You’re reading an excerpt from Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad for the Monday class after break. It is a modern (published in 2005) adaptation of The Odyssey, told from Penelope’s perspective (a voice we don’t hear much of in The Odyssey).
Info on the text (from the link below): in the text, Penelope tells her personal story and also her feelings about her husband and his famous exploits. The maids also get a voice in Atwood’s play — telling of their unfair treatment. Throughout the play, the maids act as the chorus, explaining their situation and “pleading their case.”
Atwood’s style is very different than that of The Odyssey. She chose to call the play a Cabaret because, as she explains, “it isn’t a play in the usual way, nor is it a ‘Musical’ in the usual way.”
