Penelope's Stature "Although Penelope's regular epithet in Homer is περίφρων ("very intelligent"), the rare quality of her intelligence, more elusive than her celebrated loyalty, has not received the attention it deserves." (Marquardt 1) Marquardt, in this quote from Penelope Polutropos, feels that the intelligence of Penelope in The Odyssey overlooked. Penelope's ongoing conflict with the suitors demonstrates her cunning and wity ways, but it also portrays her intelligence as a character in the Odyssey. Through Penelope's schemes against the suitors and her maintenance of her social status, or stature, Penelope has proven that she is equally as important as Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. Penelope's well-formed tricks on the suitors further
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The first, and most important, of the many schemes that the suitors had fallen for was the funeral shroud for Laertes. "Three whole years she deceived us blind, seduced us with this scheme..." said the suitors, "Then, when the wheeling seasons brought the fourth year on, one of her women, in on the queen's secret, told the truth and we caught her in the act—unweaving her gorgeous web." (2. 117-121) Penelope had promised the suitors that she would choose a man to marry as soon as she finished her shroud for Laertes, but what the suitors had not yet discovered was that at night, when all alone, she would unweave what she had completed the day before. Now, you don't just accidentally unweave a funeral shroud, especially when Laertes wasn't even dead. Penelope was very smart and used her intelligence against the suitors, she tricked them in hopes of Odysseus returning hope before the had ever figured out her master plan. "Now, I mean to announce a contest with those axes, the ones he would often line up here inside the hall, twelve in a straight unbroken …show more content…
169-170) The main conflict in the Odyssey is that while Odysseus is out at sea, everyone in Ithaca believes that he is dead, and they are trying to convince the queen to marry. Penelope is the queen of Ithaca, without the king of Ithaca, Odysseus. In present time, it would be completely normal for an individual man or woman to hold a throne or specific governmental status on their own, but in the twelfth century B.C. it was not an everyday occurrence. Penelope held the throne all by herself, as a woman in Ancient Greek culture, while the suitors courted her for years on end and well overstayed their welcome. "In this way, she is able to retain her esteemed position as Odysseus' 'widow' and exercise continued control over his esteemed properties, while she goes through the motions of encouraging courtship." (Marquardt 35) The courting of the suitors was a way more complex concept than what is first assumed. Penelope was very intelligent and used the suitors to her advantage. If the suitors weren't there to court her, she wouldn't have a reason to stay in Ithaca. In other words, Penelope's father wanted her to return home, and Penelope knew all along that as long as the suitors were in her palace, she had an excuse to stay. Penelope was a leader in Ithaca and many people looked up to her. Penelope had to be very powerful in order to hold this position, although she
The first, and most important, of the many schemes that the suitors had fallen for was the funeral shroud for Laertes. "Three whole years she deceived us blind, seduced us with this scheme..." said the suitors, "Then, when the wheeling seasons brought the fourth year on, one of her women, in on the queen's secret, told the truth and we caught her in the act—unweaving her gorgeous web." (2. 117-121) Penelope had promised the suitors that she would choose a man to marry as soon as she finished her shroud for Laertes, but what the suitors had not yet discovered was that at night, when all alone, she would unweave what she had completed the day before. Now, you don't just accidentally unweave a funeral shroud, especially when Laertes wasn't even dead. Penelope was very smart and used her intelligence against the suitors, she tricked them in hopes of Odysseus returning hope before the had ever figured out her master plan. "Now, I mean to announce a contest with those axes, the ones he would often line up here inside the hall, twelve in a straight unbroken …show more content…
169-170) The main conflict in the Odyssey is that while Odysseus is out at sea, everyone in Ithaca believes that he is dead, and they are trying to convince the queen to marry. Penelope is the queen of Ithaca, without the king of Ithaca, Odysseus. In present time, it would be completely normal for an individual man or woman to hold a throne or specific governmental status on their own, but in the twelfth century B.C. it was not an everyday occurrence. Penelope held the throne all by herself, as a woman in Ancient Greek culture, while the suitors courted her for years on end and well overstayed their welcome. "In this way, she is able to retain her esteemed position as Odysseus' 'widow' and exercise continued control over his esteemed properties, while she goes through the motions of encouraging courtship." (Marquardt 35) The courting of the suitors was a way more complex concept than what is first assumed. Penelope was very intelligent and used the suitors to her advantage. If the suitors weren't there to court her, she wouldn't have a reason to stay in Ithaca. In other words, Penelope's father wanted her to return home, and Penelope knew all along that as long as the suitors were in her palace, she had an excuse to stay. Penelope was a leader in Ithaca and many people looked up to her. Penelope had to be very powerful in order to hold this position, although she