The Role Of Penelope In The Odyssey

Women continue to play diverse and complex roles in mythology in many cultures and time periods. Penelope from “The Odyssey” is an important yet subtle character throughout the text. Penelope is a character that develops and grows in the background of the action of Odysseus’s journey and really encompasses the ideology of women in mythology. As we discussed in class, symbolism is a major concept throughout “The Odyssey” and in my opinion Penelope is a symbol herself. Penelope is often dismissed, although she is a complex character influenced by the culture and her surroundings which continue to develop throughout the text and can be perceived by the reader as flighty and emotional or clever and manipulative.

Penelope is the husband of Odysseus,

whom she hasn’t seen in twenty years. Although it has been decades since her last contact with her husband, she continues to be faithful-using clever excuses and ideas to buy herself time from the suitors demanding for her hand in marriage. Penelope is sometimes considered “moody” -because of this she is often left out of plans or important decision making. Some may consider this a cultural in fluctuation or stereotype. Similar to today’s society, women may be passed up for leadership roles in government or large corporations because they are simply “too emotional”. This is commonly perceived as something new to our society, something that developed as the country industrialized and jobs became gender specific. In reading “The Odyssey”, we see that this idea has been around for ages and continues to lead to betrayal, scheming and lying. The outcome of Penelope being left out of the details of Odysseus’s journey means that she has no knowledge of his return- this being said she must create plans to distract or extend the waiting period for the suitors.
A crucial aspect of Penelope that develops as the epic continues and is highlighted throughout the text, is that she remains faithful to her husband who has been absent for twenty years despite the fact that hundreds of suitors pursue her daily. “She loathed the thought of remarrying, but she wouldn’t give us a yes or no.” (Homer, Book 26, 612) This is considered a cultural aspect. Penelope remains faithful although a very evident double standard is present. The men may sleep around with women but as soon as a woman is unfaithful, she must be cleansed of her wrong doing.
Although Penelope may be considered capricious, she has a tricky and sly side as well.

Her use of clever excuses is a creative way to put off the idea of marrying one of the suitors. She could even be considered manipulative depending upon the reader’s perception of the story. Although she spends most of her time weeping, she also has a hidden agenda to put off marrying any suitors until she is sure her husband is dead. An example of her manipulative behavior include the loom she continues to spin. Penelope claims that when the loom is finished she will proceed to marry a suitor, what the suitors don’t know is that every evening she undoes the looming she had completed during the day so little to no progress is made on the loom. “Every day she would weave at the great loom, and every night she would unweave by torchlight.” (Homer, Book 2,

345)
Another example of Penelope’s sly behavior is the archery contest she hold for the suitors. She makes the obstacles nearly impossible, knowing that only Odysseus-her one true love will be able to complete the grueling test. “No, it’s that we fall so short of Odysseus’ Godlike strength. We can’t even string his bow! We’ll be laughed at for generations to come!”. (Homer, Book 21, 582) The suitors are unable to complete the test, until a mysterious and unfamiliar man appears and argues to complete. Penelope has a strange feeling about the man and allows him to compete. The mysterious man turns out be Odysseus disguised as a bum returning to Ithaca- to find the love of his life, Penelope.
Penelope can also be viewed as a symbol for femininity, women’s roles and even home life.

She represents home to Odysseys because no matter how long he is gone, he knows that she will be there when he returns- and if that wasn’t enough, she will have been faithful and fighting off suitors the entire time. In Greek mythology, Penelope may have been considered the “ideal” woman. She managed her home well, was faithful, strong, and secretly sly. This could be thought as the beginning of standards for women. Penelope may have felt betrayed by Odysseus for him disappearing the way that he did, but she knows what is acceptable and what isn’t and remains a good wife and woman of the

time.
Looking at Penelope’s character in a larger scale. We see that she is almost idolized amongst the people of Ithaca. Her character develops as she thinks of more and different ways to distract the suitors. When something doesn’t work, she has a follow up plan to ensure that when her lover returns- she is there and ready to return to the routine of wife and homemaker for Odysseus. Although Penelope is often dismissed, she is a crucial character to the story and without her the story wouldn’t make any sense.
In conclusion, the development of Penelope throughout “The Odyssey” continues to get more and more complex as the epic continues. Her culture, surroundings and the people around her influence her in every decision and plan she makes. At first she seems incredibly pathetic, waiting in desperation for her lover to return- only capable of weeping while she waits. Later we learn in the story that she is capable of creating intricate and well thought out plans to ensure she is reunited with her lover.