asks him to “harness a wagon for [her] … so [she] can take their clothes to the river for a washing” (6:61-64). She does anything her parents ask of her, without
Penelope serves as his motivation and aids in his characterization as a loving husband as well as a vicious, ruthless warrior. Back in Ogygia, he explicitly states in his farewell to Calypso that he longs for his wife: “ ‘My lady goddess, there is no cause for anger. My quiet Penelope-how well I know-would seem a shade before your majesty, death and old age being unknown to you, while she must die. Yes it is true, each day I long for home, long for the sight of home’ ”(V. 224-229). He refers to Penelope as “my quiet Penelope,” meaning she is most beholden to him and is his. Though he degrades Penelope by saying she is less beautiful than Calypso, he has a great love for Penelope, that brings out Odysseus’s true feelings. Even though
Penelope’s husband, Odysseus has been at war for the past twenty years and is presumably dead. During this time, Penelope and her son Telemachus end up living amongst numerous suitors who attempt to court Penelope. However she continues to mourn the “loss” her husband
There was kind of ambiguity when the Odyssey and Penelope started to talk to each other’s after the maid had wash his feet. When Penelope described her dream as she said about the eagle who came and killed all the suiters whom she would not like to marry with and talked to her with a human voice, telling her that he is her husband. I also found Odysseus responds tricky a little bit, because sometimes he is about to say that he is Odysseus and sometimes his responds are just like a new story to Penelope. The poor Penelope did not recognize her beloved husband Odysseus, because she is certain that he died many years ago. However, she held her hope like a woman holding a candle in the middle of the dark. She could not forget her husband and it
Now comes the part where he puts Penelope to the test. By sharing this information with her about her husband he comes to understand her feelings for him. Penelope has not only been loyal to Odysseus as her husband, but also as the authority figure. She has demonstrated her loyalty by being true to him for twenty years in his absence and has not remarried.
Firstly, Penelope who plays Odysseus’s wife is alone tending to her city Ithica until her husband returns. Meanwhile Odysseus is out fighting in the Trojan War and against many of the Greek God’s who are trying to make his trip back home as eventful and hard as possible; “…work out his journey home so Odysseus can return” (Homer 276). While King Odysseus is away Penelope is to deal with a bunch of suitors who are eating and trashing out Ithica, “…if those suitors have truly paid in blood for all their reckless outrage” (559). In order for Penelope to keep peace until Odysseus returns she has to come up with a clever plan to keep the suitors from completely taking over. For almost 2 years Penelope was able to keep the suitors from getting out of hand by saying she will find someone to marry and replace Odysseus after she is d...
In the ending chapters of The Odyssey Homer bring about many interesting points in which would bring us to believe that in fact Penelope had helped to slay the suitors. Penelope did not physically help to slay the suitors when Odysseus had been in the room killing them. It was Penelope’s actions leading up to this scene that may have helped Odysseus in his successful killing spree of the suitors. For the case of the argument we will discuss points in which it is believed that she had recognized him disguised as the old man, which gave her the ability to help Odysseus. On the other hand, the argument that she may have not recognized Odysseus would contribute us into believing that she did not help Odysseus to slay the suitors but that things
She is loyal, having waited for Odysseus for twenty years, not remarrying, though she thought he was gone for good. She also plays a much more active role in the marriage she has with Odysseus. Perhaps the most defining characteristics attributed to Penelope involve her role as a woman, in marriage and as a presumed “widow”. First, there seems to be a double standard, like described in Calypso’s case, between the loyalty of Penelope and the loyalty of Odysseus. Penelope is physically and emotionally loyal to Odysseus, while Odysseus is only emotionally loyal, meaning he has had sexual relations with other women within the twenty years he has been gone. During this time period in Greek culture, this was not frowned upon and was quite normal, suggesting that women were held to a different standard than men. In addition, as Penelope is presumed to be a widow, at least by the suitors, she is prized solely for her beauty. The suitors speak only of her beauty and none of her intelligence or of her personality or soul. This suggests that marriage was not always about love, and that women were judged and valued merely for their beauty. This idea further proves the act of sexualizing women during this
However, his journey isn’t over yet. This last leg of Odysseus’s journey is perhaps the most important and crucial. Odysseus’s nurse and maidservant, Eurycleia is the first woman in Ithaca to know that Odysseus is back after she recognizes the scar on his leg while she is washing him. Eurycleia vows to keep his identity a secret. Odysseus’s wife, Penelope has stayed faithful to Odysseus for all the years that he was gone. Penelope was consistently unweaving her web to the delay the suitors. The reader even grows sympathetic for Penelope as “we see her struggle to make the virtuous choice about her marriage, despite pressures from her suitors, her son’s endangered situation, and her own uncertainty about Odysseus’s survival” (Foley ). Finally, Odysseus reveals his identity and Penelope is bewildered, but quickly embraces her husband after he tells her the secret of their immovable bed. It is the faithfulness of Penelope and nurse Eurycleia that insures Odysseus’s survival to the very end.
In Greece, on the island of Ithaka, the queen awaits the homecoming of her husband from the Trojan War. However, Odysseus does not return from the war unlike his fellow shield brothers, leaving his wife alone in Ithaka with their son. Penelope is left in a very vulnerable situation because suitors are now coming into her home looking to marry her, as whoever she chooses to marry would become the king of Ithaka. Penelope is forced to adjust to life without her husband, and in a way, fend for herself completely. This is not a problem for Queen Penelope, however. Penelope is not only the most loyal wife, but also exudes a self-confidence and intelligence befitting of the Queen of Ithaka.
While the relationship between Odysseus and Telemakhos is a blind love, the relationship between Odysseus and Penelope is a love between two people who just want to be together. Odysseus shows his love towards Penelope throughout the Odyssey. In spite of the fact that Odysseus has been gone for twenty years, he never forgets his wife back in Ithaca. One example of how much he wanted to go home was when he went to the island of the Lotus-Eaters. He could have stayed on the island of the Lotus-Eaters where everything he ever wanted was there, but the thing he wanted the most was to be with his wife. Penelope likewise displays this kind of love towards Odysseus.
She is faithful to Odysseus for twenty years, devoted, and loving. Yet she is also strong, clever, and crafty. Penelope is so faithful, that she would rather die than never see Odysseus again, "How I wish chaste Artemis would give me a death so soft, and now, so I would not go on in my heart grieving all my life, and longing for love of a husband excellent in every virtue.” While some might consider this problematic, Penelope is faithful out of her Penelope devises brilliant plans to buy herself time for Odysseus to come home, such as her scheme with the loom and the contest she creates, which she knows only her husband can accomplish. Despite everything, Odysseus and Penelope have a strong relationship. When Odysseus is captured and tempted by Calypso in book five, he decides to go back home with Penelope. Calypso tries to change his mind, yet he says, “Don't be angry with me, please. All that you say is true, how well I know. Look at my wise Penelope. She falls far short of you, your beauty, stature.” This illustrates that Odysseus is truly in love with Penelope. He loves her for more than her looks and he doesn't mind if she isn´t more beautiful than Calypso or if she has gotten
Penelope is the most important female character in the epic because Odysseus ' homecoming is centered on reconnecting with her. Ten years has past and Odysseus has still not returned from the war and is seemingly dead. Many suitors desire to replace him, by taking Penelope 's hand in marriage and Odysseus ' property. While unsure of Penelope 's attitude towards these suitors, readers are constantly reminded of her faithfulness to Odysseus. Although Odysseus does not know whether Penelope remains faithful to him, he still yearns to come home. “The expectations and limitations of the male and female roles in the Odyssey are accepted and never questioned”. (Whittaker 40) Society expects women in Penelope’s position to remain devoted to their significant other even after all these years and not knowing whether or not he is alive but are more forgiving to men who commit adultery like Odysseus. This situation once again brings up the question of a double standard modeled in The
The relationship between Odysseus and his wife Penelope is one of loyalty, love, and faith. Both characters are driven by these characteristics. Odysseus displays his loyalty in his constant battle to get home to his wife. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Odysseus spent 20 years trying to return to his home in Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War. Along the way he manages to offend both gods and mortals, but through his intelligence, and the guidance of Athena, he manages to finally return home. There he discovers that his home has been overrun by suitors attempting to win Penelope’s hand in marriage. The suitors believed that Odysseus was dead. Odysseus and his son, Telemachus,
Often times in life we search for a companion, someone to share our love and life with. Odysseus and Penelope's lasting relationship is an obvious representation of love in the Odyssey. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Penelope also exemplifies this same kind of love for Odysseus. At home in Ithaca, she stays loyal to Odysseus by unraveling his shroud and delaying her marriage to the suitors that are courting her. She always keeps the hope that her love, Odysseus, will return. Odysseus and Penelope's marriage clearly illustrates the theme of love.
Odysseus and Penelope have a strong love towards one-another. Odysseus would not give up on fighting for eventually getting back to both Penelope and Ithaca. They are a married couple which is what makes them so much more attached and loyal to each other. Penelope has had many opportunities to re-marry after her husband left for 20 years. Odysseus also let down the opportunity on living an immortal life with a beautiful woman in order to make it back to his true love. An example of Penelope’s loyalty to Odysseus is that she rejects the many suitors that approach her for marriage because she believes that Odysseus is still alive somewhere and she remains loyal to their marriage. Before Odysseus left for the Trojan War, he told Penelope that if he did not return by the time their son, Telemachus, could grow a full beard, she must remarry at her own will. Penelope remains loyal to her marriage with Odysseus, even though Telemachus had grown a beard. QUOTE!! Odysseus’s’ loyalty...