Character of Penelope in Homers Odyssey Essay - 1374 Words

The Character of Penelope in The Odyssey My lady, there is no man in the wide world who could find fault with you. For your fame has reached broad heaven itself, like that of some illustrious king.(Page 289,Book 19, The Odyssey) Penelope played one of the most vital roles in Homers timeless classic ‘The Odyssey’, as both Odysseuss patient and loving wife and as the Queen of Ithaca. Her great love for Odysseus is most powerfully shown with her persistence in waiting nineteen years for her husband to return over the ‘wine dark sea’ rather than losing all hope and marrying another. Penelope has a strong and constant character, and her personality changes very little throughout ‘The Odyssey’. Since there are so few mortal women†¦show more content†¦Not only is the irony in this statement obvious but it is also epitomizes how she is held in high esteem. Perhaps the most powerful example of influence by a woman is Helen of Sparta who is said in myth to be the direct cause of the Trojan War. Penelope similarly is also shown to have been very sought after, by the band of suitors that inhabit Odysseuss palace in Ithaca while he is away. All the while Odysseus is away; suitors are constantly trying to force Penelope to choose one of them as her new husband, however she holds them off with her cunning nature. Penelope is also important because she (along with Telemachus) is the main reason for Odysseus to return home. Odysseus shows his great love and determination when goddess Calypso offers him immortality (Book 5) on the condition that he remains on Ogygia as her husband. At Odysseuss first opportunity he builds a raft and sails away, leaving the lonely Calypso behind. When he reaches Phaeacia, he is then offered the hand of King Alcinous daughter, Nausicaa, who must be a vision of beauty since Odysseus mistakes her for the goddess Artemis on first site. Instead Odysseus wished to return to Penelope. Penelope has a very complex and interesting character. 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