Examples Of Penelope In The Odyssey

As the request is made of his own mother she simply abides to her son’s wishes, “She bathed now, put on some fresh clothes,” (Homer l 17.60). All throughout the Odyssey Penelope shows her strength to ward off suitors and she manages to live without her husband for years. Remaining faithful the entire time to her husband Odysseus she discloses to her maid, “Eurynome, don’t try to coax me, care for me as you do, to bathe myself, refresh my face with oils. Whatever glow I had died long ago… the gods of Olympus snuffed it out that day my husband sailed away in the hollow ships,” (Homer ll 18.201-206) presenting to the reader that she lost all desire for anyone else when Odysseus’ left for war. This further substantiates the Greek view of how women should remain loyal at all times forsaking others. Lastly Penelope is rewarded for her lasting devotion to her husband with his return. In these characters and their specific roles in the Odyssey the Greeks’ insisted upon their women to accept such roles in their culture of certain hypocrisy when compared to that of their female counterpart. Without Athena’s support Odysseus would have never reached Ithaca and Telemachus would not have been pushed into becoming a man. Without Penelope’s loyalty, devotion, and support Odysseus’ efforts in his journey home would have held little merit of reward. What is most important to note is the male character of Odysseus plays the most prominent role in the epic but

In the morning light you'll bathe him and anoint him so that he'll take his place beside Telemakhos feasting in hall."(P. 363 ln 375-380) This treatment of a mere beggar who showed up to her house, is very odd considering she has been trying to fight off over one hundred other guests for a number of years. Telemakhos even comments that such treatment of a guest is very much not in Penelope's character, "Nurse, dear nurse, how did you treat our guest? Had he a supper and a good bed? Has he lain uncared for still? My mother is like that, perverse for all her cleverness...?" (P. 379 ln146-149). This comment by Telemakhos shows that in the past Penelope has not been as hospitable toward guests. Therefore it is interesting that she would treat such a beggar with such care and compassion. The reason she does this is that she now has an increasing suspicion that the beggar is in fact her husband, Odysseus.

While traditional readers of Homer’s, The Odyssey, view Odysseus as a hero, they often reduce Penelope to Odysseus’s helpless wife, but Penelope is more than just a damsel-in-distress. Penelope proves to be Odysseus’s heroic equal, as through her resilient, witty and strategic actions she ensures Odysseus fighting advantages over the suitors.

Furthermore, Penelope is an important character as her identity “functions as a stable and unchanging reference point for the adventures of Odysseus” (Katz, 6). As Katz explains, Odysseus’ travels are interwoven with his lust for home and his desire to be with his wife again. As well, her identity becomes a parallel to Odysseus’ identity through her use of polutropus (tricks and turns). She proves, by the end of the poem, that she is the perfect match for Odysseus as both of them share the same skills with rhetoric and language to get what they want. Their like-mindedness is evident during the recognition scene between the two. Penelope tests Odysseus’ knowledge of their marital bed - before blindly trusting his claim of identity - by asking the slaves to move their immovable bed: “[putting] her husband to the proof-but Odysseus/ blazed in fury, lashed out at his loyal wife” (Homer, 23.203-204). In his angry response to Penelope’s test, Odysseus proves his identity to his wife as he explains why the bed cannot move. When she hears their familiar story of the creation of their bed, - which only the two and a slave know about - Penelope submits to her long-lost husband in an emotional reunion. Her caution, before accepting Odysseus’ claim, shows the wary protectionism stance that she had to adopt while her husband was gone so she could protect the kingdom from the suitors.

The hospitality that Telemachos and Penelope show Odysseus when he returns home, even though they do not know who he really is yet another example of xenia. This hospitality helps in his winning his home back from the suitors. Telemachos welcomes Odysseus into the house, and gives him permission to beg the suitors of money. Despite knowing this, said suitors harass him when he asks for coins. In response to this, Telemachos says “, There will be no pleasure in this feast, at all since vile things will be uppermost. Now the hallowed prince Telemachos spoken […] I drive away no man.“ Telemachos’s defense of Odysseus, even in guise of a vagabond, shows great grace on his part, and show great hospitality, on top of undermining the suitors, thus giving them less power. After the suitors have gone home, Penelope summons her maidservant, saying “, Eurynome, bring up a chair, and put a fleece on it, so that the stranger can be seated, and tell me his story, and listen to what I have to say. (Homer.18.97-99)” This statement shows that Penelope is intending t make a beggar as comfortable as she, and set aside time specifically to

    Although there is no doubt that Penelope has been faithful to Odysseus while he was gone, he can never be too sure. So he tells a tearful story to Penelope of her beloved husband, "So as she listened, drops ran down; she melted into tears"(187). Odysseus knows now that Penelope has an undying love for Odysseus. At this point Odysseus wants to tell Penelope so badly that the man she longs for is sitting right in front of her, but he knows that the longer he hold out on not telling her the greater the victory is going to be.

Penelope is also shown to have been very sought after, by the band of suitors that inhabit Odysseus's palace in Ithaca while he is away. All the while Odysseus is away; suitors are constantly trying to force Penelope to choose one of them as her new husband.

Some question whether Odysseus was recognized by Penelope and if this helped to build up

Penelope: In the opening chapters of The Odyssey Penelope is angry, frustrated, and helpless. She misses her husband, Odysseus. She worries about the safety of her son, Telemakhos. Her house is overrun with arrogant men who are making love to her servants and eating her out of house and home, all the while saying that they are courting her. She doesn't want to marry any of them, and their rude behavior can hardly be called proper courtship. She has wealth and position; she has beauty and intelligence; most of all she has loyalty to her husband. But against this corrupt horde who gather in her courtyard shooting dice, throwing the discus, killing her husband's cattle for their feasts, and drinking his wine, she is powerless.

Penelope acts as the damsel in distress. She is unable to keep the suitors away from her house because she is a woman, and that makes her vulnerable. She also provides Odysseus with a reason to return home because she is his wife. She has no choice but to pick one of the suitors, and soon. Penelope says she is “wasted with longing for Odysseus, while here they press for marriage”(1004). She still loves her husband, which gives him hope that he will be accepted once he makes his return, and gives him a reason to continue trying. She also cannot turn the suitors away, preventing her from being able to protect herself. This once again proves that, as the damsel in distress, Penelope needs Odysseus for protection.

            Penelope did not have any idea whether her husband was alive for most of the twenty-years he was gone.  She had promised Odysseus that she would not marry until their son, Telemakos, reached the age of adulthood.  Just

We see that both Odysseus and Penelope share a liking toward cleverness that is very unusual in the story. Odysseus is one of the very few the Greek heroes to show that he has more brains than strength. Because Odysseus could have just stormed in to the kingdom and took his rightful place as the king and kick the suitors out but he doesn’t, he lets Athena disguise him as a beggar. However, what’s more impressive is Penelope, instead of letting the suitors take over and rape her and marry her, she told them once I am done with this quilt I will choose one of you to be my husband. But in reality, she was never going to finish the quilt because every stich that she would put in the quilt she would spend all night taking them out and starting over the next day just waiting for Odysseus to come

This quote from the passage portrays how annoyed the nurse has become towards the suitors. In addition, it reveals how the suitors behave, especially when a stranger visits Odysseus’ home. They are rude, aggressive and unwelcoming. It’s also revealed how much the nurse truly loves her masters. Her loyalty and dedication to Penelope and Odysseus is shown through her respect of her work. She does what she is asked, without questions and is always on Penelope’s side. She doesn’t care for the suitors and seems to want Odysseus to return nearly as much as Penelope does. This passage establishes the nurse’s important role in the story, and highlights the nuisance of the suitors. Then, later in the story, while the nurse is washing the disguised Odysseus’ feet, Eurycleia is struck by how similar the “old beggar” is to Odysseus himself. She confesses to the

To begin, Penelope thinks of Odysseus and immediately lets her emotions out: “Odysseus—if he could return to tend my life / the renown I had would only grow in glory. / Now my life is torment … / look at the griefs some god has loosed against me!” (The Odyssey, 18.285-288). Furthermore, Homer expresses Penelope’s sadness by making her sink “on her well-built chamber’s floor” and through her “sobbing uncontrollably” (The Odyssey, 4.810-813). Clearly in Penelope’s mind, Odysseus’ absence is not something she can easily forget. Homer introduces Penelope as a very caring and devoted wife.

Penelope, just as Odysseus, portrayed the great human trait of patience. She did what it took to fend off the suitors with hope that her husband would come back for her. Penelope didn’t give up hope because she felt in heart that Odysseus would come