Penelope's Role In The Odyssey

Although the reading selections in Unit 1 had male protagonists, the female characters of Penelope, Eurydice, and Circe of Aeaea played important roles in the stories. By looking at their traits, their actions, and their part in the story, it is evident that they were essential to the plot of the stories and the development of the characters Odysseus and Orpheus.

Penelope appears in the epic poem, the Odyssey. She is Odysseus' wife. We first truly meet her in part three. Penelope is revealed to be cunning and determined. During the many years in which Odysseus is gone, she is bothered by suitor after suitor who wish to marry her and steal Odysseus’ fortune. Penelope uses cunning to hold them off to give Odysseus time to return. She tells the suitors that she will remarry after she finishes a cloak for Odysseus’ father. She worked on it during the day and unraveled it by night. When she was eventually found out, she proposed a contest among suitors that was rigged. The suitor that could string Odysseus’ bow and shoot an arrow through 12 ax heads would be the one she would marry. However, she knew that Odysseus was the only man who could string the bow. With this contest, she unknowingly set up Odysseus’ return and his way of revenge. In this way she played an important role in the plot.

Although she tricks Odysseus’ men and holds them captive for a year, Circe helps to move the plot and eventually shows how dangerous the journey Odysseus must make really is. Circe shows deceptiveness and cleverness when Odysseus and his crew first arrive. She pretends to be a generous host by preparing a feast with poisoned wine that turns Odysseus’ men into pigs. However, when forced by Odysseus, she warns him about the dangers ahead that they would have to pass to reach