In the odyssey, Penelope is very loyal. She waited for Odysseus for a long twenty years. She would only chose a suitor to take his place only after she knew Odysseus was dead. Somehow she new Odysseus would come back, alive and well.
Is Penelope powerful,weak, or just complicated? In Homer’s The Odyssey, Penelope is a character that is cast to the side as a grieving wife, but she is much more than that. Penelope is a strong character because she’s wise and thoughtful in her actions, and she has an unbreakable will.
While Odysseus is disguised as a beggar, Penelope descends the staircase to present herself to the suitors in an alluring manner. Penelope’s actions towards the suitors are bizarre, for having scorned them for so long, the sudden act of eliciting gifts and stares appears vastly out of character. While Athena had casted a spell over Penelope’s beauty, Penelope herself casts a spell over the suitors for them to pay heed to her words, drawing a parallel to Athena’s cunning wisdom. Like her dream of an eagle slaughtering her beloved geese, Penelope’s actions suggest ambivalence towards the suitors that contradicts her trope of “the faithful wife”. Penelope, although loyal, has conflicting thoughts about the state of her husband’s absence and
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.
Why is Penelope so loyal towards Odysseus? Penelope is and has been loyal to Odysseus. She always has been, Odysseus has not been. She never really wanted to remarry, “She had creative ways of putting off many suitors who’ve taken over her house in Ithaca.” She tried a lot of ways not to marry again, she can’t and won’t marry another, she doesn't think it would be a great idea to remarry.
Others would also debate Penelope was contemplating choosing a suitor when she told the men to fire Odysseus’ bow. Penelope never had the intention of choosing a suitor because she knew only Odysseus could shoot his bow. Penelope was not looking to choose the suitor that could shoot the bow the best; she was trying to find her husband in the contest. Penelope is not only important to the story because she is faithful, but also because she is the driving force of the story. Odysseus had it good on the island with Calypso; however, he wanted to return home to Penelope.
Penelope demonstrates this fortitude by spending day and night “weaving” or dealing with her problems. A mental scene of Penelope “weaving” schemes with cunning to make an all-out effort in delaying her marriage plays out. However, the toll of spending all her time to delay the marriage takes a toll on her health. Penelope chooses to spend all her time “weaving” to the point her “arms get tired”(5) and “neck gets tight”(5) exhibiting another use of imagery to show the perseverance of women. The feeling of “tired” and “tight” results from pushing one’s self beyond one’s limit and goes to describe, to what extent Penelope pushes herself out of her faithfulness to Odysseus.
The largest act of loyalty is shown by Penelope with her hope for the life of her husband, Odysseus. One way in the story that Penelope shows her loyalty to him is depicted in the film. In the film, Odysseus’s mother, Anticlea, commits suicide because of a broken heart. Throughout Anticlea’s depression, Penelope continually attempts to draw Anticlea out of her state of melancholy. She refuses to give up her own life along side Anticlea if there is even the slightest chance that Odysseus is yet alive (Konchalovsky).
but she is saying it in a sort of mockish way. Penelope says those things in a mock type of way because she was jealous of Odysseus because people would call him brave because of those actions but not call her brave with her own actions. “They will call him brave. ”(line 10). Penelope believed what she was achieving while Odysseus was away was brave as well.
This queen may be the ruler of Ithica but she grew up in sparta with her king father. Penelope is a very loyal was a very loyal and faithful wife to her husband Odysseus. This is proved by this article: “ She was the wife of Odysseus of Ithica and was famous for her cleverness and for her faithfulness to her husband. Penelope by Hunter James.” She proves this by not remarrying after so long, even though men are basically throwing
The story was really good, full of adventures, humor, and romance, and also tells about the mythology in every chapters or challenges of Odyssey. Penelope is an amazing woman. Based from this story we need to be loyal to everybody, to our family, friends, partners, and also to our self, everything that you love and care about. I admire the wife of Odyssey because of her persistence after twenty years she finally wait’s for her husband.
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 proves herself to be a “mistress of her own heart” by (1) exercising commitment and loyalty to her departed love and (2) employing deceit and pity to manipulate her suitors, buying her time to remain independent from men other than Odysseus although she fears for the possibility of never reuniting with Odysseus and faces constant temptations from the suitors. To be a “mistress of her own heart” means that she is in control of her emotions. Penelope controls her emotions by remaining loyal to Odysseus, despite the many challenges presented to her. Penelope exercises commitment and loyalty to Odysseus by demanding the respect for Odysseus and his counterparts and being skeptical of his return.
Penelope was hopeful that one day he will return home. According to ancient Greek Society "Penelope remained faithful to Odysseus after his twenty year absence and is even hopeful of his return home. " This means that Penelope really loved Odysseus and she would stay brave for him no matter what happened. Not only that but it also means that she is hopeful and believes that one day her husband would come home to her.
Myrsiadesr compares Penelope’s early recognition in book 19 to a game that only she and Odysseus are playing. Throughout this game only Penelope is aware of it, so she is able to make all of the rules. Odysseus is not aware that his wife recognizes him, before he relieves his identity to her. She is signifying throughout this entire game that she is the one in power. Which is why even after his identity is relieved she continues to test her husband to indicate she is the one in power.
