Throughout Homer’s The Odyssey, there is a continual reassertion of the strength of the bond between Odysseus and Penelope. For her husband’s absence of twenty years, Penelope never stops anticipating her husband’s return. For Odysseus, decades of fighting wars, being held prisoner of nymphs, and surviving multiple atrocities, never shake his strong willingness to return home, back to his motherland and his partner. Homer characterizes the strong bond between Odysseus his wife, Penelope, by exhibiting that they both act shrewdly, remain faithful to each other, and do not reach hasty conclusions. Neither Odysseus, nor Penelope reaches hasty conclusions without compelling evidence. The reader can see this trait reflected in Odysseus when he returns to Ithaca for the first time since the Trojan War. Once he reaches his homeland, the island is shrouded in the godly mist, and Athena attempts to make contact with him, but Odysseus does not readily believe that the goddess, disguised as a shepherd, is trying to help him until she reveals her own true identity. He also assumes the …show more content…
Odysseus’ disguise in Ithaca allows him to gain an insightful understanding not only of Penelope’s faithfulness, but also of the respectful suitors and the insulting suitors. He uses this deceit to fully understand what the situation has been for the last twenty years. Penelope is also deceptive with her tapestry, using it as tool to delay her choice of a suitor. “By day she’d weave at her great and growing web—by night, by light of torches set beside her, she would unravel all she’d done”, causing the suitors to wait painfully until her ploy is discovered (2, 115-117). Homer further strengthens the bond between Odysseus and Penelope by showing that the two are equally deceitful and use their wiliness to take the advantage of a