Odyssey Role Of Penelope Essay

Throughout Homer’s the Odyssey, Penelope is depicted as a faithful and clever woman, revealing that the women of ancient Greece played a crucial role in affairs and in their own lives, yet were still regarded as inferior. Despite not seeing or hearing from Odysseus in nearly twenty years, and being pressured for years to remarry one of many young suitors, Penelope remains faithful to Odysseus for twenty years. Penelope’s son, Telemachus, explained to Athena, “For now the lords of the islands … are

In Homer’s Odyssey, we see a small side of Penelope as she greets her husband Odysseus after his return from his 20-year long journey; she is sweet and gentle, treating him as if he left for a day. In T.H.S. Wallace’s “So the Old Beggar with Bow Can Shoot Straight as Death” and Dorothy Parker’s “Penelope”, Penelope is transformed from a gentle woman into a harsher one. In The Odyssey, Penelope is described as a somber lady that misses her husband dearly. In the poems, however, she is depicted in

The Role of Penelope in Homer's Odyssey The character of Penelope in Homer's Odyssey has served as an archetype of femininity proper. Her physical attributes, while comely by even the most demanding standards, are veiled. Her intellectual attributes are veiled too. She seems more often than not to wear a veil of tears (for her man) or a veil of silence (for her own wishes), or ineptitude (in her dealings with her son). She is certainly no Helen. She is not flaunting or whore-ish. She is not

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

gender roles unfortunately remain an influential part of society today. In some parts of the world, it is illegal for women to do anything without the permission or sometimes even accompaniment of a male guardian. While it is true that the world has made considerable progress in eliminating gender stereotypes overall, there is much work that has yet to be done, and people must continue to strive for equality in order to eliminate unhealthy relationships like that of Odysseus and Penelope in Homer’s

Penelope serves a significant role in The Odyssey by serving as a source of motivation for Odysseus and portraying the ideal woman in Greek society. Penelope throughout the story is displayed as a woman who is not swayed by the suitors, and Odysseus repeatedly draws from her person to motivate himself. Penelope first displays a great sense of loyalty to Odysseus by attempting to delay the suitors through tricks. Penelope employs tricks such as weaving a shroud for Laertes, Odysseus’s father, but

poets throughout the centuries. Odysseus from “The Odyssey” was a Greek hero who just returned from a battle of Troy after twenty years. While he was gone his wife, Penelope, had to stay back with her son in their kingdom, Ithaca. She was doing her normal tasks, but the suitors kept on bugging her, demanding that she must have a new husband. In the painting Penelope and the Suitors, John William Waterhouse uses the cunningness of the business of Penelope to avoid the suitors to show that loyalty is a

different roles set distinctly for females and males. One such example is the different roles in households, where the women would be in charge of housekeeping while the male would support the family financially. Although there is still a gap between gender inequality, the era of Ancient Greece posed a greater image on the idea of gender inequality. In The Odyssey, Homer illustrates the ideals of each character, which is exposed through the character’s gender. Books 5, 11 and 23 demonstrate the role of

Senior IX English September 22, 2014 The Importance of Perspectives in The Odyssey and The Penelopiad Margaret Atwood writes in her novel The Penelopiad “I’ve chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and the twelve hanged maids...which focus on two questions that must pose themselves after any close reading of The Odyssey: what led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to?” The Odyssey tells the story of the long journey of Odysseus’s return home to Ithaca after

stereotype by depicting woman as subversion of their typical gender roles. In order to understand how Homer and Sappho defy the gendered norms for women, one must first know the Greek’s gendered norms for women. Greek women lacked personalities,

the Role of Women in the Odyssey Ancient Greek society contrasts Ancient Greek mythology due to the fact that women are portrayed differently in these two settings. Women in Ancient Greek literature, such as in the Odyssey, are shown to have many capabilities, play strong roles, and to some extent have great power and influence. This contrasts actual Ancient Greek society because women did not have much power or were not able to do as much as men could do. The role of women in the Odyssey is important

Throughout the epic poem “Odyssey” we see many great characters who all bring a different feel to the story. “Odyssey” is a story that has a male main character and many male side characters, but it also has several female characters found in it. Each one of these females have an important role within the story and it would not be the same without them. Athena, Penelope, and Eucycleia are a few examples of female characters. One of the female characters in “Odyssey” is Athena. Athena is the daughter

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’.  As aforementioned Penelope is the main reason for Odysseus's return to Ithaca, as well as wanting to be united with his son Telemakos.  He

Although “The Odyssey” by the Greek poet Homer is very much an epic tale of a man’s heroic quest, women play an incredibly large role. Homer’s epic tale, “The Odyssey” revolves around Ulysses’ quest to return back to his wife, Penelope, so that he may be reunited with her and assume control over his palace, which has been overrun by suitors. Ulysses’ son, Telemachus attempts to regain authority in the presence of the many suitors but finds this difficult and embarks upon his own journey under the

The Strong Character of Penelope in Homer's Odyssey   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

Explain the influence of Homer’s Odyssey on Margaret Atwood. It is very clear that Atwood was influenced by The Odyssey when writing The Penelopiad. After reading The Odyssey, it left Atwood with more questions than answers about the maids and Penelope. Atwood waned to explore the poem from a female perspective. Atwood found many inconstancies in the story of the maids which she wanted to explore. She also wanted to explore Penelope’s role as a wife, mother and materfamilias. Margaret Atwood said

The Role of Women in The Odyssey Homer wrote the classic epic The Odyssey more than 2,500 years ago. At that time in ancient Greek society, as well as in the whole of the ancient world, the dominant role was played by men. Society was organized, directed, and controlled by men, and it was accepted that women occupied a subservient and inferior position. Women, of course, were valued, but were expected to possess certain traits and perform certain tasks that men demanded of them. Does Homer's writing

Throughout the Odyssey Odysseus’ plays the “godlike” hero which set the standards for values and traits of the Homeric Greek man. Using his cunning intellect and valiant heroism to finds his way home after many trials and tribulations. During his travel home Odysseus gains knowledge about other peoples culture and about different lands throughout Greece. He learns from his own suffering and the mistakes he had made. Odysseus started his journey as the King of Ithaca and the warrior of all warriors

It can be argued that no work of fiction has influenced the genre as did Homer’s “The Odyssey.” “The Odyssey”’s themes of the return home and the role of the wife make it an essential reading due to its relevance to contemporary literature. The recurring theme of a hero returning home is called nostos. “The Odyssey” epitomizes nostos through Odysseus’ voyage to Ithaca and its effects post-return when he reclaims his identity from the suitors. Nowadays, nostos has remained popular, influencing esteemed

Margaret Atwood and published in 2005. It is a contemporary perspective narrated by Penelope, the wife of Odysseus and is an extension of Homer 's The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, the descriptions of the women and their lives is written from a masculine perspective, and does not relay the true depth of the female characters ' role, especially not Penelope. The Penelopaid however, tells the story from the perspective of Penelope deep within the dark halls of Hades. The Penelopaid highlights the disparities