The next theme is perseverance. Penelope and Odysseus especially showed the most perseverance. One of the reasons that they showed the most perseverance is that they both are survivors. Odysseus was gone for twenty years, ten in the Trojan War and ten more in his voyage home. Penelope has persevered against the intruders for about four years, playing one against another with plenty schemes, in example, when she knitted a shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes. Odysseus' perseverance is unforgetable, especially in the part of the story containing his journeys (Books 9-12). The toughest test of his perseverance and his loyalty is the seven years he spends as Calypso's prisoner, a position he can neither finesse nor fight his way out. Even when
