Single Mothers In Homer's Odyssey

“On Father’s Day it only seems right to give credit to single mothers, who in big or small ways must serve as both father and mother to their kids”(Foerstner 2) In The Odyssey, by Homer, it tells the story of a man named Odysseus who is the Ithacan King. After fighting in the trojan war for 10 years, he gets lost and can’t seem to get back home after many many years of trying. Back at his home land, he has a wife named Penelope and son, Telemachus. Penelope is fighting struggles of her own as she fights off suitors who use her husband’s law of hospitality to come into their house, mistreat it, and try to win Penelope over so they may become king. Raising a child alone, running a kingdom full of disrespectful people and waiting for her husband …show more content…
Managing time well may be one of the most important things to know when raising a child alone. With so many conflicting schedules, a child has to, at some point in their lives, give up things they want to do. In the article Happy Father’s Day, Mom, A single mother with two kids named Martha Medina says, “‘In the midst of all this, you realize you’re sacrificing their childhood’” (Foerstner 2). In The Odyssey, Penelope realizes her son’s childhood is being taken away from him when he has to focus on keeping suitors in their place, waiting, and looking for his father. She isn’t able to help …show more content…
Let’s face it, doing a job that was meant for two alone exhausts all hard-working single mothers. Failing to do only one task could bring their self esteem down and they don’t always know how to pick themselves back up. “... you’ve had the rug pulled out from under you. Your self worth is so low that you don’t know how you’re going to help your kids” (Foerstner 2) “Many single parents feel guilty and some even ashamed of having to ask more of their children than in terms of sacrifice and household operations” Single parents all over the world feel the weight of exhaustion hit when they begin to take in the task of mother and father both. Penelope was at an all time low when she finally gave in to the “fact” that her husband wasn’t coming home any time soon and she would have to pick a suitor. The work that single parents have to deal with drains a great portion of their energy. Physical exhaustion and fatigue is sure to play a toll in their lives. In book 21 in The Odyssey Penelope finally gives in to the terrible work of the suitors and gives them the task to earn her hand in marriage and place on the throne. “‘... You who plague this palace night and day, drinking, eating us out of house and home with the lord and master absent… I set before you the great bow of King Odysseus now! The hand that can string this bow with greatest