Why did Penelope not believe Odysseus?
When Odysseus returns, Penelope doesn’t recognize him and cannot be sure that Odysseus is really who he says he is. He is angry because he believes Penelope must have replaced this bed with a movable one. His anger, and the fact that he knows the story of the bed, proves his identity.
What is Penelope’s problem in the Odyssey?
The Odyssey However, Penelope is not a pasteboard figure. She is a complicated woman with a wry sense of destiny who weaves her plots as deftly as she weaves a garment. Penelope is in a very dangerous situation when the suitors begin invading her house and asking — and then demanding — her hand in marriage.
Why did Penelope endure the outrage in the Odyssey?
What I do wish to suggest is that Penelope endures the outrage in part because the suitors are for her a means of escape from Odysseus’ house, even if revolting, should she find that Odysseus is dead or not at all who he once was, or perhaps even if he lives but does not wish to return
What did Penelope say to the maid in the Odyssey?
In Book 23 of “The Odyssey,” Penelope spoke to the maid Euryclea: “I have never slept so soundly from the day my poor husband went to that city with the ill–omened name” (Homer). Odysseus was absent from Penelope’s life for twenty years. Despite his long absence, Penelope stayed faithful to him.
How did Odysseus become king when he married Penelope?
Penelope was the queen and Odysseus became king by marrying Penelope. If Penelope were to give up on Odysseus then the man she married would become king of Ithaca. The wooers were hoping she would choose one of them. She did not begin her life in this way though. It was her father’s brother, Tyndareus, who was king.
What did Homer say about the wife of Odysseus?
Questions and Answers. Answer: Homer makes little reference to Penelope but he does have Agamemnon say: “Not that your wife, Odysseus, is likely to murder you, for Penelope is a very admirable woman, and has an excellent nature.” (Odysseus, Book XI). Of course her beauty also helps to attract the suitors.