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Essay On Penelope In The Odyssey

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In Homer's epic poem The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson, Penelope is a strong, admirable heroine because she displays intelligence, loyalty, and kindness. Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, is left alone for twenty years after he leaves to fight in the Trojan War. While he is away, Penelope suffers greatly, mourning for the loss of her husband, while suitors are trying to take her hand in marriage and become king. Penelope uses many clever techniques to delay her marriage to a suitor, testing them to find the best one. She also keeps true to Odysseus all twenty years he is gone, never turning to another man. Additionally, she welcomes all visitors and never gets cruel through all her grief. Penelope displays intelligence during her 20 years of …show more content…

A sneak peek at the new website! A criminal. People say you are the smartest boy of all those your own age on Ithaca. It is not true, but true. You are insane!”(Homer 16, 419-422). Penelope is a woman and using this harsh language with men was unheard of at the time. This proves how loyal she is, putting her fears away, risking getting hurt, all to stand up for and protect her son. Homer also suggests Penelope’s loyalty with how she never cheats on her husband, though she had many opportunities. After the suitors make it to the underworld, they talk to Agamemnon about how Odysseus killed them. Penelope is mentioned and Agamemnon responds, “How principled she was, that she remembered her husband all those years! Her fame will live forever, and the deathless gods will make a poem to delight all those on earth about the intelligent Penelope. Not like my wife–who murdered her own husband!”(Homer 24, 194-201). This comparison of Penelope to Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, highlights Penelope’s loyalty. She never strays from Odysseus for all these years, welcoming him home with open arms, after testing him, while Clytemnestra murders her husband in fury after he was gone for almost half the time Odysseus

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