ipl-logo

What Is Penelope's Innocence In The Odyssey

931 Words4 Pages

Good morning Ms. Rummel, my sole purpose today is to convince you of Penelope’s complete innocence. In the book the Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, the tale of the Odyssey was retold through the eyes of Penelope, Odysseus’s wife. Towards the end of the book, when Odysseus returns to his home, Ithaca, he orders for Penelope’s twelve handmaidens to be hung, as a punishment for sleeping with the suitors during the twenty years when he was away. Many people believe that Penelope caused the murder of the twelve maids; however, if you pay close attention to the book and its subtext, there are many other people besides Penelope that have a larger claim to the responsibility of the maids’ murder. Through thoroughly analyzed evidence from the book itself, …show more content…

I must call attention to the fact that the maids’ never blamed Penelope for their deaths. Even in the afterworld, when they had freedom of expression, they fled from Penelope, as if ashamed of themselves, like they had let her down and were afraid to face her. However, the maids are constantly hunting down Odysseus, resentfully lamenting their fate. Whenever the maids are nearing him, Odysseus feels nervous and queasy, as stated on page 189, Penelope declares “They make him nervous… They make him want to be anywhere and anyone else.” Why would Odysseus ever feel nervous if he was innocent? He clearly had something to hide. Even Eurycleia had a bigger part in securing the fate of the maids’ than Penelope. When Odysseus returned, he wanted to kill all the maids; however, he couldn’t, so he told Eurycleia to select a few to punish. Eurycleia, spurred by resentment and jealousy, chose the twelve prettiest, youngest maids to spite Penelope. Therefore, was it not Eurycleia who secured both the figurative and literal noose of the handmaidens?

Through rigorous analysis of the information provided in the book, I am confident that you have been fully persuaded of Penelope’s innocence regarding the murder of her 12 handmaids. She and the maids are both victims in their respective situations; she would never risk severing the close bond between them. Many people in the past have been convicted of and cruelly punished for deeds that they have been falsely accused of – please, with all your power – do not let Penelope be one of

Show More
Related

Odysseus And Greed In Homer's The Odyssey

1277 Words | 6 Pages

Penelope, his wife, is greatly affected; as many greedy suitors disrespect her and move into their home to try and win her hand in marriage. Throughout ‘The Odyssey’, the greed and folly of men play a huge part in increasing the difficulty and severity of Odysseus’s situations and ultimately change his fate and the directions of his journey. The greed and folly of men are largely represented by Penelope’s suitors. In the very first book of The Odyssey, the disgusting actions of the suitors were introduced to the readers.

Read More

Examples Of Courage In Odysseus

563 Words | 3 Pages

The natives there gave Odysseus and his men an intoxicating fruit of the lotus. After Odysseus and his men eat the fruit, they forget all of their thoughts about home and decide to eat more of the fruit. The only way that Odysseus can get him and his men back home is by dragging his men back to the ship and lock them up, Odysseus decides to go along with it. When Odysseus went back to Ithaca, He made the wise choice to go and see his wife Penelope. Odysseus was so brave to go see his wife because he didn’t know if she was going to recognize him at all or want to be with him for the rest of her life.

Read More

Penelope Struggles In The Odyssey

1601 Words | 7 Pages

Yes, Penelope struggles greatly with a very important decision throughout the course of the story. In the background of the main plot, Penelope struggles with a very important decision throughout the time Odysseus remains lost at sea. After many years without Odysseus’ return, the prospect of a new marriage inclines itself onto Penelope. The sons of the noblest families come to live with Penelope in order to court her for marriage.

Read More

The Importance Of Forgiveness In The Crucible '

556 Words | 3 Pages

Moving Forward Your parents are still mad at you because of that one time you pooped in the bathtub when you were a toddler. This obviously doesn’t happen because, as they have done countless times, your parents forgive you. The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, depicts how by forgiving someone’s faults, one’s relationship with them can overcome the error and move on to flourish into something better. Miller shows the importance of forgiveness and how it removes the chains of resentment and spite through the characters of the play such as: Elizabeth truly forgiving Proctor, Mary-afraid of not being forgiven-lies to the court, and John Proctor forgiving himself for not being a good man. would’ve

Read More

Theme Of Feasting In The Odyssey

867 Words | 4 Pages

The true loyalty of the disloyal maids The suitors in the Odyssey had a pretty straightforward mindset that is prevalent for many wealthy and young people even today, which is, whatever they wanted, they got, regardless of the consequences. In the story they wanted to eat like gluttons all day and every day, and so they did. They wanted to drink themselves into buffoonery and so they did. But when it comes to marrying Penelope, something all of them wanted to do, they didn’t, and the thinking that follows is not that they were patiently waiting for Penelope’s decision, Telemochases approval, or Odysseus’ officially known death, but rather they were distracted by the “disloyal” maids who kept them company and / or distracted all that time.

Read More

Role Of Penelope In The Odyssey

1099 Words | 5 Pages

These men hope to win her hand in marriage and take over Odysseus's kingdom, which would make her let go of her commitment to Odysseus. Penelope is aware of their true intentions and is highly determined to resist them. She uses her intelligence and wit to outsmart the suitors; one prime example, which was mentioned above is her shroud trick. In this trick, Penelope promises to marry one of the suitors once she has finished weaving a shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes (Book 2 pg 123, lines 104-107). However, she secretly undoes her work every night, indefinitely prolonging the shroud's completion.

Read More

Odysseus Journey Essay

415 Words | 2 Pages

While finally making it home to Ithica, he got word that all was not well at his home and that Penelope was in trouble. People had invaded his home, and these suitors tried to take Penelope for themselves. When Odysseus got word of this he did not rush and try to kill them like he once would have, but instead, he thought and planned his moves. With the help of his son, and servants of his house, they were are able to rid the house of the suitors and have Penelope once again.

Read More

Penelope In The Odyssey

794 Words | 4 Pages

In Homer’s Poem, The Odyssey, Penelope is the exceptionally patient and clever spouse of the infamous hero, Odysseus, and the mother of Telemachus. One poignant factor of Penelope’s character is her patience and devotion which is displayed throughout the poem. With her husband absent for a great majority of her life for the later of twenty years and his location unknown, Penelope stays, patiently awaiting Odysseus’ return, all whilst preserving their estate and raising her son by herself. Throughout this time, she had many persistent suitors in pursuit of her, abusing her husband’s absence.

Read More

Penelope In The Odyssey Analysis

1041 Words | 5 Pages

After discovering Penelope’s deception, the suitors complain, “Her very words, and despite our pride and passion we believed her. So by day she’d weave at her great and growing web- by night, by the light of torches set beside her, she would unravel all she’d done. Three who years, she deceived us blind, seduced us with this scheme” (Homer, Odysseus, 2. 101- 106). With one simple promise, she is able to keep the suitors in control for three years, which demonstrates her intellectual strength. Penelope, a woman who perceives to be a weak character and unable to keep the household together, manages to assert dominance over 108 men with words alone.

Read More

Powerful Women In Homer's Odyssey

1355 Words | 6 Pages

However, these contrasts between their personal thinking built most of valuable points in Odysseus' epic journey, and making a more intense story. To some extent, these women are not foolish at all because at least they are successful at leading people to believe that waiting is meaningful. The whole story happened during the dark centuries of women in Greece, when their value was limited behind men. However The “Odyssey” gives an opportunity to horror their role, also rejecting all erroneous preconceptions about the woman. Penelope -- a typical woman who represents for an image of a devoted wife, a mother of family and she is also an image of how women was treated at Greece.

Read More

Theme Of Love In The Odyssey

745 Words | 3 Pages

Penelope comes up with a lot of ways to say no to the suitors about having affairs with her. By these actions the reader can infer that Penelope will not have affairs with the suitors because she loves Odysseus and no one

Read More

Character Analysis Of Penelope In The Odyssey

1294 Words | 6 Pages

(5. 277). In contrast, Penelope is powerless without the presence of her husband by her side, even begging to “be blown out by the Olympians!/ Shot by Artemis” so that she “still might go and see amid the shades/ Odysseus in the rot of underworld” (20. 89-92). She also becomes emotionally unstable in the wake of Odysseus’ disappearance, becoming easily swayed by her son’s words and reaching brief moments of clarity, before regressing back to “weeping/ for Odysseus, her husband”... when she mount[s] to her room again” (1. 410-412). But despite Penelope’s fragile state, she is still seen as being preferable over Kalypso due to the belief that it was good for women to depend on men.

Read More

Penelope And Sita In The Odyssey

865 Words | 4 Pages

Every day she sows a death shawl for her father in law, and each night she unwinds her progress, telling the suitors that she will choose a husband when she is done sowing. She tricks the cunning Odysseus into revealing himself. Penelope knows that as a woman in her own right, she has no political or economic power. It is, ultimately, her father’s decision whom she will marry, and her own son pressures her into remarriage so he can inherit his father’s land. If Penelope had been able to be a powerful single woman, would she have remained loyal to Odysseus?

Read More

The Portrayal Of Women In The Odyssey

1401 Words | 6 Pages

These women influenced the conditions of the journey by guiding Odysseus in different directions, and aiding him crucially. Their authority showed the idea behind an old proverb, which states, “Behind every great man there’s a great woman”. Throughout The Odyssey, the women exemplified their power during the course of Odysseus’ journey.     Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, bravely held down the front in Ithaca while her husband struggled to find his way back home. In Book 18, Penelope spoke to the ever-so-desperate suitors about what Odysseus “told” her before he left.

Read More

Odysseus Loyalty To Penelope In Homer's Odyssey

1181 Words | 5 Pages

”(5.91-96). which Calypso is the cause of. This quote supports the reason because it shows that Odysseus does not like being trapped on Ogygia, especially with a woman he did not like. If he truly liked Calypso, he would have decided to stay with her forever, and forget his wife. But, he did not which proves his true loyalty to his wife Penelope.

Read More

More about What Is Penelope's Innocence In The Odyssey

Related Topics

Open Document