In the afterlife, Penelope is haunted by the fact that Odysseus ordered her Maids’ deaths when he returned home. She then unravels her progress each night with the help of her trusted Maids. A skilled weaver, Penelope tricks the impatient Suitors by telling them that she will not select one of them for marriage until she is finished making a shroud for her father-in-law Laertes. During Odysseus’s absence, Penelope becomes an expert at managing Odysseus’s estate independently, employing twelve of her Maids to help her spy on the Suitors who have come to beg for her hand in marriage. Penelope gives birth to Telemachus a year before Odysseus leaves for the Trojan War. She loves Odysseus, however, and the two often lie in bed together, telling stories. In Ithaca, Penelope finds herself with few friends. Penelope marries Odysseus at age fifteen and then returns to Ithaca with him.
Penelope is insecure about her looks and her ability to attract men, often comparing herself to her cousin Helen, whom she loathes. Penelope, although not a beauty, is known for her cleverness, her devotion, and her modesty. Penelope is the daughter of King Icarius, the mother of Telemachus, Odysseus’s wife, and the first-person narrator of the majority of the novel.
0 kommentar(er)
