Penelope and Ada are both lovers of the main character. Penelope is the wife of Odysseus. She patiently waits for her husband to return for multiple years and becomes surprised when he returns home because she believed her husband’s identity was hidden by the Gods. When Odysseus revealed his true self, she admitted, “I cannot speak to him, I cannot question him/ I cannot keep my eyes upon his face” (Homer, book 23, line 1323-1324). In Odysseus head, Penelope is a complete beauty.
It also tells the reader more about Penelope’s emotions towards the suitors. Penelope is still devastated that her husband is gone and can’t manage any more hope, so she completely blocks it
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.
Everyday women like Penelope were believed to have no purpose in common society other than being confined to a kitchen each day and complete domestic house duties. The name Penelope was deliberately selected as it translates to mean pulling, or spinning which is an allegorical phrase in itself, the first meaning associates her cunning weaving of plots and schemes which proves her to be sly and the secondary referring to cloth which was a part of an everyday life duty for women, producing articles of clothing. Being a hospitable host to guests was also a key function, which is first noticed when she offers help to Odysseus in disguise “Give him a wash and spread a couch for him here, with bedding and coverlets and with shining blankets”. It is argued that Penelope is secretly a spider, weaving her own web of lies getting stuck in her own trap which is hidden from the public as women were not meant to be clever or be known for any kind of crafty intelligence. In contrast to this old way of societies expectations, Atwood utilizes Penelope’s strength in character to warn women not to follow in her footsteps by giving them the advice of “Do not look the other way”, “Tell them (referring to males) what you think”, “Argue with them”, and “make them squirm”, these pieces of wisdom create a stronger emphasis on having equal respect and appreciation for women which also conflicts the differences between Ancient and Modern times and highlights the evolution of society.
In the Odyssey Penelope tries hard to embrace all the things women are given in life. She can do anything about the fact that Odysseus has been gone for almost twenty years, that her son does not know his own father and who he is supposed to take after, and that her home is almost in ruins because of all the suitors refusing to leave the house and trashing the house. Penelope is forced to choose a suitor, remarry and probably have more kids too. Penelope is not allowed to say if she wants that or not. We, as readers, can tell she is putting things off for as long as she can, but what if her alone was not enough.
If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does. ”(43) Penelope’s mother’s speech may not have been very significant for Penelope at the time, does foreshadow the events in the book. This speech gives the reader an idea of what will happen later
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.
To my dearest Penelope, Every day and night for the past nine and a half years, I have had strong feelings for you, and I think it is time I have told you. You might have not realized it, but I love you and I want to marry you. I know you do not want to marry me because you believe that Odysseus is still alive, but I have 3 reasons why you should marry me. My first reason why you should marry me is because your husband, Odysseus mysteriously disappeared after fighting in the Trojan War. I overheard the conversation between your son, Telemachus, and the old sailor, Mentes, and they were talking about your husband.
My dear friend, Penelope finds the strength to avoid her horrid suitors long enough for her husband, Odysseus, to return home. Penelope finds the strength to wait for her heroic husband in the deep love they share. She stays loyal to him even under the grievous pressure to choose a suitor. The acts of self-control and wit that Penelope displays while waiting for Odysseus becomes made capable by love. She declares that she will choose a suitor once she finishes weaving a loom for Odysseus’s late father, Laertes.
I suspect she used to flirt with her dog, with her mirror, with her comb, with her bedpost. She needed to keep in practice. ' I think Odysseus would make a very suitable husband for our little duckie,' she said”. Young girls being jealous of other young women is something very common in today’s society and it is something important to address. I appreciate that in later chapters of the book we learn the intelligence and the other valuable qualities Penelope has to offer.
While the maids voice their opinion about Penelope and pretend to be her, they display their viewpoint on what Penelope’s actual actions are: “Point out those maids as feckless and disloyal, / Snatched by the Suitors as unlawful spoil” (Atwood 150). In other words, the maids accuse Penelope of saying awful things about them so that they are killed. Again, the rhyming shows that the maids claim this, not Penelope. Their perspective is that Penelope turned on them when Odysseus returned home, even though she loved and supported them.
They refuse to stop using Odysseus’ wealth to better themselves. Since she is a woman, however, Penelope lacks the power to control or banish these men. Through Penelope, Homer tells the Greeks how a picture-perfect wife should act toward her husband. Even though Odysseus has been gone for twenty years, Penelope still follows his wishes and fulfills his desire for her to stay
Penelope states, “So every day I wove the great loom,/but every night by torchlight I unwove it;/and so for three years I deceived the Achaeans (19.1332-1334). Penelope tells the suitors that she wouldn’t marry one of them until she finished her weave because she still believed Odysseus would return. She tries to stall as much as she could, and in the end it was just enough. Odysseus is able to kill all of the suitors with the help from his son, Telemachus. Both Telemachus and Penelope stay loyal to Odysseus after being separated from him for 20 years.
However, for a woman in Homer’s society, who belongs to either her father and her husband, she is the head of the household for 20 years in the absence of Odysseus. She does not preserve peace in the household, but she takes actions to prevent the destruction of ranks of the household by delaying her marriage so that when Odysseus come back home, he can reclaim the kingship, or when Telemachus is old enough, he can take the throne which is rightfully his. In the position where women have no power, she uses her intellectual strength to control the suitors. Penelope promises the suitors that she will choose one of them to marry after she finishes weaving the shroud for Laertes because it is shameful if she does not do anything for her father-in-law. The suitors eagerly comply to her request without knowing what Penelope plans to do.
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
