Burial Shroud In The Odyssey

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Recommended: Analysis of Odyssey

Laertes’ Burial shroud was literally created for the death of Laertes, but figuratively it was woven for the allegorical death of parts of Penelope, as well as Odysseus’s “death” at sea. Odysseus’s perceived death could have been the prompting behind weaving the shroud. The shroud could also represent Penelope’s former life being put to rest with marriage to a suitor, or it could simply be for the literal death of Laertes.
Outwardly represented by completing the weaving of the burial shroud, Penelope gives up her hope of Odysseus ever returning home, and she commits to eventually picking a suitor to potentially marry, accepting the popular belief that Odysseus has died at sea. In Odysseus’s time, it was “a very important criterion for happiness…[that] …show more content…

Shown by her consistent weaving and unweaving of the shroud, Penelope has an internal debate with herself about marrying or not marrying a suitor. This can be compared to the way Odysseus returns home, which is in a zigzagging pattern, sometimes closer to home, sometimes farther away. He had almost gotten to Ithaca when his crew opened the bag of winds given to Odysseus by Aeolus. The large gust of wind, once again, threw them off course. Parallel to that situation is when Penelope was completely headstrong and close minded about not wanting to marry a suitor. She had little to no doubt that Odysseus was coming back but something abruptly changed her mind and she finished the …show more content…

The conclusion of this project would start her new life, signifying the “death” of her old one. The compromise made with the suitors by Penelope was simply that she would choose a suitor to marry once she completed weaving the shroud. Under this direct and seemingly uncomplicated agreement, there is much analysis in favor of the shroud representing the figurative death of Penelope’s former family life. This theory is supported tremendously by the suitors, or the face of their group, Antinous. Writer of the paper The Shroud of Laertes Steven Lowenstam states that “...he could rejoice that the work [on the shroud] was proceeding toward what he considered his success” (Lowenstam 335). Success for Antinous being marriage to Penelope. Also, written in The Untold Death of Laertes by Nadia Sels,“The completion of the [shroud] signifies the end of her [Penelope’s] former life, as she has promised to remarry as soon as this last duty...would be fulfilled” (Sels 183). Her consistent weaving and unweaving gave Antinous a sort of timeline, as shown by this quote, for when he could expect himself (or another suitor) to marry Penelope. This - what Antinoos perceives as success - is a positive outcome for himself and the other suitors. The shroud, in their eyes, represents love, happiness, and for most, money and fortune. For Penelope the weaving and unweaving is a timeline as well; however it is

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