Loyalty in The Odyssey
Most people believe that they are loyal, but are they loyal to the extent that Penelope is to her husband whom she hadn't seen for over twenty years? How about Odysseus, who struggled through so many difficult circumstances just trying to make it home to see his wife and son? Is any person’s dog really as loyal as Argos, who waits for two decades for his master come home before dying? Loyalty in The Odyssey is a very important virtue as it is shown by Penelope’s hopefulness, Odysseus’s perseverance, and other characters’ almost unrecognized acts of homage.
The largest act of loyalty is shown by Penelope with her hope for the life of her husband, Odysseus. One way in the story that Penelope shows her loyalty to him is depicted in the film. In the film, Odysseus’s mother, Anticlea, commits suicide because of a broken heart. Throughout Anticlea’s depression, Penelope continually attempts to draw Anticlea out of her state of melancholy. She refuses to give up her own life along side Anticlea if there is even the slightest chance that Odysseus is yet alive (Konchalovsky). This shows Penelope’s loyalty to Odysseus because she continues to believe and hope of the prospect of Odysseus’s homecoming. Another way Penelope conveys loyalty is with the shroud she is to make to mourn the assumed death of her husband. She is supposed to weave the
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Characters in The Odyssey show incredulous levels of loyalty that may never be possible for people to achieve, but they can still take a lesson in loyalty and trust from the characters. Odysseus trusts the gods to bring him home and Penelope also trusts the gods to bring Odysseus home. Loyalty is something that people strive for. If people follow the examples of most of the characters in The Odyssey then this world will be a more trusting place because loyalty requires trust and trust requires