Catherine: Thesis Brainstorming

Potential Thesis:
Throughout the Odyssey, Penelope is ordered around by her son or being smothered with suitors. However, behind her facade of being the helpless woman, we can see that her actions both mirror those of her heroic husband Odysseus. These actions show a clear divide in the characteristics of a woman and a man.

Notes:
– They both show cunning tactics.
– Penelope has to stall when Odysseus has to move forward. Penelope has been alone for 20 years when Odysseus has been sexually active throughout his journey.
– They both cry when the hear the bard sing. Odysseus cries when he hears his own story; Penelope cries at his story.
– Penelope follows the demands of her son; Odysseus tells him what to do.

– The similar qualities and characteristics (cunning, crying, etc) show a divide between masculinity and femininity.

Passage 1 (Book 2 Lines 96-104…)
Laying the blame on us. It’s not the suitors
Who are at fault, but your own mother,
Who knows more tricks than any other woman alive.
It’s been three years now, almost four,
Since she’s been toying with out affections.
She encourages each man, leading us on,
Sending messages. But her mind is set elsewhere.
Here’s just one of the tricks she devised:
She set up a great loom in the main hall
And started weaving a sizeable fabric
With a very fine thread, and she said to us:…

This passage displays the sneaky tactics Penelope uses to stall the suitors. She does not explicitly say that she will decide to choose later but makes an excuse that cannot be easily opposed by the suitors. Also, she purposely leads them on so that they feel somewhat satisfied and hopeful that she will choose one to marry later.

Passage 2 (Book 1 Lines 356-364)
“Phemius, you know many other songs,
To soothe human sorrows, songs of the exploits
Of gods and men. Sing one of those
To enrapture audience as they sit.
Sipping their wine. But stop singing this one,
This painful song that always tears at my heart.
I am already sorrowful, constantly grieving
For my husband, remembering him, a man
Renowned in Argos and throughout all Hellas.”

Crying, often labeled as a feminine quality is displayed her. Even though her husband cries at the same story, it shows his masculine quality because the story is about his fight.

Passage 3 (Book 23 Lines 179-186):
And Penelope, cautious and wary:
“You’re a mysterious man. I am not being proud
Or scornful, nor am I bewildered-not at all.
I know very well what you looked like
When you left Ithaca on your long-oared ship.
Nurses bring the bed out from the master bedroom,
The bedstead he made himself, and spread it for him,
With fleeces and blankets and silky coverlets.

Penelope has seen her husband for 20 years, so she could not accept someone who comes in and announces himself as Odysseus. By expressing her hesitance, she easily sets up the trap to test her tactician husband because she does not want to fall for what may have been a lie.