Single Mothers In Homer's Odyssey

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The Single Mothers of The Odyssey “If he gets in a fight in school, I don’t know what I’m supposed to tell him to do” (Foerstner 1). Single mothers don’t always know how to approach situations the father would commonly attend to. In The Odyssey by Homer, Penelope faces the life of single motherhood after Odysseus leaves her and his first son, Telemachus. The day Telemachus was born, Odysseus was called to the Trojan war. After the war was over and the troops came home but there was still no sign of Odysseus. Penelope isn’t sure what to tell Telemachus about being a man. Penelope is put under a great amount of stress holding up their home and taking care of Telemachus all by herself while suitors are coming in and out of their home. Telemachus has to sit there and watch …show more content…

Penelope struggles to raise Telemachus without any help and barely had a connection with him. According to The Odyssey, “Telemachus himself tells none of the household servants of his trip… he tells only Eurycleia, his wise and aged nurse” (Homer 2). Penelope had a nanny that helped raise Telemachus while she was guiding Ithaca all by herself. Eurycleia picked up slack from Penelope and acted as someone Telemachus could trust as demonstrated when Telemachus only tells Eurycleia about his trip. Having someone you can trust is key to surviving single motherhood. Other single mothers need assistance as well with homework and getting their children places. “A next-door neighbor helps David with his science homework” (Foerstner 3). It’s not just Penelope in this situation, many single mothers are in need of help from friends and family with their kids. There may be a time where there is a need for a babysitter or maybe someone to help with homework like David got help from his neighbor. If you are a single mother you can relate to Penelope and what she is going through. Single mothers have it hard with little to no

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