Analysis of Penelope's Credibility in Margaret Atwood's Penelopiad

This essay analyzes the credibility of Penelope as the narrator in Margaret Atwood's *The Penelopiad*, a retelling of Homer's *Odyssey*. The essay explores Penelope's motivations, her portrayal of events, and the reliability of her narration, particularly concerning her relationship with Odysseus, the hanging of her maids, and potential infidelity. It examines Penelope's attempts to gain sympathy, the feminist perspectives within the novel, and the complexities of her character. The essay questions whether Penelope presents a truthful account of events and considers alternative interpretations of her actions, ultimately assessing her role as a strong, intelligent, and sometimes unreliable narrator within the context of the story. The analysis considers the perspectives of Odysseus and the maids to provide a comprehensive understanding of the narrative.

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Credibility of Penelope in The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
Proposal
The great epic of Odyssey by Homer has discussed about the faithfulness of Penelope as
the wife of Odysseus. In the story of the Odyssey, Penelope had endured all the challenges alone
when her husband Odysseus went to fight the Trojan war to rescue the Helen of Troy. Amidst
these incidents, Odysseus comes back and finally killed the suitors of Penelope and hanged
twelve of her maids. In the novel The Peneolopiad, Margaret Atwood has discussed about the
incidents that occurred during that time including the hanging of the twelve maids (Neethlin:
115). The narrator in this novel is Penelope herself. She has gone on to discover the reasons for
the killing of those twelve maids. The playful storytelling of Margaret Atwood has been
wonderful in this novel. The use of wit in this novel has given an entire new identity to
Penelope’s character.
Thesis statement: The character of Penelope in Margaret Atwood’s Penelopiad is a heroine in
her own right and her narration in the story is something to be accounted for.
Research questions

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1. Why Penelope wanted to portray the scenario in a manner that it was completely the fault
of Odysseus when he hanged all twelve maids?
2. Was Penelope completely guiltless?
3. Was Odysseus somehow convinced himself that Penelope was infidel in his absence? Was
it the punishment of Penelope that was practiced upon her twelve maids?
4. Is this narration of Penelope in the novel just simply an attempt by Penelope to prove
herself innocent in the absence of her husband?
5. What might have been the reason for the infidelity of Penelope as her husband went to
fight the Trojan War to save Helen of Troy?
Main idea 1: Portrayal of Penelope and her narration is not at all true to the scenario
 In this paper, it is proposed that the descriptions of Penelope about the truth of her life
were not at all true. Her desperate stance probably suggests that she might have done
some wrong things that might have led her to save her from the distress (Jung: 41).
 The marriage of Penelope and Odysseus and their relationship after their marriage will
have to be discussed properly for further explanation on this matter. The portrayal of
Odysseus has been different and even opposite to that of Odyssey in this novel. It might
be suggested that the helplessness of Penelope in the absence of her husband Odysseus
had led her to be infidel (Hauser: 109).
Main idea 2: Penelope wanted to gain sympathy of readers through feminist angles
 These things are not presented in the Odyssey but the desperate attempts of Penelope
suggest that there is something wrong with the turn of events. In this novel, the feminist

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views have been presented to show that Odysseus was the reason why Penelope felt
helpless (Jung: 41).
 This is why she might have done something infidel and this caused the death of twelve of
her maids. In this novel, Odysseus has been shown as the main culprit since he came back
from the Trojan War and killed all the suitors of Penelope along with twelve of her maids
(Maver: 141). Penelope was not at all happy with this incident and readers are still
looking for the answer of the true event that actually occurred.
The character of Penelope has presented some beautiful shades about the development of the
story. The author of the story Margret Atwood has depicted the important angles that are to be
reviewed in a better manner (Atwood: 26). A person should keep some points of view or some
perspectives in their minds while interpreting a text through reading. In the narration of
Penelope, she had learned the ways how the difficulties in life could be dealt with. So, some
similarities had been noticed among the storyline of the Odysseus and the Penelopiad (Winstead:
228). After studying this novel, a sense of respect can be found within the minds of the readers.
Three elements or features of character that could be found within the character of Penelope are
endurance to deal with difficulties, her striking efforts to confront the daily problems. As per the
descriptions of the Odyssey, Penelope was the daughter of King Icarius and the mother of the
Telemachus. Some important features of the characters of Penelope as discussed in the
Penelopiad are her modesty, her cleverness and her devotion (Atwood: 26). It is worth
mentioning that Penelope was the elder cousin of Helen and she also had the capacity of
attracting the women towards her. In the narration of Penelope in the novel, it has been found
that both Penelope and Odysseus shared a very good relation and she gave birth to Telemachus
just a year before Odysseus left of the Trojan War to rescue Helen (Giannopoulou: 110).

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The reliability of the narrator of Penelope in the Penelopiad is one of the most important
factors that evolve round the novel. Whether she has been able to present the issues of her life in
a truthful manner or it has been done with much exaggeration has been one of the biggest
questions. In some points, some conflicts have been seen regarding the accountability of
Penelope as a narrator (Winstead: 228). Some critics have discussed over the fact that Penelope
is not all a reliable or an innocent narrator at all. Her modesty has been shown in the novel to
depict his character in the best manner (Atwood: 26). In the novel, all readers are aware of the
proceedings that actually took place within the epic of Odyssey. All the moves of Penelope have
been followed closely by the readers and her commentaries are indeed very crucial to denote the
ways she has gone on to show her intent in the novel. It is quite apparent that she will be mocked
and criticized every time she does something wrong and sys something irrelevant (Kröller: 37).
There are very few people who have trust on her. It is because she is all new in this
scenario and she has not been able to prove herself about her worth well enough. On the other
hand, she has also proven herself to be one strong woman who has always been all by herself
when her husband was not by hers side and went to the Trojan War (Burrow: 20). Another thing
should be kept in mind that Penelope has been seen as an infidel and this had caused the death of
twelve f her maids when her husband Odysseus came from the Trojan War. It is also clear from
the narration style of Margaret Atwood that Penelope was the queen of Ithaca but she did not get
the chance to say whatever she had to say (Kröller: 37). It is because she had to do some things
because she was the queen and she had to save herself from the distress in the absence of her
husband. (Giannopoulou: 110). Most of the sections in the novel have been told from the point of
view of Penelope and some sections have also been told from the point of view of the maids as

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well. Almost all the events have been retold by Margaret Atwood from the perspectives of
Penelope and the twelve of her maids (Rodriguez: 28).
Odysseus had stayed outside of the town for almost 20 years because he had participated
in the Trojan War (Kröller: 37). However, in her narration, Penelope had always been loyal to
her husband. Despite this narration, Odysseus came and killed the maids of her wife suspecting
her of infidelity. This was still the fact that Penelope had been sought y numerous suitors during
those years of absence of Odysseus. Still Penelope denied all these suitors and she eventually all
of these suitors had been killed by Odysseus after his arrival at home (Kröller: 37). After
returning, it also came to light that twelve of her maids had slept with various suitors and they
had been fraternized as well. This is why these maids had also been killed by Odysseus
(Murnaghan: 170). Apparently, the perspective of writing this novel is quite different from that
of the original epic of the Odyssey. This is why several different interpretations can be seen there
as well. In the Odyssey, the heroism of Odysseus had been portrayed in terms of the Trojan War
(Hauser: 109).
Odysseus had been highlighted in the most parts but the character of Penelope had been
focused in the most parts in this novel of Margaret Atwood. In this novel, it has been described
that Odysseus was different from that of the males of that time. They were very much cruel and
violent on their wives as well. So, it was high time that Penelope should always stay loyal to her
husband because her husband always treated her well (Baig: 65). As the novel progresses,
readers found out that Odysseus had been very much manipulative and he could do bad things to
the people. This is how readers could understand the fact that there are many flaws within the
character of Odysseus and he was full of complexity as well (Rodriguez: 28). After so much
flaws and problems within the character of Odysseus, Penelope was able to keep the feeling of

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love and loyalty for him. The insensitiveness of Odysseus has been expressed in the narration of
Penelope and readers have expressed their concern about the ill fate of Penelope (Hauser: 109).
The narration styles of Penelope are written in the prose style but the expressions of the
maids have been done in the poetic style (Paiva : 435). Therefore, it is quite important to note
that the deaths of twelve maids of Penelope cannot be accepted since it was thrown upon by
Odysseus just because those maids had fraternized with them. However, no historical evidence
had been found on this basis whatsoever. Penelope had evolved as a good ruler because she was
able to deal with all the political challenges within the scenario (Baig: 65). A very gruesome fact
had not been considered as per the narration of Penelope. It is the fact that some of the maids of
Penelope had been raped by those suitors indeed. Therefore, it was quite probable that this was
completely a wrong thing that was done to them. The order of killing the twelve maids of
Penelope was not at all a supportable thing because of them being raped by suitors (Nunes: 232).
The plots and themes of this book is quite serious but the development of the story seems to
be quite funny and creative at the same time at the end (Burrow: 20). Many facts and issues have
been included within the book by Margaret Atwood. Many different factors have been discussed
within the storytelling of the author. Therefore, it is quite sure that these perspectives should
influence the growth of the plot in many ways. The role of women in the society and the ill
condition of the women in the history has been shown in this book thoroughly. Despite these
accounts, some critics have also raised questions about the loyalty of Penelope (Baig: 65). A
sense of parody is mixed in this book along with feminism through the character portrayal of
Penelope has been done here. The modern sense of morality and ethical implications has been
portrayed in the ancient context of the Odysseus and Penelope. This is why some humor has also
been added along with intelligence and wit to explore this serious topic indeed (Jung, 46).

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Through these explorations, it can really be said that Penelope is indeed a very strong and
intelligent character. She did not yield to the suitors who continuously approached her for
marriage. In the narration of the book, it has been said that she had utmost love, respect and
loyalty for her husband Odysseus (Jung, 46). Sometimes, her infidelity had also been highlighted
as well where she could equal Odysseus in her cunningness. She could even fabricate the original
details of the life in many ways and present to the world whatever she wished. This is why it was
almost sure that her narration in the novel I not that much reliable at all (Neethling: 120).
Historians have stressed on the fact that she narrated the entire story of her plight from her
own point of view but she slept with many of her suitors. (Paiva : 435).This is why the rage
shown by Odysseus is well justified from some point of views. So, the character of Penelope is
indeed very much flawed. Moreover, it might also be probable that she might have been one of
the most important persons to be a part of the killing of her own maids. The maids actually faced
the plight and they had been killed (Jung, 46). It might be the attempt of Penelope herself so that
she could be safeguarded. Amidst these problems, her character is not at all clear of the faults.
Therefore, the faults of Penelope are pretty clear and she does not deserve to be the just queen in
the story. The furies of the dead maids will always haunt down Odysseus. Despite her attempts,
Penelope could not erase her misdeeds (Nunes: 232). So, the narrations made by Penelope are
not justified from any angle indeed. Amidst this issue, some positive points can also be ascribed
to the character of Penelope as well. She has been portrayed in the novel throughout as a very
strong character because she has been able to survive so many challenges in the male dominated
society. Numerous suitors had been trying to approach her and seek her hand for marriage. Her
narration states that she had managed to fight this scenario and become victorious in the strong
political conditions as well. This is where she becomes successful in her attempts to be a strong

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character in the epic literature by Homer and later times by Margaret Atwood. However, the
demands of the historians have kept her under the tag of infidel and she deserved to be punished
in this scenario.
On the concluding note, it is very clear that the narration by Penelope in the novel is not
at all trustable or justified enough. Margaret Atwood has presented Penelope as a character who
has succumbed to her ill fate and plight because of her deeds. Historians are of the opinion tht
Penelope had slept with many of her suitors. This thing has been completely ignored through the
narration of the story. So, it is very clear that Penelope began to be avenged because of such her
misdeeds. The feminism has been applied in the novel presented by Margaret Atwood in her
novel The Penelopiad. These aspects are certainly something to be remembered. The seeking of
justice for the maids is one of the most crucial factors for the ethical implications of the novel.
Therefore, it is sure that there are several flaws in the character of Penelope have many flaws.

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