“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles”(Christopher Reeve). Still to this day, heroes are portrayed as people who risk their lives in order to help others, but is that what a hero really is? A hero can also be somebody who is loyal, honest, and selfless, and they don’t necessarily have to risk their lives for others. Furthermore, everyday heroes are the people who influence the world such as a mother and father, who are heroes to their kids, to doctors and surgeons who are always saving lives. Therefore, I believe that in the epic poem, The Odyssey, that is written by Homer, the true hero is Penelope because despite all the obstacles that were thrown her ways she …show more content…
For 20 years, Penelope lived a life filled with pain, and helplessness wishing that she would be able to see Odysseus again, “If he had returned, if he were here to care for me,/ I might be happily renowned!/ But grief instead heaven sent me- years of pain”(19.1554-46). Homer included this quote in the epic poem to show that she missed him and that the 20 years that she spent apart from him was filled with unimaginable pain. This shows that she was loyal to him because she kept her faith that he was alive and that he was going to save her from remarrying the suitors. Not only is, faithful but she’s also a clever woman who uses it to her advantage, “So everyday she wove on the great loom-/ but every night by torchlight she unwove it; and for nearly three years she deceived the Achacans”(2.108-10). At this point, Penelope had two choices waiting for Odysseus to come back even if she doesn’t know if he is alive or her marrying one of the suitors. To her, the choice was simple because she knew that there was only one man that she loved and wanted to spend her time with was Odysseus so she made a plan. That plan showed she was clever by showing that she was able to outsmart the suitors for 3 years without them realizing which let her avoid getting married to one of the suitors. In essence, Penelope was loyal and clever …show more content…
Penelope was a single mother who raised a strong, and kind young men, “ Greetings, stranger! Welcome to our feast./ There will be time to tell your errand later”(1.30-1). Raising a child is a big obstacle which usually takes two people to conquer, but Penelope raised her child on her own. Although she had the maids to aid her in she was the one who took matters into her own hand and didn’t allow her son to grow up to be a man filled with anger but a man who went and searched for his father. Penelope was a woman with a husband many believed were dead and some people could have exploited that weakness so she had a plan, “ There is our pact and pledge, our secret sign/ built into that bed-my handiwork/ and no one else’s”(23. 1923-25). As shown in the quote we know that since Penelope was a woman without a husband in Homer’s time many men could have used that weakness in order to take advantage of her in order to rule Ithaca. With this in mind, we could see how this would be an obstacle because people would constantly try to exploit her weaknesses so she came up with a way to make sure that if someone said they were Odysseus she would be able to verify their identity. For those reasons we can tell that she was able to overcome some of the biggest obstacles in her life when Odysseus left her all own filled with sorrow and
Penelope was left behind when Odysseus left for the trojan war, but he didn’t come back after that. Penelope had to take care of their son, their estate, and their servants for 20 years. On top of all of that she had suitors demanding her attention. In all of this she stayed strong and independent, and despite the pressure of the suitors she stayed loyal to Odysseus, even when she didn’t even know if he was alive or not. Penelope’s character is also very clever and sly. She told the suitors that she would remarry after she finishes her weaving project, but each night she undoes everything she did that day. When the suitors find out about it they demand she choose someone to remarry. Penelope uses her intelligence and slyness again as she tells them whoever wins an archery contest using Odysseus bow, which only he could use, she would marry. Penelope is also very kind, which we see when she interacts with the servants and her son. Penelope is a very well portrayed character and she is needed in the story to be someone Odysseus could always be someone to come back
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
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’.
Unlike Odysseus Penelope is confined by the gender roles of her time and cannot use physical strength against the suitors or even direct verbal rejection, instead Penelope resorts to her emotional resilience and wit in order to challenge the suitors. She wrongly reassures the suitors that once she finishes weaving a gift for Odysseus’s father, she will choose someone to marry her, “’Young men, my suitors, let me finish my weaving, before I marry’…every day she wove on the great loom but every night by torchlight she unwove it.” (II. 103-104, 112-113) Penelope’s actions are strategic and well calculated. Her main goal, like Odysseus, is to successfully overcome her situation. She understands that she may not be able to physically fight the suitors but she can trick them until Telemachus or Odysseus are able to. By crafting a lie that delays the suitors from marrying her immediately, Penelope restrains the suitors from seizing Ithaca, her household, and posing a threat to Telemachus or Odysseus. Her lie gives Odysseus a crucial advantage in the physical fight against the suitors as he comes back to a city and household where Penelope
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
In The Odyssey, Penelope seems to give in to the double standard; women can not succeed without men which she demonstrates. The foil Penelope provides for Odysseus manifests itself through Odysseus' infidelity. Odysseus is held captive and instead of remaining loyal to his wife who is intensely awaiting his return he submits to his temptations. Penelope on the other hand is dedicated to being faithful to her husband even while he has been gone for so long. In the reader's mind Odysseus is still nothing less than the strong, dominant, alpha male. With Calypso luring him in, not succumbing to the temptation would be bizarre given his alpha male persona. Penelope wanted to remain faithful to Odysseus even while she was pressured to find a suitor. Because of the double standard that exists she needs to find a way to lengthen the amount of time she has. Penelope is sure her husband will be coming home even after ten years and she does not want to commit to someone else when she is in love with and loyal to her husband. If a man was in Penelope’s position it is
As Penelope being a married woman, she had to uphold the duties as wife and mother well as the duties around the kingdom. It may seem easy being left with servers while her husband is away from war but in Penelope case it wasn't. This period was a time to test her loyalty to Odysseus. Penelope had to be wise and sly to keep the suitors from trying to bring down her kingdom and preventing from marrying someone else. If she did, then one man will become the new King of Ithaca and that was something she did not want. She end up coming with techniques that will help throw off some of suitors while she wait for her dear Odysseus.(Homer, The Odyssey 19:145-151) One of the techniques she end up encountering was weaving a shroud. She told suitors that once she is finishing weaving then she will choose one of them as her King but, little did they know Penelope was sly. She would unweave the basket at
Penelope serves as one of the most crucial characters within the Odyssey. She one of the few driving forces for our main protagonist’s journey home and she is also an exemplar model of female character breaking the mold of the damsel in distress. She actually takes it upon herself to take command, to some extent, of her own situation while her husband is presumably making his way back home from war. Penelope even matches Odysseus in craftiness and sly personality. For example, Penelope had told the suitors that she would assume a new husband after she was done weaving a shroud, but she would secretly unweave her progress every night. This behavior is a reoccurring theme. Penelope sets up other tests, such as having to shoot an arrow through
Penelope has a very complex and interesting character. For example her determination to wait and to mislead the suitors for so long shows that she had great intelligence and perseverance. Penelope's wit is acknowledged in this quote from Antinous "For all the Achean beauties of former times, none had at her command such wits as she."(Page 20, Book 2). Penelope's wit is also shown in her scheme to mislead the suitors by saying that they must wait for her to weave a shroud for Odysseus's father Laertes. She told them
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
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
"For my mother, against her will, is beset by suitors... (Odyssey 2.50)." Assuming that Odysseus had died in the course of the war, they wish to marry her, although no news has yet been delivered as to Odysseus' true fate. Meanwhile, the suitors are eating all her food, killing off all her livestock, and generally using up all the resources of the household (Odyssey 1.248-251). Elders of the town suggest Penelope forget her pride and go home to her father and for him to arrange a new wedding for her. "Let him urge his mother to go back to her father's, / and they shall appoint the marriage and arrange for the wedding presents... (Odyssey 2.195-196)" Thus, the suitors pose multiple dangers for Penelope. If the suitors ruin all the household's resources, or if one were to successfully persuade her to marry him, she would lose her power position. Likewise, if the resources run out and she is forced to move back in with her father, she would lose both her power position and her autonomy.
One of the main themes in Penelope’s relationship with Odysseus as depicted by Homer is her enduring love for Odysseus and her ever-present anguish over his absence. Having been gone for twenty years, and could reasonably have been expected to be dead, it is a testament to her faithful love for Odysseus that not only does she not give up hope of his return, but also remains strong under immense pressure to remarry in the four years leading up to the return of Odysseus. The palace at Ithaca has been overrun by 108 suitors, all vying for the hand of Penelope, but she resists temptation and resorts to various cunning methods to delay the inevitable remarriage – all in the hope that her husband is not dead and will one day return. It is a very strong bond of love