Penelope As A Single Mother In Homer's Odyssey

Imagine being a single mother with the pressure of raising a child alone. In Homer’s poem The Odyssey we get a glimpse of just that. Queen Penelope, mother of Telemachus, had to not only single-handedly raise her son, but also her kingdom. Penelope is a great mother because she kept her son, Telemachus, alive and well for over 18 years. As expected, Penelope faced numerous challenges as a single mother, including raising a child and kingdom alone, lacking certain skills to teach Telemachus, and not time to spare. The moment Odysseus left Ithaca to fight in the war, Penelope was left alone to raise her son and her kingdom. Mothers and even queens can only do so much. A queen is powerful, but a king is essential. Alone, queen Penelope is

Penelope was not taught how to raise a boy into a man, therefore she lacked the necessary skills to do so. “Other single mothers can only anticipate the delicate problems ahead” (Magum,1). Mothers like Penelope, who have very limited knowledge of father-son activities. As a result, they have to find others who will do the activities with their sons. For example, Penelope cannot take Telemachus hunting because she has very little knowledge on the topic. As a child, women like Penelope, were taught only how to behave properly, cook and clean, weave, and raise children. There was no reason for women to learn the skills of a man because there would always be a man present. Since, Odysseus was away, Penelope had very little to offer Telemachus in skills, therefore forcing Telemachus to rely on others who could provide what his mother couldn’t. As a result, Telemachus was very limited on skills only a father and or father figure could

Inevitably, this left little to no time to connect with Telemachus. As a single mother, Penelope did not have time for anything other than the necessary chores. “Being a single parent and working full-time, it’s hard to find time do anything other than just take care of the necessities in life” (Magum,2). Throughout all of Telemachus’s life, Penelope had to singly provide Telemachus everything he needed. She took care of all of Telemachus’s food, clothes, and money. She also worked extremely hard to provide for her kingdom while keeping together. Being a ruler, meant she would have few minutes to spare with Telemachus, decreasing any bonding time they could have. Resulting in the the possibility of unhappiness in either Telemachus or Penelope. With hardly any time to spare, for the fun things in life, Penelope was left to only provide and not enjoy her time with her son. Single mothers, like Penelope, face many difficult challenges in raising a child. Penelope faced many hurdles while raising her child alone. Lacking support, necessary skills, and time can all have a huge effect on how a single mother raises her child. With all the difficulties Penelope faced, one can only imagine how it would be like to singly raise a child. In conclusion, single parents all have demanding roles in a child’s