Penelope In The Odyssey

“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” -Erich Fromm

In many societies today, individuals are led to believe that the concept of women possessing their own strength or independence is abnormal. As a result, women experience the world in a constrained way in comparison to men, even if they are in higher classes of society. However, these extensive aspects of females are contradicted in some ancient Greek literature. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer portrays women as a vital and powerful force through the characters Penelope and Circe, who counter the normality of misogyny in Homer’s time.

Though women play a central role in the Odyssey the portrayal and characterization of said women is often times sexist and places most of the women in positions of power until Odysseus or one of the male gods comes along and puts a stop to it. All of the women are characterized with few traits, most of which only describe their looks, while the reader is constantly reminded of all of Odysseus good traits. Even Penelope, who is portrayed as the ideal woman, is only ever described as ‘beautiful’ and ‘faithful’. Though this does make sense considering the time period and how during the time women were considered property of men.

Even though people typically believe that the main hero of Homer’s the Odyssey is Odysseus himself, the true hero of the Odyssey is Penelope. Even though her entire story isn’t told in the epic poem, you can still tell that she went through struggles and trials just as her husband Odysseus did. Along with going through trials, she comes up with witty ideas in order to overcome them. She is very clever, and she also plans long-term. She is loyal to Odysseus and faithfully waits for his return.

Appropriation is defined as being able to shift ideas, visuals, key concepts, characters and settings from one context into another in order to manipulate old notions into new innovated ones, for example the Odyssey by poet, Homer in comparison to Margret Atwood’s the Penelopiad. The Penelopiad as a modernized, fresh view of a vaguely described character, which originated from the Odyssey named, Penelope. Penelope is an obscure or cryptic female character who is interpreted to be a cunning, sly, secretive, intelligent, passionate character that can be compared to Shakespeare’s Juliet. Penelope goes through stages of enlightenment, struggle and happiness and questions the way society works as well as trustworthy relationships. The Penelopiad

Yes, Penelope struggles greatly with a very important decision throughout the course of the story.

In the Odyssey Penelope tries hard to embrace all the things women are given in life. She can do anything about the fact that Odysseus has been gone for almost twenty years, that her son does not know his own father and who he is supposed to take after, and that her home is almost in ruins because of all the suitors refusing to leave the house and trashing the house. Penelope is forced to choose a suitor, remarry and probably have more kids too. Penelope is not allowed to say if she wants that or not. We, as readers, can tell she is putting things off for as long as she can, but what if her alone was not enough. Helen was able to run away from Menelaus and go back to Troy with Paris. After a few years of her being said that she was kidnapped, she came back and had to suffer however Menelaus treated her. Helen found her own strength and told the truth of where she had been and how it was her choice to leave Sparta. Helen and Penelope are powerful greek women, but only Penelope is viewed as perfect for staying loyal to her husband. While Penelope was viewed as perfect for her loyalty to Odysseus, Aphrodite was able to sleep with whatever men she wanted to and she was viewed as a beautiful, perfect, goddess. How come Penelope and Aphrodite were viewed as perfect, but were doing the opposite things. That is all because of the

Women are weak, helpless, and have no real purpose other than to serve men and take care of children. . . or so they were perceived in history. In the Odyssey, one can see that Homer’s portrayal of women challenges the depiction of women during that time period. Throughout the book, many women intervened in Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca, for better or for worse. One will see Penelope, Athena, Circe, and other women impact Odysseus’ expedition home. These women influenced the conditions of the journey by guiding Odysseus in different directions, and aiding him crucially. Their authority showed the idea behind an old proverb, which states, “Behind every great man there’s a great woman”. Throughout The Odyssey, the women exemplified their power during the course of Odysseus’ journey.

In the Odyssey, the main characters portray the ideal male and female roles in their society. Men are supposed to be strong and respectable like Odysseus, and women are expected to be loyal and strong like Penelope. Although Homer shows that women are valued for their beauty, he also makes a point that they also must be

“The Odyssey,” written by Greek poet Homer is an epic tale depicting the brutally enduring quest home of the Greek hero, Odysseus. Within this heroic story, women play a very large and pivotal role in Odysseus’s trip home from the Trojan War. In his attempt to get back to his wife, Penelope, Odysseus’s progress is constantly hindered by the intervention of women who will do anything in order to either convince the heroic figure to stay with them or have him killed. The intentions of the women in the epic are all very different but one of the most prominent roles lies in the seductresses and the alluring women who will deeply influence Odysseus. Most importantly, Penelope plays a large role in portraying the importance of women’s roles in the story. Through specific incidences, this influence of women is clearly depicted.

Homer’s, The Odyssey is an epic which was written many years ago. At that time, in Ancient Greek society, the dominant role was played by men and the women were considered and given an inferior position. But The Odyssey was often considered a women’s epic because women played an important role. Women in The Odyssey are portrayed as powerful, wise and controlling because they ensure that the illusion of male success will go on - they speak as men through women.

In spite of the fact that Homer’s Odyssey is an epic story of a man’s gallant journey, women play a huge part throughout. Their unique yet controversial personalities, intentions, and relationships are vital to the development of this epic and adventurous journey of Odysseus. The poem by Homer was written at a time when women had an inferior position in society, yet that didn’t stop them from being any less influential. All of the women throughout the Odyssey possess different qualities, but all of them help to define the role of the ideal woman.

No relationship is perfect. All relationships have their issues, but most can be worked out. Many relationships are put under strain by duty and lack of attention. Penelope and Odysseus are one example of this. In the painting Penelope and Odysseus, Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein uses the conversation between Odysseus and Penelope to show that duty often tears families apart, while in the poem “You Are Odysseus,” Linda Pastan uses the same scene to show that partners need attention and love to feel appreciated. Poems and paintings can help teach us lessons about the human experience. “You Are Odysseus” can teach us that partners need attention and love to feel appreciated by elaborating on Penelope’s point of view. Penelope and Odysseus

Women have always been portrayed as the weaker sex compared to men. It has been demonstrated in history itself and throughout literary works. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Homer’s The Odyssey, however, portray women to be more powerful than men, even when their society thought otherwise and underestimated them because of their gender. Lady Macbeth, The Three Witches, Queen Arête and Penelope demonstrate the astute, charming, and ambitious side of women that was overlooked by men when it came to having power and making decisions. Both works show the hardships of being a woman in power. At the same time, they give their perspectives of the power women disclosed.

Imagine trying to take care of your family by yourself while dealing with a rabble of troublesome men living in your house, bothering you every second of the day. In the set of poems The Odyssey by Homer, Penelope, The wife of Odysseus and Queen of Ithaca, has to raise her son, Telemachus, by herself and rule all of Ithaca alone for twenty whole years while Odysseus is off fighting in the Trojan War. Telemachus has to grow up without a father, leaving no one but his mother to teach him the basic things everyone should learn as a child. Penelope is also given little to no time to spend with Telemachus because she needs to run the city. Nevertheless, He would later follow in his father’s footsteps and become a fighter. This scenario conveys the