On the surface, Penelope may be seen as an emotional woman that does very little other than wish “Blessed Artemis sent me a death as gentle, now, / this instant - no more wasting away my life, / my heart broken in longing for my husband [Odysseus].... / He had every strength, / rising over his countrymen, head and shoulders.” (Homer 382). However, Penelope is more than just an emotional, frail, weak woman for her cleverness and crafty personality as demonstrated in three episodes throughout The Odyssey. The first episode involves Laertes’ shroud, the first trick Penelope plays on her doting suitors. The second, involves the competition with Odysseus’ magnificent bow and axes lined up in a row. Finally, the third involves Odysseus’ and …show more content…
Laertes, Odysseus’ father, was growing weaker and frailer by the day due to heavy griefs resulting from the death of both his wife and the probable death of his beloved son. For when the day Laertes would join his wife in the underworld, Penelope, a skilled weaver along with a clever character, was weaving a shroud for him. Penelope explains the purpose and implications of Laertes’ shroud in the following quote, “Young men, my suitors, now that King Odysseus is no more, go slowly, keen as you are to marry me, until I can finish off this web…. So my weaving won’t all fray and come to nothing.” (Homer 96). This shroud was not only a literal cloth in which Laertes would be wrapped in when he dies, but also a metaphorical timer, or alarm, for when Penelope was to choose a suitor to be her new husband. However, three years after Penelope started her shroud, she still …show more content…
In this plan, Penelope proclaimed that “the hand that can string this bow with greatest ease, that shoots an arrow clean through all twelve axes, he is the man I follow” (426). However, when Penelope made this plan, she understood that no one would be capable of stringing mighty Odysseus’ bow, a clever avoidance of marriage. Furthermore, before this clever trick Penelope proclaimed that all the suitors had to bring in gifts in order to prove their worth. Evidence from The Odyssey that displays Penelope inquiring for gifts is as follows “Your way is a far cry from the time-honored way / of suitors locked in rivalry, striving to win / some noble woman, a wealthy man’s daughter.” (384). In return, Odysseus is proud and “glows with joy” (384) when he hears of his “wife’s trickery luring gifts from her suitors,” (384) demonstrating the similarities between the two that reveal their love is a true
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
In the Odyssey, written by, Homer Penelope seems, at first, to be portrayed as someone constantly weeping for her husband, while being oblivious to the struggles of her kingdom. However, the story actually portrays her as someone who is in control of her surroundings. Penelope is torn at the thought of not seeing her husband again. Back when Penelope was alive it was not proper for a lady to be with more than one man and Penelope knew this. She did not wish to be with more than one man, so she used her weeping to distract her suitors so she would not be looked at with disgrace in her century. After twenty years Penelope is given strength, while pretending to be oblivious, in a categorical way Penelope demonstrates her
However, she felt comfortable when he was talking to her and she mentioned that he is the first stranger that warm her heart with the news that he has about Odysseus. Nonetheless, she decides that she will marry one of the suiters if he will be able to shoot an arrows through the holes of twelve axes set, but the axes should be in a line. The Odyssey supported her idea because he knew that he will be able to answer her riddle and it will be hard for any man to do so. It was obvious how confident he was when he said “do not delay this contest in the palace for the resourceful Odysseus, himself will be here long before those polished bow and shoot the arrow through the iron axes” (P:264). Which made it very clear that this stranger knew and certain that Odysseus is coming back to Ithaca and to save his beautiful wife. After he won the contest, she was shocked to the point that she felt that he is Odysseus. She wanted to test him if that man was him or not. With a big fear in her heart, she could not believe her eyes. She told him that his bed was moved, which shocked him because he belted that bedroom and that bed in a way that no man can move it and he told her about all the details in that room. She was surprised of how much details he knew, “Bursting into tears she ran up
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...
She was out of the room when the slaughter had begun but her actions leading up to that moment definitely contributed to his success. Had Penelope not stayed faithful the suitors would have gotten their way and Odysseus would have not been able to come back and reclaim his throne which he had left for war. There are many moments in the book where it is almost irrefutable that she had known it had been him and been able to act upon the situation in a beneficial way. Had their conversation not occurred it would have been much harder for one to argue that she had known it was him. Penelope asked questions which she knew almost nobody would know and after receiving some confirmation that it had been him decided to place the competition of the bow. The night of the contest gave him the perfect opportunity to lock all of the suitors in the room and to slay them so one could say that she had helped him to slay the
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
...lyphemus knows who blinded him so Odysseus calls back to the Cyclops to tell him that his name is Odysseus despite his men begging him not to. Because of his arrogance Poseidon punished Odysseus and his men and delayed their journey back home and caused a storm that made Odysseus shipwrecked. His arrogance also portrayed by Homer when he decided to listen to the Sirens instead of putting wax in his ears. He took a risky decision and his decision could have put him and his men in harms way. In contrast, throughout the story, Penelope appears to be humble. Instead of acting like Odysseus, Penelope never intends to make her name well known throughout the suitors. Instead she stays calm and encourages the suitors to stay home and make them think that they are welcome. Of course she hate the suitors but she never tells them to leave. This behavior contrast with Odysseus.
One important characteristic that Penelope and Odysseus share is their loyalty to each other. Odysseus failed to return home seven years after the Trojan war. Because he is assumed dead, 108 wealthy noblemen and princes invade his palace and refuse to leave until Penelope has married one of them. By marrying her, the suitors hope to gain control over Odysseus’s wealth and power. However, Penelope remains faithful to Odysseus. But, as a woman, she is powerless to remove the suitors from the palace. And without a man in the household, she is subject to her father’s decisions. However, despite his wish for her to remarry, Penelope clings to the hope of Odysseus’s return and remains faithful to him. She waits and gathers information by asking strangers who arrive in Ithaca about Odysseus. She goes through the stories of their encounter point by point, and asks about every detail while tears stream down her eyes. Although the suitors promise her a secure future, Penelope continues to wait for Odysseus. Without Odysseus, she does not believe that she will ever be happy again.
The chief suitor, Antinoos, uses the word cunning to describe the queen after she had been able to deceive them (Homer 2.97). Penelope did this, firstly, by stalling her weaving, a task which she has insisted she must finish before she would be prepared to marry any of the suitors. However, Penelope never intended to complete her project, for “ ‘every night by torchlight she unwove it; / and so for three years she deceived the Akhaians.’ ” (2. 113-124). By unweaving the burial shroud - which she had been crafting for Odysseus’ father, Laertes - each night it was left incomplete, until an unfaithful maid told the suitors her secret. Despite having been discovered, Penelope’s ruse had successfully stalled the suitors for three - almost four - years. This would not be the last time she used her guile to delude the advances of her suitors. Nearing the end of the work Penelope proposes a challenge to these men, that who ever had the ability to string
She is a testament to women of this era in that she is not pushed around by men. The unknown writer for a website that analyzes the role of women in the art of ancient Greece writes this about Penelope,” One of the points that can be made of the story is that even though women are weaker than men there are tools available to keep them from being overpowered. The main tool is the rule of law, but even before laws customs could be used” (rwaag.org). Her tactics finally pay off in the end of the epic, when Odysseus returns from his voyage and she once again proves her intelligence by hosting the archery contest to prove Odysseus is
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
Such a society obviously places severe restrictions on the position of women and what is considered to be acceptable behaviour for women”. (Whittaker 39) Penelope is forced to step out of the typical Homeric Greek woman role in order to make sure Odysseus has a success homecoming. She does this by proving to be clever, like her husband, when she tricks the suitors, claiming that she will choose one once she finishes a burial shroud for Laertes. Every night she undoes the weaving she has done for the day. This works until some of her house servants catch her. Another example of this trickery, is her promise to marry any suitor that can string and shoot Odysseus 's bow. Penelope knew no one but Odysseus could do this. There are many different interpretations of Penelope 's role as a woman in this moment of the epic. Homer has Penelope show a role that isn’t what you would normally see in a Homeric Greek woman. She depicts that she can be just as manipulative as a man can
Then there is Odysseus’ wife, Penelope. She is depicted as an individual. Homer makes her character appear as very clever and also very loyal. Never once during Odysseus twenty years of absence does she remarry. She tolerates the suitors in her home for ten years but never chooses, always with the hope that her first husband, Odysseus, will return. Homer also makes her seem clever when she gets all of the suitors to bring her gifts before she “chooses one” knowing that they are in a short supply of resources. In another instance he portrays her as clever in the way that she keeps the suitor away by weaving the tunic for Odysseus and secretly taking it apart every night. The role Penelope plays is very important because she is seen as a person, not a possession.
Penelope uses this to determine if the beggar is really her husband “…Odysseus come home to me, we two shall certainly know one another without questioning: we’ve secret signs, unknown to all but us. (23.460).” Odysseus smiles, and encouraged Penelope to test him, replying that she might not be familiar with him in his dirty rags. In the following lines after she finds that she and Odysseus are mentally perfect for each other. After Odysseus replies to her question she undoubtedly knows that it is her husband “These were his words; her knees and heart went weak; the secret signs that he revealed were certain proof. She ran to greet Odysseus, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed his head… (23.463-464).” Because of the homoprosyne Penelope has with Odysseus she is still in love with him even after 20 years of being apart. This explicitly shows that mental likeness is the most important thing in a relationship. If singles can find this in a partner, then they can enjoy life with them better even more than being physically attracted to each other.
Atwood is playing with two levels of myth here: the Homeric myth of ‘faithful Penelope’ and cultural myths about women as either submissive or domestic (Howell 9). After marriage Penelope spends most of her time alone in boredom and Eurycelia, former nurse of Odysseus, often reminds her duties as wife by saying, “So you can have a nice big son for Odysseus. That’s your job” (63). Furthermore, Atwood recounts the vulnerability of alone woman in the male dominated world. To grab opportunity of being king, a number of suitors assemble at Ithaca, to marry Penelope, and she thinks, “They all were vultures when they spot the dead cow: one drops, then another, until finally every vulture for miles around is tearing up the carcass” (103). Moreover, Atwood argues about the partiality of sexual of freedom along with the vexed relationship between man and woman, as the former can do sex with any other woman such as Odysseus’s affairs with the goddess and whores, but the woman is restricted to marriage like Penelope. The foremost fatuous allegation makes on Penelope is about her faithfulness and loyalty for her husband Odysseus, and she defends herself from any sexual conduct in the chapter, “slanderous gossip”. The death of Amphinomus, the politest suitor among all, leaves the question of marital infidelity among the genders.