Odysseus And Telemachus Relationship

Imagine living a life where you’re treated as an object by perfect strangers and you spend every day missing the love of your life who has been gone for 20 years, all while raising a son by yourself. In Homer’s beautiful poem, The Odyssey readers are introduced to Queen Penelope, wife of Odysseus, mother of Telemachus and fearless leader of Ithaca. On the day of Telemachus’s birth Odysseus went to fight in the Trojan war and did not come back for 20 years, leaving Penelope to raise their son all alone. Penelope not only had to deal with being a single mother but also had to face hundreds of men who arrogantly bombarded her home in hopes of taking her hand in marriage while Odysseus was away. Similar to single mothers today, Penelope was able

to put aside her own struggles and make sure her son lived a good life. Penelope wants what is best for Telemachus and will do anything to protect him despite what is going on in her life just like any good parent. Queen Penelope had to deal with losing the love of her life, men rudely throwing themselves at her and raising a son all at the same time, yet she was still a good mother because no matter what she put her son first.

On the day of Telemachus’s birth Odysseus set sail to fight in the Trojan War, leaving Penelope to raise their all son by herself for the first 20 years of his life. With Odysseus gone, Penelope tried her hardest to be a good mother to her son while simultaneously dealing with the absence of Odysseus.  “And now again a beloved son is gone on a hollow ship, an innocent all unversed in fighting and speaking, and it is for him I grieve even more than the other one” (Homes book 4).. When the Trojan War had finished Penelope spent every day out at the dock waiting for Odysseus to come home, and when he didn’t, it broke her heart and caused her to fear for her husband's safety. Penelope says this quote with heartache because Telemachus had just copied his father's actions by setting sail on his own journey to find his Odysseus, leaving Penelope to deal with all the men throwing themselves at her by herself. Penelope tried her hardest to convince Telemachus to stay because she knows he is young and is inexperienced when it comes to the word outside of Ithaca, and now that he has left all Penelope can do is worry. Penelope fears for Telemachus more than Odysseus because he is her son, he is apart of her, she raised this boy by herself and the thought of him not coming home like his father is too heartbreaking for Penelope to even think about. Whenever there is a young boy growing up without a father in his life it becomes the single mother's job to help him become a man. “If he gets in a fight at school, I don’t know what I’m supposed to tell him to do. Should I tell him to fight back? Or not and walk away? Will the kids call him a sissy? Who’s going to buy him a car when he’s 16 and will he really need one?” (Foerstner 1). Without Odysseus in Telemachus’s life it became up to Penelope to turn her son into a man, and this quote from the article, Happy Fathers Day Mom, perfectly sums up the struggle that single moms have to go through when they have a son. When Telemachus began his journey to find Odysseus, he left a boy but came back as a man and it is because of the way Penelope raised Telemachus that made him able to take care of himself. It is clear through the way Telemachus acts that Penelope raised a kindhearted boy who became a strong-willed man. Penelope missed Odysseus everyday that he was gone so much that it hurt, but she was able to put all that pain aside and focus on raising Telemachus.

When Odysseus went off to fight in a war, hundreds of men bombarded the castle in hopes of marrying Penelope so that they could become king, they were disrespectful and made it incredibly hard for Penelope to raise Telemachus. The men would rape the maids, vandalize the castle and constantly get into fights, forcing Telemachus to grow up watching his mother in pain. “Eurymachus, all my excellence, my beauty and figure, were ruined by the immortals at that time when the Argives took ship for Ilion, and with them went my husband, Odysseus. If he were to come back to me and take care of my life, then my reputation would be more great and splendid” (Homer book 18). Penelope spoke this quote with great confidence because she has faith in her husband and she believes he will come home, Penelope can feel it in her soul. It is because of men like Eurymachus that influenced Telemachus to venture out and find Odysseus. Telemachus wanted to be able to save his mother and so he decided to find Odysseus, bring him back so that they could fight these men together. This quote shows that despite how long Odysseus has been gone and the many people who believe he is dead, Penelope still believes that her Odysseus and Telemachus will be a family once more. While Penelope was a great mother and took good care of Telemachus, she didn’t do it all by herself. “Parenting is not for one person”(Foerstner 3). Because Telemachus grew up in a castle there were a lot of people around to help raise him alongside Penelope. There was a maid who had been working at the castle ever since Odysseus was young and her name was Eurycleia, she helped keep Telemachus away from all of the suitors. Telemachus also grew close with Eumaeus, Odysseus long time best friend, Emmaus helped Telemachus when he was struggling without his father. While Odysseus was trying his hardest to come home to his family, his mother committed suicide but before her death she was aso another person who helped Penelope and Telemachus while they were struggling. Penelope and Telemachus had a huge support system, so even without Odysseus in their lives,they were never truly alone.

When Telemachus came back from his journey to find Telemachus, he returned a good man and because he was much older he became able to take care of his mother.

Growing up Telemachus saw his mother struggle and all he wanted to do was be able to protect her and after his long and extensive journey he was able to. “For my mother, against her will, is beset by suitors, own sons to the men who are greatest hereabouts” (Homes book 2). When Telemachus was growing up, Penelope had to be fearless in order to keep her son safe but he could tell that his mother felt helpless. Penelope spent everyday up in her room weaving a death quilt for Odysseus’s mother but every night she undid all of he work so that the next day she would have a reason to not come down and greet the suitors. Telemachus wanted to become a better man for his mother while he was away, so that when he came back he would be able to take over as king and take take care of his mother. Telemachus wanted to save his mother and he did just that when he teamed up with Odysseus and together they attacked the suitors. When Telemachus was away on his journey, Penelope fell into a meaningless cycle of doing the same routine everyday  so that she could avoid the suitors, causing the Queen to become sad. “Being a single parent and working full-time, it’s hard to find time to do anything other than just take care of the necessities of life” (Foerstner 3). Penelope had to deal with ruling Ithaca by herself and avoiding the suitors while Telemachus was gone, she only had the time and patience to take care of certain things. When Telemachus returned and he discovered Odysseus was back in Ithaca, he kept it a secret from Penelope in order to keep her safe, and with Telemachus back in town Penelope was able to put the suitors up to some tests. When she was alone, she only had time to deal with the bare necessities of life, but with Telemachus around she was able to put the suitors in their place. Penelope had always been able

to take care of Telemachus and keep him safe as a young boy, so he wanted to repay his mother for the many years of love by growing up and being able to take care of her.

Penelope had to deal with an incredible amount of anguish during her life, having bother her husband and her son leave her for a long amount of time, however she showed strength and courage by pushing through and remaining a good wife and mother. Penelope was able to raise Telemachus by herself and turn him into a protective and loving man without a father figure in his life. No matter what happened throughout the story, Penelope always stayed hopeful because she believed with all he heart that her family would be together again. Penelope was an inspiring character because she was faithful, courageous, confident and many other things. Her never ending love for both her son and husband was a beautiful trait shown within this story.