#and penelope does not dissuade him of that notion

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Comparative analysis of Homer and Atwood’s Penelope

When discussing Homer’s, The Odyssey and Margaret Atwood’s novella The Penelopiad, a retelling of Homer’s myth, it is easy to fall into the trap of giving more thought to the considerable differences, of which there are undoubtedly many, than to what may be similar. There are thousands of years seperating Homer’s epic and Atwood’s retelling. The Odyssey is written in verse while The Penelopiad is mostly written in prose. Further, there is also much to examine when considering the feminist undertones of The Penelopiad compared to The Odyssey. This paper will explore the concepts of feminism within these texts by investigating differences and continuities between the texts. This paper will first examine the differences between the characterisation of Odysseus and the dichotomies of luck - which this paper will interpret as divine intervention - and skill, between the depictions of Odysseus’s journey back to Ithaca within The Odyssey and The Penelopiad. This paper will then explore the characterisation of Penelope and argue that the Penelope of The Odyssey can be read as a feminist figure and is as wily and cunning as her characterisation in Atwood’s The Penelopiad. However, this paper will ultimately argue that Homer’s Penelope is constructed to be “a stick used to beat other women with” (Atwood 2). Finally, this paper will examine the largest difference between the texts, Atwood’s increased focus upon the hanged maids, exploring how Atwood uses the maids as a metaphor for female power, while providing the closest stylistic connection to the tradition of Homer’s myth. Much discussion has taken place around Atwood’s shift of the narrative focus away from the male perspective of Odysseus and onto the female voices and perspectives within the narrative, namely Penelope. While it is irrefutable that The Odyssey is a male-centric and dominated narrative, there are female figures who play a pivotal role within the story. Namely, one of the most recognised figures of female power in western cannon, the goddess Athena. Having the literal goddess of wisdom and crafts, arguably the strongest representation of feminine power, function as a guiding hand ensuring the safety of Odysseus for merely admiring his wits (Sommor et al. 2) can certainly be read as a feminist portrayal. However, there are elements within The Odyssey that diminish Athena’s feminine power. Most tellingly Athena only presents herself to the male characters of Odysseus and Telemachus, making a strong female presence a bystander in a man’s narrative. Another example of Athena’s femininity being reduced is when she is needed as an integral agent in the plot to return Odysseus to his home in Ithaca. In order to be taken seriously by Odysseus’s son Telemachus she must appear to him as a man (Sommor et al. 5). It could also be argued that when acting as mentor to Telemachus, Athena imparts lessons and virtues that are traditionally viewed as ‘feminine’ such as, hope, sense and adeptness (Sommor et al. 5). In one instance, it can be read that Athena acts as the societal archetype of the female nag when she dissuades Telemachus’ from nonsensical activities, reminding him to be mindful of what truly matters (Sommor et al. 8). In Atwood’s The Penelopiad, no such power is given to divinity, rather divinity is given little mention at all within the narrative. By shifting the narrative focus away from Odysseus and onto Penelope, Atwood removes many of fantastical elements of Odysseus’s journey and elevates the mundane. By sapping the recognisable supernatural mythic elements – cyclopes and sirens amongst other examples – Atwood is also able to reduce Odysseus’s mythic status, diminishing Odysseus’s exploits with monsters and gods to mere rumor and gossip (Howells 9) “Odysseus had been in a fight with a giant one-eyed Cyclops, said some; no it was a one-eyed tavern keeper, said another” (Atwood 83). As Atwood shifted the perspective of the narrative to Penelope she has also played a role in shifting how the character Penelope is perceived. In her novella, Atwood characterises Penelope as shrewd, cunning and caustically self-aware of her own canonised image as the perfect, virtuous woman. This characterisation is in part created through Penelope’s reaction to Odysseus’s return and her relationship to Helen. A widely-cited difference between Atwood’s and Homer’s Penelope is the notion of when Penelope is aware of Odysseus’s return. The Penelopiad makes it clear that Penelope is not fooled by Odysseus’s ruse “His disguise was well enough done…but as soon as I saw the barrel chest and those short legs I had a deep suspicion, which became a certainty when I heard he’d broken the neck of a belligerent fellow panhandler.” (Atwood 136). This early recognition is often held up as an example of Atwood’s Penelope being a more cunning figure then the Penelope of The Odyssey, however, it should be acknowledged that Homer’s Penelope is also cited for her cleverness due to her shroud deception. There are some academics however, who argue that due to early scholar’s misinterpretation of the word ‘stranger’ in the scene where Penelope encounters a disguised Odysseus (Vlahous 2) led to a wide-spread belief that Penelope does not recognise her husband; when there is evidence of Penelope’s early recognition. A common understanding of Penelope’s early recognition comes in book 19 as the disguised Odysseus is able to answer Penelope’s questions about the clothes and jewelry Odysseus was wearing when he first departed Ithaca in great detail (Vlahous 6). It is argued that from this exchange Penelope is able to devise a test that only Odysseus could complete, leading to the ‘bed test’ of book 23 that cements Penelope’s certainty that Odysseus has returned (Vlahous 6). This shows that that Homer’s Penelope displays a cleverness and shrewdness that goes beyond her shroud trick. Another argument made for a more sophisticated reading of Homer’s Penelope is her relationship to her cousin Helen. Though a relatively minor character in The Odyssey, Helen looms large in The Penelopiad. Throughout the novella, Penelope is unabashedly unkind towards Helen, titling a chapter “Helen Ruins My Life” (Atwood 71) and expressing dismay that Helen never faced any punishment over her transgressions when others face death by drowning, sea serpent and arrow for what Penelope considers to be lesser crimes (Atwood 22). Academic Gabrielle Neethling asserts that Atwood has constructed this antagonistic relationship between the cousins for Helen to serve as a shadow figure to Penelope, a mirror reflecting the things that Penelope knows, yet dislikes about herself and the injustice of being held up as a paradigm of the perfect woman when she knows she is guilty of transgressing in similar ways to Helen (Neethling 119-122). As mentioned throughout this paper Homer’s Penelope has been used as a high watermark for the archetype of an idealised faithful wife, however, there are readings of the character that are in keeping with Atwood’s portrait of a far more complicated woman. Academic Keri Ames posits that Homer’s Penelope is also concerned with the concept of transgression, as evidenced through her avid support of Helen, her adultery and abandonment of home (136). Ames goes on to contend that this defense of Helen is a reaction to Penelope being fearful that she to is likely to commit the same transgression and that it is only through the mercy of the gods that she has been able to remain faithful to her own marriage (136). In The Penelopiad, Atwood makes it clear that Penelope has a deeply complicated relationship to her own image as an ideal, faithful wife who is perceived to be rewarded for duplicitous acts because they enacted for the good of her family, “Why couldn’t they be as considerate, as trustworthy, as all-suffering as I had been?” (Atwood 2). This self-awareness and serious consideration of her perception is where these two versions of Penelope diverge. Academic Sarah Bolmarcich provides an interesting reading, suggesting that perhaps by elevating her status Homer has knowingly created a strong female character, similar to Atwood’s. Bolmarcich suggests that Odysseus’s speech Nausicaa “there is nothing better or finer then when two people of one heart and mind keep house as man and wife, a grief to their enemies and a joy to their friends” (Homer 80) situates Penelope into a position of power afforded to no other woman in The Odyssey (Bolmarcich 205). Bolmarcich highlights Homer’s use of a Greek word within the passage above describing Odysseus’s marriage to Penelope that translates to a relationship between male comrades (211). This passage acts as a treatise into what Homer considers to be an ideal marriage and more importantly how a woman should act within her marriage (Bolmarcich 206-207). It could be argued that Penelope’s elevation to a position that is the same as a man’s, in tandem with the high regard that such relationships were held during the time of Homer’s writing shows that Penelope is intended to be held up as a strong woman (Bolmarcich 211). However, it is the view of this paper that for Penelope to be seen as a good and trustworthy partner she must have her femininity diminished and act in more masculine ways; whereas women, such as Helen who act in traditionally feminine ways are relegated to the archetype of bad wife (Bolmarcich 213) proves that Homer’s Penelope is constructed to be the “stick to beat other woman with” (Atwood 2) that Atwood’s Penelope understands her image to be. As discussed above two of greatest differences between The Odyssey and The Penelopiad is Atwood’s increased focus on the murdered maids and the vast differences in form. The Penelopiad is largely written in modern prose, from the perspective of Penelope, from the underworld, where she uses anachronistic language. All of these elements serve to distance Atwood’s Penelope from the male dominated narrative of The Odyssey. However, sprinkled throughout The Penelopiad are short asides, including sea shanties, laments and a anthropology lecture are given by the maids; who are given no voice in The Odyssey. Interestingly Atwood’s use of the maids provides the closest stylistic relationship to Homer’s narrative. Academic Hilde Staels argues that Atwood’s use of the maids ‘chorus line’ asides serve as the Greek chorus, commenting upon the story from an outside perspective (Staels 104). Staels goes on to argue that Atwood’s use of the maids provides her narrative with the mythic elements that she strips from Odysseus’s story. By having Odysseus murder the maids, maids that Staels believes act as twelve manifestations of the moon goddess Artemis, a goddess associated with womanhood, that Atwood is enacting a vegetation myth (104). As the maids, figures of female power die, the rebirth of Penelope can occur, allowing for the narrative to be taken from the men of The Odyssey and become the story of and the reclamation of the power of the women of The Penelopiad (Staels 104). There are many clear differences between The Odyssey and The Penelopiad, however, there are also many continuities between the texts. By engaging with close readings of these texts the reader is able to find a more feminist understanding of the male-centric Odyssey and a more traditional mythic understanding of the radically modern Penelopiad; such readings are only a matter of interpretation.