Penelope's role in The Odyssey

In the first four books, we are also introduced to Telemachus’ mother and Odysseus’ wife, Penelope. Using textual evidence, discuss her roles in the story so far.
    Penelope being the wife of Odysseus and the mother of Telemachus, she already plays a big part in the story. Medon, her herald, tells her that the suitors are planning to kill Telemachus on his secret voyage. “When Medon said these things, Penelope felt that her heart had been unstrung. Her eyes filled with tears, and she was unable to speak for a long time.” (Homer, 65). This was the first she was hearing that Telemachus had left on a voyage to find his father who everyone thought was dead. She was heartbroken by the fact that Telemachus had snuck off, but also by the fact that the suitors were going to try and kill him just to get the riches and treasures of Odysseus, including his wife.
    “And Penelope spoke to them through her tears: ‘Hear me, my friends, for the god on Olympus has given me pain beyond all other women of my generation. I have lost a fine husband with a heart like a lion, the glory of the Danaans, the pride of all Hellas, a man of many virtue.’” (Homer, 65). Here she is talking to the women that work for her and help her in her house. She is expressing her grief and sadness and how she is heartbroken and the gods are not acting in her favor.
    So far we have only seen the heartbroken grieving side of Penelope. As the story continues I hope she will become stronger and we will see a more confident side of her.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Importance of Portia's Speech

In Act 4, Scene 1 (pp. 78-79) Portia gives a speech about the mercy vs. justice ("The quality of mercy is not strained..."). Explain what Portia is saying about justice and mercy, and why it is important in the play. In this scene, Portia is talking to Shylock in court dressed as a man, and she starts by saying, “ The quality of mercy is not strained” (Shakespeare, 78-79). In the remainder of this speech, she is saying how mercy is temporal power, and, “An attribute to God himself” (Shakespeare, 79). She is telling Shylock that although he wants justice, he needs to think about the fact that he cannot look for redemption in this. “Though justice be thy plea, consider this: That in the course of justice none of us should see salvation” (Shakespeare, 79). This play is about a Christian and a Jew. In that time period, the Christian would have the upper hand. In this case however, they make a deal that the Christian could not abide to. This gave the Jew the upper hand and h...
Read more

The Merchant of Venice - What is the climax?

    According to the 5-act play structure, the climax or turning point of the play should have happened in the third act. Did it happen? If so, what was it and what central conflict was addressed? If not, discuss the central conflict that has not yet been resolved.     My group acted out and discussed the third act together, and I think we can all agree a lot happened in this act. First off, Bassanio picks the right chest, (with Portia’s help) and wins her hand in marriage. But shortly after, he has to leave for a little bit and Portia says she going to join a coven until he returns, (she is actually going to dress like a man and find some people with Nerissa). Another big thing that happened in this act is Shylock’s daughter Jessica, runs away with her lover and takes a bunch of Shylock’s money and possessions with her. One of the things she took was her mother’s ring, (which Shylock later finds out she traded for a monkey). Something else that happened is the rum...
Read more

Nick Carraway is, “inclined to reserve all judgement”. True or False?

On the first page of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway (who is the narrator of the story) says that he is, “inclined to reserve all judgement”. Whether this is a true statement or not is to be determined. However, as the story has progressed, he seems to not be following his own statement. He has been judging people from the first few pages. For example, on pg. 2, Nick says, “Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him”. “What foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men” (Fitzgerald, 2). There are many more examples I could put in this to explain how he seemed judgemental, but I also think this could just be the way he wrote. He was very poetic, and very serious but blunt. This might be the way Fitzgerald wanted the narrator to be...
Read more