In The Rise of Silas Lapham, the elder daughter Penelope represents the intelligent, yet understated romantic woman. Like many heroines, Penelope finds herself in the awkward situation of being the middle of a love triangle. Though their respective families believe that Tom would be a better match for her sister Irene, who is described as being “innocent” and incredibly attractive, it is Penelope whom Tom chooses for a wife. Like many literary heroines, Penelope tries to end her love-affair, as an expression of self-sacrifice, but she eventually submits to marrying Tom.
Penelope is fairly unusual for a character in nineteenth century American literature in that she is smart and bookish, and, more importantly, forthright and witty. She is portrayed in a realistically; she is not written as a single-faceted stock character such as the virginal maiden, or the fallen whore. Howells writes Penelope as his version of the new type of woman that was quickly emerging in the late 1800s. Women were quickly coming into their own— they were leaving lives of abject domestic servitude through marriage and were becoming better educated and more liberated. Penelope, as a character, represents the social change to women’s roles and their growing prominence.
The Romantic Hero, by definition, is one who both rejects and has been rejected by the established norms and conventions of their societies. Penelope embodies this definition because she does not submit to the demand of her socially-lacking family, and she avoids seeking out a love match; Penelope is more content to be on her own enjoying the great literature of the day. It is Tom’s progressive views which ultimately represent a shift in how women are perceived in the story. Tom does not...
... middle of paper ...
...l, because she chooses to live her life to herself, rather than for the socially-accepted masses.
Penelope was encouraged by her family to marry Tom as a way to further her position in society, though it ultimately leads to her leaving her family, and the society that the Lapham’s have aspired to become accepted by, to move to Mexico. One of Tom's sisters says, "As [Penelope’s] quite unformed, socially, there is a chance that she will form herself on the Spanish manner, if she stays there long enough, and that when she comes back she will have the charm of, not olives, perhaps, but tortillas, whatever they are: something strange and foreign, even if it's borrowed." (373) Even though Tom appears happy to be with Penelope, he cannot reconcile the differences between her family and his. Like the tortillas, Penelope becomes something strange, foreign, and borrowed.
a man, cause he has to choose a wife for his mother, but for Penelope, she
In order to achieve this, the characters in the Penelopiad, particularly Penelope, are given “new outlook and voice” through the influence of contemporary attitudes (Irshad & Banerji 35). As such, Atwood is able to subvert the masculine focus while working within the Homeric source material. This includes frequent inclusion of asides in the text. Penelope, and the Twelve Maids, can then express their feelings, hidden in the original, in “imaginary space outside cultural constraints” (Khalid & Tabassum 19). This allows for women in Homeric culture to be finally “heard” as well as seen in the narrative (Nunes 238). As a result, the conventional faithful wife is replaced with a “woman with conflicting desires and impulses” (Neethling 127). This can be considered a challenge of one of the major cultural values of the text. Penelope’s fidelity allows her to become the “epic archetype of marital excellence” in the Odyssey (Skinner 47). Atwood challenges the foundation of this idea through deeper exploration of Penelope’s psyche. Homer must use “metaphor, simile, speech, and epithet” to construct Penelope, while Atwood can utilise “interior monologues” and “introspection” (Neethling 126). Due to this, Atwood’s Penelope can reject the idea that a woman can fully adhere to this expectation. Through narrative perspective, Atwood challenges the idea of the ever-faithful wife without any change in the plot of the
For the first time ever in America, during the 1920s, a shift in the gender norms occurred. The decade was marked by the breakdown of the traditions governing women by the ratification of the 19th amendment, causing the idea of the new woman to become widespread. Also, during this time, a fantastic novel, The Great Gatsby, recognizes the rapidly changing social dynamic. F. Scott Fitzgerald both criticizes and praises the struggle between the coexisting traditional and new woman image by the flawed and interesting female characters, and the relationships with others they have. By exposing a variety of taboo at the time, Fitzgerald accurately captures the disturbance of the traditional expectations of women. During this turbulent time, the novel demonstrates the issues circulating the American public has surrounding the shift in gender because The Great Gatsby deals with the consequences of female emancipation in a misogynistic society.
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
Marriage is considered as one of the most important decisions and events in a woman’s life, even though; she has no direct control over this romanticized idea, especially in this typical patriarchal society. The wisdom and cleverness of Penelope, which she uses in The Odyssey to free herself from the traps set up by the greedy and ruthless suitors, have distinguished her from the female supporting characters in the epic poem and hence, dismissed her from the assigned role as a female in a patriarchal society that the Greek’s culture had unequally attached for thousands of years. Penelope demonstrates her intelligence at the beginning of the epic poem when she cleverly esc...
Although Homer’s The Odyssey is a tale of Odysseus’s heroic quest to return to Ithaca, the women in it play an equal, if not more important role. The saying “behind every great man is an even greater woman” rings true throughout The Odyssey. In Ancient Greek culture, one’s glory is based off of the geras they acquire; for men that glory included women. In Penelope, Odysseus found the perfect match, both intellectually and hospitably; she is clever, cunning and faithful. Penelope, along with other mortal and immortal women such as Athena, challenge the view of women during this time because Homer presented Penelope as a strong woman rather than the submissive character she is expected to be.
In the Odyssey, we see further instances where Penelope is consumed with deception, trickery, and cleverness. In book nineteen, Penelope devises a plan to defer the suitors. Penelope’s true love for O...
Women in the Classical World defines a woman’s duty in marriage as “not only to produce and raise heirs but also preside over her household by weaving and watching over the domestic slaves and goods” (Fantham et al. 32). In fact, Penelope maintains all of these obligations over the many years of Odysseus’ journey home. For this reason, she is presented as moral and upright character, contrasted by those of Calypso and Circe.
Women are important in life and act in many different ways, this poem portray them in the many roles they play in life. The portrayal is a generalization on all that women are capable of being and doing. Faithfulness is the quality in Odysseus that is his motivation to return to his wife who is in different ways even more faithful. Penelope represents the "best of women" in the poem. Penelope along with other characters like Nausicaa and Arete that fall under this category represents ideals for marriage. Penelope's role in the poem is the reward and prize to Odysseus' suffering but it is her virtue, which make the sufferings worthwhile. The one important role of Penelope that makes her a desirable wife aside from her beauty and faithfulness is that she anchors the kingship of Ithaka. The suitors saw that the one who married Pene...
... the most pampered queen to the lowest servant, the women were always had the lowest perceptions of them. This scene is just a shadow of the stereotypical ideology of women being inferior to men and not being able to defend for themselves, while the men improve in stature and ego. Also, when Penelope talks about the “girl[s] and goddess[es] he was praising, the reader sees that Penelope knew all along Odysseus’s unfaithfulness to her. This is a sign of Penelope’s intelligence that was hidden due to the original story being solely based off Odysseus’s perspective.
Dorothy Parker, in her poem “Penelope,” analyzed the unappreciated domestics and tedious tasks of a woman in the society, the man are rather given all the accreditations. Firstly, she alluded the title to Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, from “The Odyssey;” secondly, she uses imagery of “the pathway of the sun” and “the footsteps of the breeze” to describe Odysseus bravery and determination; thirdly, by juxtaposing his adventures with her daily house tasks: “He shall ride the silver seas/ I shall sit at home and rock;” fourthly, she says, “snip my thread” to allude to Penelope’s faithfulness and “bleach the linen for my bed” to allude to her purity and fidelity to her husband; lastly, by pointing out directly that upon
The character of Penelope in Homer's Odyssey reflects the faithful wife who waits twenty years for the arrival of her husband. Only a strong woman could sustain the stress, anxiety and confusion resulting from the chaos of a palace with a missing king whose fate is unknown. Her responsibilities and commitments toward the man she loves are particularly difficult to keep, under the strain of the situation. Although she does not actively pursue an effort to find him, her participation in the success of Odysseus' homecoming can be seen in her efforts to defend and protect the heritage, reputation and the House of Odysseus in his absence. As Odysseus withstands his trial, Penelope withstands her trials against temptations to give in to the many anxious suitors, to give up on her faith and respect for her religion, her husband and even her self. Penelope's strength in keeping the highest standards in her function as a wife, woman and mother contributes to the success of Odysseus' homecoming by keeping the home and family for him to come back to.
The character of Penelope is portrayed as the archetype of the proper Homeric woman. She is faithful, passionate, and has her heart set on waiting for Odysseus’ return. Despite the constant pressures from her suitors, she puts them off by telling them that she will pick a new husband after she completes a burial shroud for Odysseus. The delaying tactics Penelope uses reveal her sly and cunning side. Although Penelope is intelligent, beautiful, and essentially has all the characteristics of the proper Homeric woman, because of her gender, she is forced to submit ...
Evaluate and respond to the presentations of women in the Romantic period. Feel free to discuss presentations of women, by women (such as Austen’s Persuasion) as well as presentations of women by men (such as the “she” in Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty”). Consider the following questions: are these presentations problematic? What do they tell us about the values and briefs of the Romantic Period? Do any of these presentations subvert (complicate, or call into questions) the time’s notions of femininity?
Women, in all classes, were still living in a world which was misogynistic and male-dominated. Their purpose in life was to produce male heirs and maintain the home by hiring and overseeing servants. It was also taboo for one to marry significantly below one’s social class. This is one reason that Jane is not a conventional heroine for the society of her time. Although, as a governess, she is not considered to be as low as a housemaid, she is still part of the hired help in the house. This is why it is unconventional for her and Mr Rochester to be in a relationship. Yet this is not as peculiar as how Jane Eyre ends their relationship due to her sense of betrayal. It would have been considered extremely foolish for a working-woman’s sense of betrayal to end and turn down a man of great wealth.