Men of Pain and the Women Who Love Them
...er burial shroud scheme. Claiming she will choose a suitor upon its completion she works all day and under the cover of night undoes her own work buying Odysseus more time for his return. Having been left to fend for herself as Odysseus wanders the high sees Penelope has resorted to every resource to fend off those that would have Odysseus legacy, culminating in a final test for her suitors. The stringing of Odysseus bow, which Penelope is well aware only her husband can perform such a feat and still have the stead fast hand to shoot an arrow clean through all the axes. Finally upon her husbands return she will take nothing for granted. Handling her young eager son, without disrespecting him, “if he is truly Odysseus, home at last, make no mistake: we two will know each other, even better-we two have secret signs, known to us both but hidden from the world”(23.122-26), she prepares to test this man claiming to be her husband. As the test goes we learn of the great rooted bed, a blatant metaphor for the firm, unwavering fidelity Penelope has for Odysseus after all these years. Stunned by her composure and loyalty Odysseus comments, “Strange woman! So hard-the gods of Olympus made you harder than any other woman in the world!” (23.186-9)To which Penelope displays her tenacity and wit, “Strange man, wary Penelope said.”(23.193) A response that would not slip from between the teeth of a subordinate wife or weak woman. Turn now to Helen, wife of Menelaus, and cause of the deaths of thousands of Greeks. Reconciling her responsibility in this matter to a positive portrayal of women in Homer is a bit difficult and to some extent does rely on the dues ex machine present throughout the Odyssey. When Telemachus visits them for word of his father she excuses her earlier behavior, the whole fling with Paris, as mistakes made in her whorish ways her heart affected by the “madness Aphrodite sent me”(4.295-6), surely there can be no blame for one swayed by the gods? This behavior excused Helen drugs the wine so no tears shall be shed during the feast. Helen, blessed with beauty, is also blessed with the ability to bring comfort and joy to even the gravest of moments. She re...