In ancient Greece, women were objects to be won. In The Odyssey by Homer, Penelope is shown as a one sided character. She only weeps and waits for Odysseus. She is portrayed as an eternally faithful wife. In The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, we see another side of Penelope. The book is set in the underworld after they have all died and Penelope is telling her side of the story. She is shown as a strong, clever, deceptive woman. She is a more developed character and actually has opinions and thoughts. In The Odyssey, set during the Trojan war, Odysseus was away fighting. After the war was won, it took ten years for him to return. The Odyssey is about Odysseus and his adventures. Penelope was the queen of Ithaca and she was still disrespected
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Penelope shows this by telling us how women were treated in her time. In regards to marriage and inheritance, Penelope says, “If you had daughters instead of sons, you needed to get them bred as soon as possible so you could have grandsons.” (Atwood 25). Penelope’s voice and understanding of the circumstances shows that women’s purpose was to give their husbands or fathers heirs. Penelope’s voice also shows that this was to be done as soon as possible. Women had importance for trading of wealth and reproducing. In that time, marriage was only for expanding of your kingdom. The women were married so the fathers could become richer and have heirs and grandsons. Those were the only reasons the women were …show more content…
She shows that she did not want these men, and the only reason that she did not get rid of them was because she was weak. Also, Penelope shows that she was impious to the gods. You were supposed to house a person just in case it was a god in this time. She does not care about the possibility that the suitors may be gods. She shows this by speaking poorly of her guests. She says that they made themselves at home, which in a way, shows that they believe they own her. She is the queen and when you take over the queen’s household, it shows that you feel that you own
Penelope shows this by telling us how women were treated in her time. In regards to marriage and inheritance, Penelope says, “If you had daughters instead of sons, you needed to get them bred as soon as possible so you could have grandsons.” (Atwood 25). Penelope’s voice and understanding of the circumstances shows that women’s purpose was to give their husbands or fathers heirs. Penelope’s voice also shows that this was to be done as soon as possible. Women had importance for trading of wealth and reproducing. In that time, marriage was only for expanding of your kingdom. The women were married so the fathers could become richer and have heirs and grandsons. Those were the only reasons the women were …show more content…
She shows that she did not want these men, and the only reason that she did not get rid of them was because she was weak. Also, Penelope shows that she was impious to the gods. You were supposed to house a person just in case it was a god in this time. She does not care about the possibility that the suitors may be gods. She shows this by speaking poorly of her guests. She says that they made themselves at home, which in a way, shows that they believe they own her. She is the queen and when you take over the queen’s household, it shows that you feel that you own