Examples Of Loss Of Power In The Odyssey

Penelope was Odysseus’s greatest obstacle, testing his mental strength and loyalty to their marriage. However, his wife Penelope was the most challenging obstacle of all. She definitely tested his mental strength and loyalty on multiple occasions. For example, when Odysseus arrived on the island of Ithaca and was finally reunited with his beloved wife Penelope, it was imperative that he was to remain disguised. This was

In The Odyssey, Penelope and Odysseus have this strong, kind, and sweet love. They are separated for twenty years, but they both stay faithful to one another, even though Odysseus meets these two beautiful and enchantress goddess, and Penelope's suitors trying to marry her ( she never dreams of marrying one of them). When Odysseus comes back from fighting in Troy that lasted for ten years, Penelope-the perfect mate for the wily Odysseus-uses caution and test him. She takes Odysseus back because he knows something only those two know.

Queen Penelope cannot rule the kingdom without Odysseus. The group of elders came and told her to choose a husband since they thought Odysseus died during the Trojan war, even Odysseus wanted Telemachus to rule if he didn’t return from the Trojan war. If this were a normal woman of Greece, then she would be under the care of her father or older brother, even a family friend. But, her husband is lost at sea along with her father is most likely dead, and she has no friends. Right now, Telemachus would take care of her and the kingdom of Ithaca. Alas, he is not old enough to rule yet.

As for giving orders, men will see to that, but I most of all: I hold the reins of power in this house.”. Which completely dismisses Penelope’s power in Odysseus’ estate, as well as dismissing her feelings of grief. Penelope is also seen as a temptress when a suitor tells Telemachus that “she’s played it fast and loose with all our hearts, building each man’s hopes- dangling promises, dropping hints to each-but all the while with something else in mind.” (book 2).

They had to face their problems head on and deal with the stress they had been put under in Book 18. Penelope came to terms with her fears concerning her missing husband. Odysseus finally comes to the epiphany that some things are left up to the gods and not everything is controlled by a man’s decisions. “Of all the creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing is bred that is weaker than man. He thinks no evil thing can ever come upon him, so long as the gods give him power and his knees are nimble; but when the blessed gods bring sorrow, he has to bear this also, unwillingly yet with patient heart” (Homer 228). Odysseus finally sees both the upsides and the downsides to being a

In the Odyssey, by Homer and “The Lady, of the Tiger?’ by Frank R. Stockton there are many examples of responsibilities of power. Power can be used for good or bad. In both passages, Odysseus and the king both use there The Odyssey shows many examples of power being used for good. For example, Odysseus sacrifices many things to help him and his men get back to Ithica.

The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fitzgerald, manifests a quality that has been underestimated for many years, from ancient times to modern day. This quality is the power of a woman. Penelope, the wife of the main character in The Odyssey, Odysseus, shows great amplitudes of power throughout the first few chapters of the book. Being separated from her husband immediately after having their child, she is forced to make an instantaneous adaptation to her new life. With many struggles beforehand, she seems to cope very well.

Penelope has been faithful to Odysseus for over 20 years. This shows loyalty as she waits for him to return. Since she is Odysseus’s wife, she endures the 20 years while persevering the aggressiveness of the suitor who want her hand in marriage. The suitors are aggressive because they think that Odysseus will not return home because he is either lost or dead and also giving the fact that he is king therefore they want to overthrow him (Mucci, T., Caldwell, B., & H., 2009). Penelope dodges them by playing them against each other just to avoid them.

Penelope serves a significant role in The Odyssey by serving as a source of motivation for Odysseus and portraying the ideal woman in Greek society. Penelope throughout the story is displayed as a woman who is not swayed by the suitors, and Odysseus repeatedly draws from her person to motivate himself. Penelope first displays a great sense of loyalty to Odysseus by attempting to delay the suitors through tricks. Penelope employs tricks such as weaving a shroud for Laertes, Odysseus’s father, but “...every night by torchlight she unwove it;/ and so for three years she deceived the Achaeans” (92). This act showcases Penelope’s loyalty to Odysseus, and shows her role displaying the ideal woman in Greek society by providing a practical and understandable example of loyalty to the audience.

As the request is made of his own mother she simply abides to her son’s wishes, “She bathed now, put on some fresh clothes,” (Homer l 17.60). All throughout the Odyssey Penelope shows her strength to ward off suitors and she manages to live without her husband for years. Remaining faithful the entire time to her husband Odysseus she discloses to her maid, “Eurynome, don’t try to coax me, care for me as you do, to bathe myself, refresh my face with oils. Whatever glow I had died long ago… the gods of Olympus snuffed it out that day my husband sailed away in the hollow ships,” (Homer ll 18.201-206) presenting to the reader that she lost all desire for anyone else when Odysseus’ left for war. This further substantiates the Greek view of how women should remain loyal at all times forsaking others. Lastly Penelope is rewarded for her lasting devotion to her husband with his return. In these characters and their specific roles in the Odyssey the Greeks’ insisted upon their women to accept such roles in their culture of certain hypocrisy when compared to that of their female counterpart. Without Athena’s support Odysseus would have never reached Ithaca and Telemachus would not have been pushed into becoming a man. Without Penelope’s loyalty, devotion, and support Odysseus’ efforts in his journey home would have held little merit of reward. What is most important to note is the male character of Odysseus plays the most prominent role in the epic but

Women play an influential role in The Odyssey. Women appear throughout the story, as goddesses, wives, princesses, or servants. The nymph Calypso enslaves Odysseus for many years. Odysseus desires to reach home and his wife Penelope. It is the goddess Athena who sets the action of The Odyssey rolling; she also guides and orchestrates everything to Odysseus’ good. Women in The Odyssey are divided into two classes: seductresses and helpmeets. By doing so, Homer demonstrates that women have the power to either hinder of help men. Only one woman is able to successfully combine elements of both classes: Penelope. She serves as a role model of virtue and craftiness. All the other women are compared to and contrasted with Penelope.

Unlike Odysseus Penelope is confined by the gender roles of her time and cannot use physical strength against the suitors or even direct verbal rejection, instead Penelope resorts to her emotional resilience and wit in order to challenge the suitors. She wrongly reassures the suitors that once she finishes weaving a gift for Odysseus’s father, she will choose someone to marry her, “’Young men, my suitors, let me finish my weaving, before I marry’…every day she wove on the great loom but every night by torchlight she unwove it.” (II. 103-104, 112-113) Penelope’s actions are strategic and well calculated. Her main goal, like Odysseus, is to successfully overcome her situation. She understands that she may not be able to physically fight the suitors but she can trick them until Telemachus or Odysseus are able to. By crafting a lie that delays the suitors from marrying her immediately, Penelope restrains the suitors from seizing Ithaca, her household, and posing a threat to Telemachus or Odysseus. Her lie gives Odysseus a crucial advantage in the physical fight against the suitors as he comes back to a city and household where Penelope

Odysseus's wife, Penelope plays a crucial role in Homer's ‘The Odyssey’, with not only providing the motivation for Odysseus's return to Ithaca, but she is also the center of the plot involving the suitors and the fate of Telemakos and Ithaca itself.  Therefore the objective of this essay is to analyze the importance of Penelope’s role in ‘The Odyssey’.

In Homer's epic, The Odyssey, Odysseus is an epic hero with an epic wife, Penelope. Penelope is also the Queen of Ithaca, a vital role indeed. Penelope's love and devotion towards Odysseus is proven when she waits nineteen years for her husband to return from the wine dark sea, rather than losing faith and marrying another man. Penelope's character is strong and solid, and her personality remains consistent throughout Homer's Odyssey.

            There were far more restrictions placed on the women of the ancient world than on the men.  To many, this may appear to be an obvious fact.  However, the comparison of women to men in the Odyssey does not show such a discrepancy.  The women created by Homer had certain characteristics that set them apart from ordinary women.  Penelope was a woman who did not give in to the demands of her surroundings.  She suffered throughout the twenty year absence of her husband, Odysseus.  She maintained her dignity and her chastity through her refusal of the hoards of suitors that flocked to her home. Penelope represents the ideal woman for balancing her refusals of marriage and the preservation of her respect.  When ready to address her suitors, Eurymachus, a suitor himself, speaks out from the crowd in praise of Penelope.  He states, "Ah, daughter of Icarius, wise Penelope . . . You surpass all women in build and beauty, refined and steady mind" (18. 276,280).  The acts of Penelope would not have been allowed of an ordinary woman of those times.  Her loyalty to Odysseus was unflagging and quite contrary to Clytaemestra's loyalty, another character in the Odyssey, though she is never mentioned by name.