Essay on Role of Penelope in Homers Odyssey - 788 Words

The Role of Penelope in Homers Odyssey The character of Penelope in Homers Odyssey has served as an archetype of femininity proper. Her physical attributes, while comely by even the most demanding standards, are veiled. Her intellectual attributes are veiled too. She seems more often than not to wear a veil of tears (for her man) or a veil of silence (for her own wishes), or ineptitude (in her dealings with her son). She is certainly no Helen. She is not flaunting or whore-ish. She is not unconcerned with the needs of others, nor flippant about marital bonds, nor the loyalty of her heart. She does not steal the show, as Helen does time and again when she upstages her husband (who, by the way, may be a bumbler in the presence of his†¦show more content†¦In this essay, I explore the possibility that Penelopes veil is a source of her presence/power. In particular, I explore the way Penelopes veiled intellectual attributes cover her deliberate mind, but not completely. As any good veil will do, Penelopes makes hazy t he being and form underneath. It does not darken completely though. If we look with imagination and respect upon the veiled light of being and form, we might find another kind of power, equal to the glaring light of masculine power that Homer shows and tells us about in Odysseus, but far less overbearing. Far more alluring. I pursue the idea that while Penelope faces oppression at the hands of her son, her suitors, and her social obligation to remarry, she remains free and powerful. Both her freedom and power are manifest in her cunning and deliberate ways. I argue that this is the manifestation of a femininity characteristic to her, and to the tradition of misogyny. Her deliberation marks her presence/power/femininity not despite her veil but because of it. When she tricks her suitors by unraveling Laertes shroud after each day at her loom, when she tests Odysseus with questions about their bed, when she announces the contest of the bow, when she refuses to recognize Telemachus impending adulthood, she shows, in veiled ways, her deliberate nature, her presence/power/femininity. To account for how I move from absence to presence from impotence to power and from the first kind ofShow MoreRelatedEssay about The Role of Penelope in Homers Odyssey1100 Words   |  5 Pages    Odysseuss wife, Penelope plays a very important role in Homers Odyssey.   She provides the motivation for Odysseuss return to Ithaca.   She is also the center of the plot involving the suitors and the fate of Telemakos and Ithaca itself.   The objective of this essay is to analyze the important role of Penelope in Odyssey.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Penelope is the reason for Odysseuss return to Ithaca.   He is driven throughout his entire journey to go back and see his wife.   He turns down immortalityRead MoreThe Odyssey, by Homer Essay1150 Words   |  5 PagesHomer’s Odyssey was written around 700 BC. During this time there was major social and economic change, which brought the development of new cities, as well as new laws to govern them. 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