Book 23 is my favorite book in the Odyssey mainly because it is where the reuniting of Odysseus and his beloved wife takes place. This book starts off as Eurycleia goes up to tell Penelope of the great news that her husband, the man Penelope so dreamed of seeing once again, has returned at last to his home after a long, painful journey. However, Penelope refuses to believe that what she is being told is true. She tells Eurycleia that the man she speaks of is not her husband but rather a god made to look like her husband. As Eurycleia continues to reassure Penelope that her husband has really come home and he is the one responsible for the bloodshed of the suitors, there is no doubt in Penelope's mind that the man that Eurycleia speaks so fondly of is no more than a god "up in arms at their outrage, heartbreaking friends". I think Penelope is both suspicious and reluctant to believe that Odysseus has returned. She has been through so much with the suitors and everything they have tried to pull, just so they can get the throne. She doesn't know who to believe anymore because the one man who she trusted completely, left years ago, and as far as she knows, he never returned. But then on the other hand, I feel as if she is just being reluctant and just doesn't want to accept the fact that her husband has returned because in her mind, he is already dead. She has already grieved for years and told herself that he will never return.
Not knowing what to believe, Penelope decides to test the man who claims to be Odysseus by telling Eurycleia to go and move their bed out of the bridal chamber. By saying this, Penelope knows only her true husband can correct her and tell her that that is an impossible task "even for some skilled craftsman". He goes on explaining how only a god could move the bed because of the way it was built by himself. The significance of this exchange about the bed is that it shows the foundation that their marriage was built on and it is the one point in the poem where we see Penelope believe in her husband's return for the first time in a very long time.
After they reunite, Odysseus explains that they must keep the news of the death of the suitors to themselves so that a passerby will not know what took place in the castle earlier. He is concerned what people might think and how they might react if they find out. He is also concerned about the suitors' families and how they will take the news of their sons' death. Odysseus then explains to Penelope that he must travel once again inland where he must sacrifice a ram, a bull and a wild boar to Poseidon when he comes across a stranger who asks him why he carries a winnowing-fan on his back. He explains that he must do this last thing because when he traveled to the House of Death, that's what the ghost of Tiresias prophesied to him. I think the message that Homer is trying to get across to the reader is the concept of promises and keeping your word. Odysseus is known as a man who keeps his word. When he visited the House of Death and came across the ghost of Elpenor, where he promised him that as soon as he arrived back to Aeaea, he would burry his body and so he did. Like the promise made to Elpenor, this last task serves the same purpose.
2. If you were Odysseus, what would you be concerned about after you had killed the suitors?
3. What do you think angered Odysseus about Penelope's request for the bed to be moved.
Odysseus' return must have naturally come as a shock to Penelope. It is indeed as you have said. She was grieving for so many years that she could not bring herself to believe that the man she once married had come back. It is clear that she also blames the gods for her suffering when she accuses Odysseus of being a god in disguise. It seems that the entire family of Odysseus is both cunning and wise when they test each other for their integrity and honesty.
ReplyDeleteIf I was indeed in Odysseus' position, I would worry about the same thing as he did. The suitors' families will not accept the death of the suitors caused by the man that sailed away twenty years ago with Ithaca's best and came back alone. I would check to see if my heritage on the island still existed since Laertes, it turns out, also held the title of "the raider of cities" before his son gained it as well.
Odysseus' anger towards Penelope is not without reason. The bed is a huge symbol of their marriage, their bond, since Odysseus had carved it out himself. He states how it is impossible for mortals to move and he passes the small test that Penelope had set him. Because it is one of their most intimate relational secrets, Odysseus might feel a little betrayed to be tested upon the most intimate secret.
I agree with you about the reason that Penelope didn’t believe her husband was really home. I too think it’s because she has already told herself that he won’t be coming home, especially since he’s been gone for twenty years. She doesn’t want to accept the truth because in this case, disbelieving is easier for her than taking that vital leap of faith.
ReplyDeleteIf I was Odysseus and I had just killed a bunch of suitors, I’d probably be most concerned with cleaning my palace up because I wouldn’t want to come back home after twenty years and have to live with blood and body parts all over everything. I would want to have a place where I could actually call home, a place where I can actually stake my claim. I guess that is why Odysseus lights the fire in his fireplace as his first action, in order to welcome himself home to a "housewarming" gift.
Odysseus was probably angered because he knew she knew that it could not be done and it was evidence to him that she disbelieved his identity, which probably hurt him emotionally.
1. Upon hearing from Eurycleia that Odysseus has returned, Penelope is reluctant to believe her. It seems like she doesn’t even want to hear a word about Odysseus because, like you said, she thinks he is dead and that he is never coming home. Penelope even thinks the nurse is mocking her for saying that Odysseus is home at last. I feel like Penelope has the right to take precaution of believing anything anyone says because it seems like everyone is out to get her. Also, this wariness reminds me of both Odysseus and Telemachus so maybe this characteristic runs through the family. Wariness is being safe with what you hear and making sure what things other people tell you are true.
ReplyDelete2. If I was Odysseus, I would be concerned after killing the suitors. Murder is a very serious thing and with every life lost, there are family and friends waiting at the other end. To me, facing those family and friends would be the toughest next to knowing for the rest of your life that you took someone else’s life away.
3. By the time Penelope asked to have the bed moved, I feel like Odysseus had enough of her mistrust. He probably took it personally that Penelope asked about the bed because he physically made it himself and it is his most intimate secret.
1. The reason why Penelope did not believe Eurycleia is because just like you said, she convinced herself Odysseus was dead. Deep down she hoped he was not, but the concept of him coming home after twenty years was so unrealistic it was hard to believe he still could be alive. Penelope also did not believe her because she did not want to get her hopes up. If this person was not actually Odysseus then she got excited for no reason. She would think her dream came true, but then it wouldn’t which is just devastating. I think Penelope’s reaction was perfect. Testing him was the right thing to do, this is how she knew if she could trust him.
ReplyDelete2. I think Odysseus was not angered by the request of the bed being moved in particular but upset on how Penelope was acting towards him. He finally gets to tell his wife he is Odysseus and she is not happy. He has been waiting for this day for a long time, crying on Calypso’s island because he wants to see his wife, and finally he gets to see her and she is not at all pleased/ joyful. Mentioning the bed is just the last straw to this disapproving day, especially because he knows the bed is unmovable.
Just like how Stephen, Haley, Michael and pretty much everyone else has said, Odysseus' returning would have naturally come as a shock to her. This is a man who just shows up one day that has been literally gone for more than a decade! It is only natural that she would be a little apprehensive about opening up to a man that could easily have been an impostor. Also, she says that someone coming and pretending to be Odysseus was a huge fear of hers, so that would have also contributed to her strange response to Odysseus' homecoming.
ReplyDeleteIf I were Odysseus, I would be most concerned with how the town would react to the suitors' sudden death. The suitors were popular leaders throughout Ithaca so it would be a little nerve racking waiting for their response, especially how their families' would take it.
I think Odysseus was angry about Penelope's request to move the bed because it made him feel like his incredible work of art was less significant than he thought it was. He knew that it was a glorious piece of work that is too heavy for any man to life, so I think he was offended that she assumed someone would be able to life it.
She has spent so much time grieving about her husband that to hear one second that hes back is such a surprise one cannot help but be skeptical. She has become pessimistic and she is not naive enough believe in a second that her husband really is back. Penelope has been told many times of news of her husband and most of the time it doesnt come true, this makes her skeptical and rightfully so.
ReplyDeleteIf I was Odysseus I would not be concerned with anything other then the mess the suitor's bodies were making in my luxurious palace, they deserved what they got and their parents can deal with it because they raised terrible sons.
Penelope's request for the bed to be moved angered Odysseus because it made it seem like she did not care about the things he did for her before he left, it also made Odysseus think that he did not mean anything to her anymore. Their bed was sacred and the fact that Penelope would be willing to move it upset Odysseus because he wanted Penelope to grieve for him and to miss him the whole time he was gone.