The Odyssey: Book 23, The Great Rooted Bed
Tone:
The tone in the beginning of this book is very frantic; it starts out with Eurycleia rushing through the hallways and into Penelope’s room to inform her of the good news. The old nurse tells Penelope that Odysseus is indeed back home to Ithaca. At first Penelope couldn’t believe it but when she was reassured she cry tears of joy. The tone then shifts to a calmer one, even a little harsh. When Penelope sees Odysseus in person she seems to show no emotion at all. The reason for all this is because she fears the Gods are playing a trick on her or maybe Odysseus is no longer the man he used to be. With these assumptions she keeps a distance from her husband. But then Odysseus proves himself to his wife by describing their bedstead in deep detail, with this Penelope is reassure that Odysseus has not changed after all these years. The tone then changes to a more happy and joyful one to go along with their reunion as husband and wife.
Symbols:
The major symbol in book 23 is the wedding bed of Odysseus and Penelope. The bed itself represents the foundation of their love. The symbolism is heightened when Penelope suggests moving it elsewhere as a sort of test. These words hurt and shock Odysseus. He immediately replies by saying how the bed was built from a trunk of an olive tree and that it cannot be moved. This representing that their love is everlasting and cannot be changed no matter what.
Key Passages:
“the gods have made you mad. They have that power, putting lunacy into the clearest head around or setting a half-wit on the path of sense. They unhinged you, and you were once so sane. Why do you mock me? – haven’t I wept enough?” (23.12-16)
_ This was Penelope’s reply to Eurycleia claiming that Odysseus was home. Through this quote we can see that Penelope is starting to lose hope in Odysseus returning home. When Eurycleia tells her of the news at first she simply dismisses it as the old nurse going crazy.
“Come, Eurycleia, move the sturdy bedstead out our bridal chamber-that room the master built with his own hands. Take it out now, sturdy bed that it is, and spread it deep with fleece, blankets and lustrous throws to keep him warm.” (23.
Penelope tests Odysseus to make sure that he is really her husband. Penelope asks Odysseus to tell one secret of their marriage. Odysseus is outraged that she doesn’t believe him, but he tells her that their bedroom was made out of part of a tree. Penelope felt the need to test Odysseus because she was not sure it was him. She show this when she says, “Think what difficulty the gods gave: they denied us life
With confidence, Penelope speaks up “if only Odysseus came back home to on native soil now, he and his son would avenge the outrage of these men—like that!” (17.600-01). In the Quote one is able to notice that Penelope is trying to get a spark out of her son, to see how he would reply to her after having found out that her husband is said to be on the island from the god Theoclymenus. Penelope realizes that her son said that he did not speak to Odysseus but she senses that her son may be lying to her. Moments after Penelope voiced how she wished for her husband to be home her son “shock with a lusty sneeze like a thunderclap resounding up and down the halls” (17.602-03). At this point in the book Penelope has already been told about the arrival of a beggar and she has formed an idea that the beggar may be her husband. Penelope speaks in response to the sneeze, “bring me this stranger now, face –to-face! You hear how my son sealed all I said with a sneeze?” (17.606-07). This response shows that Penelope got what she wanted, which was to get her son to reveal what she believed to be true this whole time. The belief was that the beggar is her husband which is confirmed when she said: “bring me the stranger now” (17.606). Homer portrayed Penelope as oblivious but the sneeze shows that she is able to pick up on the little things
She could have moved on after a little while, but she didn’t marry any of the suitors that were trying to court her; instead she was hopeful and believed that Odysseus could come back after 20 years. In the story, while Odysseus is gone, many suitors have come to try to court his wife, Penelope. But, Penelope doesn’t want to marry any of the suitors, she wants to marry Odysseus. When Odysseus, described as a beggar, comes to his house, Penelope immediately wanted her maid to “go get that man…[because]he may have heard rumors about Odysseus,” (Homer 1282-1285). The quotation proves that Penelope is an optimist because you can infer that when new people come, the first thing Penelope does is ask them whether they have seen or known Odysseus, because she doesn’t know anything about the beggar that makes him special to ask him about Odysseus, which shows that Odysseus is in her thoughts, and that she has hope that he can come home. Penelope is an optimist because she kept hope that Odysseus would come home
Upon hearing of the travels of the beggar, Penelope is very interested to question him as to whether he has ever crossed paths with her husband Odysseus. The story that Odysseus tells her is for the most part untrue. However, he does give specific details as to what clothes he had worn, so that Penelope would believe that the story was truthful. The beggar then goes on to tell her that Odysseus is coming back to Ithaka in the very near future. It is at this point that Penelope first thought that the beggar could actually be her husband Odysseus, as she was overcome with emotions, and began to cry. From this point on ...
Firstly, Penelope who plays Odysseus’s wife is alone tending to her city Ithica until her husband returns. Meanwhile Odysseus is out fighting in the Trojan War and against many of the Greek God’s who are trying to make his trip back home as eventful and hard as possible; “…work out his journey home so Odysseus can return” (Homer 276). While King Odysseus is away Penelope is to deal with a bunch of suitors who are eating and trashing out Ithica, “…if those suitors have truly paid in blood for all their reckless outrage” (559). In order for Penelope to keep peace until Odysseus returns she has to come up with a clever plan to keep the suitors from completely taking over. For almost 2 years Penelope was able to keep the suitors from getting out of hand by saying she will find someone to marry and replace Odysseus after she is d...
She is loyal, having waited for Odysseus for twenty years, not remarrying, though she thought he was gone for good. She also plays a much more active role in the marriage she has with Odysseus. Perhaps the most defining characteristics attributed to Penelope involve her role as a woman, in marriage and as a presumed “widow”. First, there seems to be a double standard, like described in Calypso’s case, between the loyalty of Penelope and the loyalty of Odysseus. Penelope is physically and emotionally loyal to Odysseus, while Odysseus is only emotionally loyal, meaning he has had sexual relations with other women within the twenty years he has been gone. During this time period in Greek culture, this was not frowned upon and was quite normal, suggesting that women were held to a different standard than men. In addition, as Penelope is presumed to be a widow, at least by the suitors, she is prized solely for her beauty. The suitors speak only of her beauty and none of her intelligence or of her personality or soul. This suggests that marriage was not always about love, and that women were judged and valued merely for their beauty. This idea further proves the act of sexualizing women during this
When Eurycleia is told by Penelope to wash the beggar, she notices a scar on his leg that is strikingly similar to the one her master had before he left for war. Immediately, she recognizes Odysseus but is sworn to secrecy as to not inform anyone of his arrival home. Obeying her beloved master, Eurycleia overcomes the instinct to run to Penelope and tell her that her husband is finally home. Not only does this event show how loyal Eurycleia is to Odysseus but “The incident also prepares for the importance of Eurycleia in the coming Homilia: she is more dangerous right now than the suitors” (Scodel 6-7). Illustrating the importance of Eurycleia in the final half of the epic, she is vital to Odysseus’s plan and has the power to easily ruin it with three words: Odysseus is home. If she says those three words to any other person in Ithaca, word will spread to everyone else like wildfire. Surely, then, the Suitors will be informed of Odysseus’s presence and instantly plan to murder him before he is able to regain his
Shown by her consistent weaving and unweaving of the shroud, Penelope has an internal debate with herself about marrying or not marrying a suitor. This can be compared to the way Odysseus returns home, which is in a zigzagging pattern, sometimes closer to home, sometimes farther away. He had almost gotten to Ithaca when his crew opened the bag of winds given to Odysseus by Aeolus. The large gust of wind, once again, threw them off course. Parallel to that situation is when Penelope was completely headstrong and close minded about not wanting to marry a suitor. She had little to no doubt that Odysseus was coming back but something abruptly changed her mind and she finished the
Throughout the Odyssey there are many themes that Homer uses to portray different people and events. To name a few, there are the themes of Betrayal and Revenge,Greed and Glutony, Hospitality, Role of the Gods and Wealth (the amount of money one had determined the status he held in the greek society, and this explains Odysseus's love for plunder).
However, his journey isn’t over yet. This last leg of Odysseus’s journey is perhaps the most important and crucial. Odysseus’s nurse and maidservant, Eurycleia is the first woman in Ithaca to know that Odysseus is back after she recognizes the scar on his leg while she is washing him. Eurycleia vows to keep his identity a secret. Odysseus’s wife, Penelope has stayed faithful to Odysseus for all the years that he was gone. Penelope was consistently unweaving her web to the delay the suitors. The reader even grows sympathetic for Penelope as “we see her struggle to make the virtuous choice about her marriage, despite pressures from her suitors, her son’s endangered situation, and her own uncertainty about Odysseus’s survival” (Foley ). Finally, Odysseus reveals his identity and Penelope is bewildered, but quickly embraces her husband after he tells her the secret of their immovable bed. It is the faithfulness of Penelope and nurse Eurycleia that insures Odysseus’s survival to the very end.
Throughout the Odyssey, there are many relationships that represent love between two people. These relationships show loyalty, compassion, and the wanting to be near one another. Two of these kinds of relationships are between Odysseus and Telemakhos, and Odysseus and Penelope.
Penelope is the most important female character in the epic because Odysseus ' homecoming is centered on reconnecting with her. Ten years has past and Odysseus has still not returned from the war and is seemingly dead. Many suitors desire to replace him, by taking Penelope 's hand in marriage and Odysseus ' property. While unsure of Penelope 's attitude towards these suitors, readers are constantly reminded of her faithfulness to Odysseus. Although Odysseus does not know whether Penelope remains faithful to him, he still yearns to come home. “The expectations and limitations of the male and female roles in the Odyssey are accepted and never questioned”. (Whittaker 40) Society expects women in Penelope’s position to remain devoted to their significant other even after all these years and not knowing whether or not he is alive but are more forgiving to men who commit adultery like Odysseus. This situation once again brings up the question of a double standard modeled in The
The relationship between Odysseus and his wife Penelope is one of loyalty, love, and faith. Both characters are driven by these characteristics. Odysseus displays his loyalty in his constant battle to get home to his wife. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Odysseus spent 20 years trying to return to his home in Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War. Along the way he manages to offend both gods and mortals, but through his intelligence, and the guidance of Athena, he manages to finally return home. There he discovers that his home has been overrun by suitors attempting to win Penelope’s hand in marriage. The suitors believed that Odysseus was dead. Odysseus and his son, Telemachus,
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.
Often times in life we search for a companion, someone to share our love and life with. Odysseus and Penelope's lasting relationship is an obvious representation of love in the Odyssey. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca. This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. Penelope also exemplifies this same kind of love for Odysseus. At home in Ithaca, she stays loyal to Odysseus by unraveling his shroud and delaying her marriage to the suitors that are courting her. She always keeps the hope that her love, Odysseus, will return. Odysseus and Penelope's marriage clearly illustrates the theme of love.