Ever wonder what it’s like to meet yourself from someone else’s perspective? Everyone has a different way of seeing and describing one person. One can see this in how characters’ change over time through the works of different authors. A great example of this is Penelope from Greek mythology. Many different authors have examined the character of Penelope and presented her character in different ways. Originally from Homer’s Odyssey, Penelope has been perceived in many different ways, including the feministic perspective of Margret Atwood in The Penelopiad. Penelope as a character was not only perceived differently by Atwood, but as well as in the poetry of Dorothy Parker , Edwin Muir , and A. E. Stallings . Throughout the authors’ works Penelope’s
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In the Odyssey Penelope is more a secondary character as the story follows her husband Odysseus. From the bits of her we see Penelope plays a character who is very loyal and trusting of her husband and is in a patriarchal based society. Firstly, we see Penelope’s loyalty when she makes the excuse of the shroud to hold off the suitors. She says to the suitors, “Young men, my wooers, since goodly Odysseus is dead, be patient, though eager for my marriage, until I finish this robe—I would not that my spinning should come to naught—a shroud for the lord Laertes,” , explaining that she will not pick a new husband until she finishes the shroud. She weaves all day and without the suitors knowing, unweaves her work each night so that the shroud will never be finished. This shows her loyalty to Odysseus because no matter how long is gone she continues to hold the suitors off awaiting his return. By unweaving the shroud each night, she continues to buy Odysseus more time to return home to rule again. Secondly, we see her loyalty in her final test to prove that Odysseus is really himself once he returns. After Odysseus returns disguised as a beggar and shoots all the suitors with his bow, Penelope is quite sure this is her husband. In Mihoko Suzuki’s article Rewriting the “Odyssey” in the Twenty-First Century: Marry Zimmerman’s “Odyssey” and …show more content…
One example of this is how Atwood was able to change the character of Penelope by allowing Helen to have a more prominent role in the novel, that Homer did not have. Perfectly stated by Gabrielle Neethling in her article, “It is precisely in the contact between the two cousins that we find the recasting of Penelope; her shame, regret and humiliation are all expressed during their conversations, which allow for new characteristics to be attributed to Penelope.” The interactions between Penelope and Helen, or interactions involving Helen is when Penelope’s true character shines through. Often when discussing Helen, Penelope becomes very jealous and insecure. On the contrary, Homer does not does not have such a relationship, making Penelope’s characteristics not as strong or dominant. Without putting Penelope in a situation where her personality could really show through, Homer’s Penelope seems weaker and is portrayed as more of a background character. Additionally, by making the book from Penelope’s perspective, Atwood had much more room to develop Penelope’s character as a whole. In comparison to Homer, Penelope has a much larger character. Since the Odyssey is from Odysseus’ perspective his character is more developed, much like Penelope’s in The
In the Odyssey Penelope is more a secondary character as the story follows her husband Odysseus. From the bits of her we see Penelope plays a character who is very loyal and trusting of her husband and is in a patriarchal based society. Firstly, we see Penelope’s loyalty when she makes the excuse of the shroud to hold off the suitors. She says to the suitors, “Young men, my wooers, since goodly Odysseus is dead, be patient, though eager for my marriage, until I finish this robe—I would not that my spinning should come to naught—a shroud for the lord Laertes,” , explaining that she will not pick a new husband until she finishes the shroud. She weaves all day and without the suitors knowing, unweaves her work each night so that the shroud will never be finished. This shows her loyalty to Odysseus because no matter how long is gone she continues to hold the suitors off awaiting his return. By unweaving the shroud each night, she continues to buy Odysseus more time to return home to rule again. Secondly, we see her loyalty in her final test to prove that Odysseus is really himself once he returns. After Odysseus returns disguised as a beggar and shoots all the suitors with his bow, Penelope is quite sure this is her husband. In Mihoko Suzuki’s article Rewriting the “Odyssey” in the Twenty-First Century: Marry Zimmerman’s “Odyssey” and …show more content…
One example of this is how Atwood was able to change the character of Penelope by allowing Helen to have a more prominent role in the novel, that Homer did not have. Perfectly stated by Gabrielle Neethling in her article, “It is precisely in the contact between the two cousins that we find the recasting of Penelope; her shame, regret and humiliation are all expressed during their conversations, which allow for new characteristics to be attributed to Penelope.” The interactions between Penelope and Helen, or interactions involving Helen is when Penelope’s true character shines through. Often when discussing Helen, Penelope becomes very jealous and insecure. On the contrary, Homer does not does not have such a relationship, making Penelope’s characteristics not as strong or dominant. Without putting Penelope in a situation where her personality could really show through, Homer’s Penelope seems weaker and is portrayed as more of a background character. Additionally, by making the book from Penelope’s perspective, Atwood had much more room to develop Penelope’s character as a whole. In comparison to Homer, Penelope has a much larger character. Since the Odyssey is from Odysseus’ perspective his character is more developed, much like Penelope’s in The