In The Odyssey, Odysseus is the brave, clever hero striving to return to his homeland after twenty, long years. He is the hero we focus on, the one we praise for being cunning, courageous, and strong. Yet at the same time, we, and Homer, it seems, forget about the other heroes in the poem.
The one hero I want to focus on is Penelope, Odysseus' wife. Penelope is extremely loyal to her husband. This faithfulness is emphasized by the juxtaposition of her and Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's traitorous wife. Penelope was able to wait twenty years for Odysseus, all the while holding off a hundred suitors by weaving and unraveling her loom. In this way, Penelope has a lot of power--the suitors are scrambling for her.
Penelope isn't just faithful. She's smart. She's smart enough that she can trick her suitors and hold them back for another three years. In Book 24, the dead suitor says to Agamemnon that the loom that Penelope weaved "was her latest masterpiece of guile" and that "three whole years she deceived us blind, seduced us with this scheme..." This quote shows how deceptive and cunning Penelope is--it shows how much she matches Odysseus. There are many other instances of her guile--for example, when she asks for her suitors for gifts to prolong the time for Odysseus to get ready. She also tests Odysseus in a smart way by asking him about something no one else would know about (the rooted bed).
However, despite her loyalty to her husband and her cleverness, I think there is something problematic with her portrayal in The Odyssey. Penelope's character is defined by her faithfulness so what are the implications of such a character? Is it showing that a woman, in order to be perceived as good, must only wait for her husband? That even if they may be long dead, it is betrayal to move on? One thing that bothered me was in Book 24, when Agamemnon commented to Odysseus about "what a fine, faithful wife you won!...the fame of her great virtue will never die." Yes, I get that Agamemnon is bitter over the betrayal of his own wife and that women were seen mostly as property in ancient times, but the idea that a woman's faithfulness to her husband is her defining trait made me uncomfortable. Further, there is also the double standard that is set for men and women: Odysseus has been fooling around with other women but it's perfectly alright.
That is why I like Penny, the version of Penelope in the film adaptation O Brother, Where Art Thou? In the movie, Penny is smart like Penelope but isn't waiting for Ulysses like Penelope is for Odysseus. Instead, Penny has moved on and is ready to marry another man. While some say that she is the wrong for moving on from Ulysses so quickly, he was a con-man that got thrown in jail. There's this completely different dynamic between Penny and Ulysses in which Penny calls the shots and is the one in control. She is the one who decides whether or not to take him back. Penny is much more independent and freer than Penelope and I really like that. I hope that future adaptations of The Odyssey will portray Penelope like they did in O Brother, Where Art Thou?
