Odyssey Essay: Odysseus And Penelope In The Odyssey

Odyssey Argument Essay
In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is married to a beautiful women known as Penelope. When they married each other, they both promised to love one another endlessly and promise to be loyal to each other as long as they live. When Odysseus left for the battle at Troy, Penelope promised she would stay loyal to their marriage, but did that really have any effect on the choices Odysseus chose to make on his journey back home with the many people he encountered? Although Odysseus claims he wants to get home to his beloved wife, Penelope, he continues to contradict himself throughout the story both through his actions by sleeping around, through taking unnecessary trips that stalled his journey back home even more and flirting

In similar fashion to above, Odysseus shows disloyalty to Penelope, but this time, by flirting with other women and leading them on. Odyssey flirts with many women throughout the Odyssey, but one that really stood out, was him with Nausicaa and even her handmaids. Nausicaa the beautiful daughter of King Alcinous, first saw Odysseus when he ended up on her island after his long journey at sea. Odysseus came out of the bushes with nothing on, keeping his eyes on the beautiful women; “So Odysseus moved out...about to mingle with all those lovely girls...” (6. 148-149). Odysseus getting ready to mingle with the women proves that he is disloyal to Penelope because as a married man he should only be loyal to his wife and not be thinking about other women in that way. Along with that Odysseus is being disloyal through his actions because he is mingling with Nausicaa but also mingles with her handmaids. Another example includes Odysseus gushing to Nausicaa, “I see her now- just look at your build, your bearing, your lithe flowing grace...” (6. 166-167). Complimenting Nausicaa further confirms Odysseus is disloyal to Penelope because by giving her compliments Odysseus is showing he thinks she is this beautiful girl which is ultimately leading her on. In addition, Odysseus does not even think about Penelope in this situation. He completely ignores the fact that his actions could have consequences in the future. In the same way as above, Odysseus continues to show disloyalty

In conclusion, In the Odyssey, Homer establishes that although Odysseus claims he wants to get home to his beloved wife, Penelope, he continues to contradict himself throughout the story both through his actions by sleeping around, through taking unnecessary trips that stalled his journey back home even more and flirting with other women along with leading them on. Referring back to the points above, Odysseus clearly doesn 't think of or understand the importance of a marriage and what it takes to have a solid relationship. Penelope throughout the Odyssey was only concerned about her husband that has not come home for fifteen plus years and always made sure no suitor would come in between that, showing a massive amount of loyalty to Odysseus. But did Odysseus really treat her with equal affection and try as hard as in the marriage as he