My most favorite part in “The Odyssey” is when Athena encourages Telemachus. She tells him that he should go find his father Odysseus. This is my favorite part because before Athena arrives and encourages him, he is just helpless and has no strength to face the suitors in his house. He has no guts to go and tell the suitors to leave his house and his mother alone. But when Athena comes and says, “…You’ve got to stop Acting like a child. You’ve outgrown that now… You have to be aggressive, strong—look at how big And well-build you are—so you will leave a good name” (339). Here she explains to him how he is no longer a kid. He has the looks and personality of a grown up. He should fight for his father and be known in the world. With just a little bit of encouragement he ends up finding the accurate news about his father. I believe that a little encouragement can make a big difference. If you encourage someone to do something, you never know if he or she would have been able to do it on their own without the encouragement.
Furthermore, one question I have is if Penelope is upset over her husband, why she tells the suitors that they must wait until she is done weaving a fabric, but then each night unweaves it? “Young men—my suitors, since Odysseus is dead—Eager as you are to marry me, you must wait Until I finish this robe—it would be a shame To waste my spinning…” (345). As far as I can understand, the reason why she is doing this is probably because she doesn’t want to get married. Or she is waiting for her husband to return so that she may remain his wife. These could be the reasons but it is really hard to understand why she would do that. She could simply just say “No” to the suitors. What do you think?
Hi Kiran,
In book two line 106 “Eager as you are to marry me”. In my opinion they are the one who wanted to marry her. In order that this will not happen she did all that she could like telling them to “wait until I finish this robe” (line 107) and made it with a “fine thread” ((line 104) which is not easy to work with. So as I see that Penelope did all that in her power to stop them, I do not think that she wanted to marry them.
Hello Kiran,
Actually there is a custom where you cant say no to a stranger when they arrive at your house. You have to provide hospitality and take care of them. The suitors brought in gifts for her and he has to accept and welcome them. Also I think Penelope just knew that this day will come because her husband was not there other men would try to marry her. She avoided them by giving the reason to weave the shroud. This was just a trick that will keep them wait for some time. She didn’t want them to harm her son or cause any violence in Ithaca. Therefore, she didn’t go up straight and taunt. Also I feel she is very affectionate and loving towards her husband and her son.
Kiran,
I believe you hit it right on the nose with your interpretation of why she tells the suitors that they they may court her once she is finished weaving a burial shroud for her elderly father-in-law, Laertes. It seems very clear through her behavior that she does not want to marry anyone, as she still has faith that her missing husband, Odysseus, is still alive. Therefore, she undoes the knitting that she does everyday so that it would not be finished, thus her not having to court any of the suitors. Ultimately, she holds out and is trying to buy time because she has faith in her husband returning, and does not want any harm to come to Telemachus, who as of then, is the only thing dear she has left.
Kiran,
I absolutely agree with what you have written in your post. It is great that, with a little encouragement from Athena, although to him she is simply an ‘old friend’, Telemachus is able to mature and face his suitors. Book II is even titled ‘A Hero’s Son Awakens’! So you really did get the point correct of Telemachus becoming more brave.
As for Penelope delaying her suitors by weaving and unweaving Odysseus’ father’s burial shroud, I also believe that you are correct. I believe that she is doing whatever she can to keep from remarrying, and she definitely is still hoping that Odysseus is still alive.
Hello Kiran,
I think Penelope is unable to completely reject the suitors and as a result she needed to think of a clever way to avoid re-marriage. I’m sure if she could she would definitely have said “no” and remove the suitors from Ithaca. Throughout the books she is constantly worried about her son and has hope that her husband is alive. In her own way she remains dedicated by staying at Ithaca instead of returning to her father’s home.