Homer’s poem The Odyssey depicts the tendency of people to ignore the consequences of their actions. Odysseus punished Penelope’s suitors without thinking of consequences that he would have to endure. He did not acknowledge the consequences because that would prevent him from doing what he wants to do. Odysseus wanted to kill the suitors; they ate away at his fortune. Finding consequences for murdering the suitors would force Odysseus to realize what he is about to do is not a good idea. Odysseus chose to ignore the consequences and killed the suitors anyway. Odysseus had absolutely no reason to kill the suitors; they had the right to stay in his home because Penelope made them feel welcome, Penelope and Telemachus both told them that Odysseus was dead, and although Telemachus told them to leave, he did not have the right to do so.
Throughout the poem, Penelope encourages the suitors to stay in her home by making them think they are welcome. With Odysseus gone Penelope chooses whom she hosts in the great palace. Penelope does hate the suitors but she never once tells them to leave. She even makes the suitors think that she would be choosing her new husband soon and in this way she makes them feel welcome in her home. Antinous, a suitor, responds to accusations Telemachus made to the suitors at an assembly.
It’s not the suitors here who deserve the blame,
It’s your own dear mother [Penelope], the matchless queen of cunning.
Look here. For three years now, getting on to four, she’s played it fast and loose with all our hearts, building each man’s hopes- dangling promises, dropping hints to each- but all the while with something else in mind. (2.94-100)
Penelope makes each individual suitor feel special and makes him believe that she would pick him as her new husband. This action implies not only that she allowed the suitors to remain in her household, but more importantly that she wanted the suitors to stay. Therefore, Penelope’s speech and actions toward the suitors justified their remaining in the home.
Statements made by Telemachus and Penelope about Odysseus’ whereabouts leads the suitors to believe that he is deceased and, therefore, that Penelope is single and ready to court once again. When a woman is widowed, she begins trying to find a new husband and single men come to court the woman. Since Penelope and Telemachus tell the suitors that Odysseus is dead, the suitors have the right to stay and court Penelope.
At Odysseus’ house Penelope and Telemachus are dealing with president suitors that wish to wed Penelope, however no matter how much Telemachus tries to get rid of them, “You should be ashamed yourselves...I beg you by Zeus, by Themis too...leave me alone to pine away in anguish.” (p.95 70-75), Telemachus is pretty desperate to get rid of the suitors because they are intruding on his house and making a mess. Penelope has become sullen since her husband has been missing for
We begin with the transition of attention from Penelope to the suitors. The suitors’ behavior, the previous scene with Penelope, and the influence of Athena inspired Telemachus’ speech. In the previous scene he has just witnessed his mother’s pain as a reaction to listening to a song that reminded her of her husband, Telemachus’ father, who has yet to return from the Trojan War. Out of compassion for his mother (and with the help of Athena) Telemachus seeks to get rid of the suitors that are trying to court his mother because not only they are a daily reminder that Odysseus has not returned, they are also a present danger. His “serious words” support the idea that he is trying to take control as the man of the house (v. 361). In the previous passage the narrator refers to Penelope’s “[amazement]” after Telemachus
...t, she prays to Artemis so that she may die and escape her remarriage. Penelope’s prayer reveals that she would rather die than remarry because she understands that she will never love anyone more than Odysseus. Her refusal is unlike Clytemnestra, who betrays her husband by having a lover. Penelope remains loyal to her husband and she is ecstatic when she realizes that he has returned from his twenty years of absence.
She could have moved on after a little while, but she didn’t marry any of the suitors that were trying to court her; instead she was hopeful and believed that Odysseus could come back after 20 years. In the story, while Odysseus is gone, many suitors have come to try to court his wife, Penelope. But, Penelope doesn’t want to marry any of the suitors, she wants to marry Odysseus. When Odysseus, described as a beggar, comes to his house, Penelope immediately wanted her maid to “go get that man…[because]he may have heard rumors about Odysseus,” (Homer 1282-1285). The quotation proves that Penelope is an optimist because you can infer that when new people come, the first thing Penelope does is ask them whether they have seen or known Odysseus, because she doesn’t know anything about the beggar that makes him special to ask him about Odysseus, which shows that Odysseus is in her thoughts, and that she has hope that he can come home. Penelope is an optimist because she kept hope that Odysseus would come home
...lts of the insolent suitors in his own home. The anger of Odysseus is only matched by Telemachus whose restraint is forcefully elevated in order to hamper his new mature instinct of defending his father. Meanwhile, Odysseus is forced to couple this with control over holding his love, Penelope, in his arms. Yet, both characters are able to avoid the impediments and at last battle side by side against their foes.
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...
... master finally made it home. While Odysseus was gone, the suitors in Ithaca wanted to take over, but Penelope and Telemachus persevered. Most of Ithaca have lost hope for Odysseus but still “Penelope does not believe that Odysseus is dead (Father and Son).” Penelope has not yet given up on Odysseus. She has remained loyal to him and did not let the suitors take over Ithaca. She stood up for her husband that she has not word of for 20 years. Her strong loyalty allowed Odysseus to rule his kingdom once again when he arrived home.
...enia becomes apparent when she says to Odysseus, “Get out, you tramp-be glad of the food you got- or we’ll sling a torch at you,” (19.74). Making matters worse reports everything she hears to Eurymachus, one of the lead suitors. Odysseus stays above the temptation despite his grief. If Odysseus told Penelope everything, he would have been slaughtered by the suitors right in front of his wife.
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
The tone in the beginning of this book is very frantic; it starts out with Eurycleia rushing through the hallways and into Penelope’s room to inform her of the good news. The old nurse tells Penelope that Odysseus is indeed back home to Ithaca. At first Penelope couldn’t believe it but when she was reassured she cry tears of joy. The tone then shifts to a calmer one, even a little harsh. When Penelope sees Odysseus in person she seems to show no emotion at all. The reason for all this is because she fears the Gods are playing a trick on her or maybe Odysseus is no longer the man he used to be. With these assumptions she keeps a distance from her husband. But then Odysseus proves himself to his wife by describing their bedstead in deep detail, with this Penelope is reassure that Odysseus has not changed after all these years. The tone then changes to a more happy and joyful one to go along with their reunion as husband and wife.
The Odyssey is a tale that has changed literature and storytelling. In this tale Odysseus is a Soldier from the battle of Troy trying to get home to his island of Ithaca, where he is king. His wife and son must wait ten years while he is trying to make his way home. In Odysseus’s absence wooer’s, or better known as suitors, learn of his absence and travel to Ithaca to win his wife’s hand in marriage. These men come every day feasting on Odysseus’s food and wine, and give his servant’s orders. His son Telemachus, does his best to keep the suitors from ruining his fathers house but he is only a boy, and doesn’t receive the respect of an adult. Telemachus then has a visit from the god Athena, whom Odysseus is friends with, who advises him to travel to find out about his father. In his travels he hears that Odysseus may still be alive. Meanwhile Odysseus goes through a series of adventures and hardships that prove his wisdom. It is interesting in contrast of the Iliad, even though Achilles was much stronger and a better warrior, Odysseus was portrayed as a greater hero due to his wisdom. He uses this wisdom to escape from the Cyclops.
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.
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 book eight of Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is on the island of the Phaeacians and is waiting to return home to Ithaca. Meanwhile, Alcinous, the Phaeacian king, has arranged for a feast and celebration of games in honor of Odysseus, who has not yet revealed his true identity. During the feast, a blind bard named Demodocus sings about the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles at Troy. The song causes Odysseus to start weeping, so Alcinous ends the feast and orders the games to begin. During dinner after the games, Odysseus asks Demodocus to sing about the Trojan horse and the sack of Troy. This song too causes Odysseus to break down and cry. Homer uses a dramatic simile to describe the pain and sorrow that Odysseus feels as he recalls the story of Troy.
People in love do what they have to do to survive. Odysseus shows his true colors in this chapter. He is portrayed as a great king, warrior, and hero, yet Odysseus has trouble keeping it in his pants. Penelope, Odysseus' wife, has stayed faithful to her husband at home. She is not completely innocent when it comes to the suitors, but she fights the suitors off in her own twisted ways. Penelope enjoys the attention that she has lacked since Odysseus left twenty years ago.