The Positive Role Of Penelope In The Odyssey

The Odyssey by Homer conveys multiple themes, motifs and symbols in 24 books. One of the most important theme, motif and symbols pops up in the Penelope arc. Odysseus, after a long journey, returns home to Ithaca. His wife, Penelope, believes that Odysseus became lost at sea or he died during the long journey that lasted years.

Women: A.K.A. Powerful Manipulators Thesis: Men seemingly have more power in The Odyssey, but Homer portrays the women as manipulators and influencers, which allows them to gain control and power. In The Odyssey, Penelope is able to manipulate men using her sexuality, symbolizing that women have the true power and control in society. With many suitors at home, Penelope chooses to seduce them only to lead them on, “For three years now, getting on to four,/ she’s played it fast and loose with all our hearts,/ building each man’s hopes–/ dangling promises, dropping hints to each–/ but all the while with something else in mind” (Homer 2.96-100).

Penelope is a great example of how Greek women should act in early society. Penelope was loyal to her husband, she was clever, and she was a good mother to her son Telemachos. Penelope honored her husband and didn’t go against him even though he was gone for over 20 years. She also had to face over 100 suitors while Odysseus was gone. Penelope showed her cleverness when she told the town she would remarry when she finished weaving the rug. Every night Penelope would undo the work she weaved so she could buy time for her husband. She was very faithful to her husband and believed him that he would return to her. These traits that Penelope show are how other Greek women should act in society. The roles women played in society was that they

In Homer’s The Odyssey translated by Robert Fagles, Ithaca, the land that Odysseus once ruled is in turmoil as Penelope, the Queen struggles with the combating or accepting the forces that surround her. Penelope struggles with decisions and can’t commit to marrying again as she holds out false hope that her husband Odysseus will return. Telemachus, her son has not been given the proper tools by Penelope to lead the empire making it hard for him to help her rid of the suitors. Distractions around Penelope contribute to her being unaware of the pain that could be inflicted upon her family & her. Penelope is to the blame for the multitude of problems that don’t only affect those in the palace but affect all of Ithaca.

Odysseus's wife, Penelope plays a crucial role in Homer's ‘The Odyssey’, with not only providing the motivation for Odysseus's return to Ithaca, but she is also the center of the plot involving the suitors and the fate of Telemakos and Ithaca itself.  Therefore the objective of this essay is to analyze the importance of Penelope’s role in ‘The Odyssey’.

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.

Penelope may not have as exciting of a life as some of the other characters in Homer’s The Odyssey, but she makes up for it by being very clever, which makes her a good match for her husband, Odysseus. Penelope plays a very important role in Odysseus’s journey home, in fact, she is the main reason for his return to Ithaca. When the suitors begin invading her house and asking, then demanding, her hand in marriage, Penelope knows she must handle them herself. Being a woman in ancient Greece, she does not have the ability to force the suitors to leave her house, and neither does Telemachus. This means that Penelope must continue to allow them to abuse the hospitality that was expected at that time, and all she can do is try to outsmart the suitors until her husband comes home. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Penelope is a good match for Odysseus because she is clever, and she shows that cleverness when she stalls the suitors by weaving the burial shroud, when she devises the contest with

"My lady, there is no man in the wide world who could find fault with you. For your fame has reached broad heaven itself, like that of some illustrious king."(Page 289,Book 19)

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.

In The Odyssey by Homer, Penelope’s wit not only causes suitors to live in her house but also caused a happy reuniting between her and Odysseus. The poem begins after the Trojan War, where Penelope’s husband , Odysseus, is cursed with a twenty year trip back home to Ithaca. The kingdom as a whole believed that Odysseus was dead and was not going to be returning home. While Odysseus was away, Penelope, his wife, was being forced by her parents to start looking for a suitable husband to run the kingdom. Penelope was able to use her wit in order to come up with a plan not get married and to save time in case Odysseus was to survive and return home: “Young men- my suitors, now my lord is dead,/ let me finish my weaving before I marry” (Homer 1324- 1325).

Although the reading selections in Unit 1 had male protagonists, the females characters played important roles in the stories. By looking at their traits, their actions, and their part in the story, it is evident that they were essential to the plot of the stories and the development of the character Odysseus. The character Penelope first appears in the Odyssey Part III and we the readers are given clear explanation of what her role is in the story and who she is. In the beginning of this selection we are informed that Penelope is the wife of Odysseus and that she has been left at home for the twenty years that Odysseus has been gone.

            Despite this high opinion of Penelope, before he left, Odysseus and Kalypso " . . . retired, this pair [He and Kalypso], to the inner cave/to revel and rest softly, side by side."(Homer V:235-238)  This was not the only time Odysseus "retired", with another woman.  On the island of Kirke "[he] entered Kirke's flawless bed of love"(Homer X:390).  Despite these few instances, Odysseus remained faithful to Penelope in their twenty years apart.  He never loved either Kalypso or Kirke as he did Penelope, and thusly chose not to stay with either of the two.  Although the principle might get lost in the tale, Penelope played the part of the goal for Odysseus to obtain, or re-obtain by the end of the Odyssey.

In book 2 of the Odyssey, Odysseys’ family is being drained of its wealth by a crowd of suitors wishing to marry Penelope. While nobody is without fault in this situation I believe that Penelope plays a large role in causing the unfavorable situation the family is in by her being deceptive towards the suitors. While suitors were being held in the company of Odysseys’ family Penelope decides to deceive the suitors by saying she will announce who she would marry by the time she finishes he weaving. Penelope would weave and unweave for years putting a burden on the family as they were caring for the suitors for all that time. This stalling no doubt put a burden on the family as they would have to provide for the suitors as they were waiting for

            There were far more restrictions placed on the women of the ancient world than on the men.  To many, this may appear to be an obvious fact.  However, the comparison of women to men in the Odyssey does not show such a discrepancy.  The women created by Homer had certain characteristics that set them apart from ordinary women.  Penelope was a woman who did not give in to the demands of her surroundings.  She suffered throughout the twenty year absence of her husband, Odysseus.  She maintained her dignity and her chastity through her refusal of the hoards of suitors that flocked to her home. Penelope represents the ideal woman for balancing her refusals of marriage and the preservation of her respect.  When ready to address her suitors, Eurymachus, a suitor himself, speaks out from the crowd in praise of Penelope.  He states, "Ah, daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope . . . You surpass all women in build and beauty, refined and steady mind" (18. 276,280).  The acts of Penelope would not have been allowed of an ordinary woman of those times.  Her loyalty to Odysseus was unflagging and quite contrary to Clytaemestra's loyalty, another character in the Odyssey, though she is never mentioned by name.

Homer's Odyssey is a story of the homecoming of Odysseus after the Trojan War.  Odysseus left his wife, Penelope, and their young son, Telemachos, almost twenty years before the telling of this story to fight in the Trojan War.  His absence places Penelope in a rather precarious position.  Faced with many different circumstances, both good and bad, Penelope is on her own to decide the path she wishes to take.  Depending on her decisions, the situations could either be filled with wonderful opportunities or perilous dangers. The strong character of Penelope is revealed by her decisions.