The Penelopiad: Analyzing Penelope's Reliability as a Narrator

This essay critically examines the reliability of Penelope as a narrator in Margaret Atwood's novel, "The Penelopiad." It begins by introducing the central question of Penelope's trustworthiness, exploring potential biases and emotional influences on her narration of events surrounding the Trojan War and her life with Odysseus. The essay delves into Penelope's character, exploring her experiences with patriarchy, her treatment as an object, and her strategies for survival and protecting her family's interests. It analyzes research questions regarding the reliability of her account, referencing secondary sources that offer differing perspectives on Penelope's actions and motivations. The essay considers arguments both for and against Penelope's reliability, comparing her character to Odysseus's and examining her portrayal as a cunning figure. Ultimately, the essay concludes with a nuanced assessment of Penelope's narrative, acknowledging the complexities of her character and the challenges of determining the absolute truth in her version of events.

Running Head: RELIABILITY OF PENELOPE AS A NARRATOR
RELIABILITY OF PENELOPE AS A NARRATOR
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction:
The Penelopiad, is a novel which is considered to be one of the finest creation of its
author Margaret Atwood. The novel, “The Penelopiad” focuses on the great battles like “The
Odyssey” and “The Iliad” and all the incidences, characters surrounding those battles; from the
perspective of Penelope. Apart from the narration of Penelope, this novel has thrown lights on
the character of Penelope and judged her character using a scale measuring reliability. The first
section of the essay mentions the question that arises while researching about the evidences of
reliability, in the narration of Penelope. The following sections delve deep into the character of
Penelope and reveal the reasons to consider Penelope less reliable. In this context, this essay has
mentioned some of the secondary sources and their explanation. Finally the conclusion section
sums up the entire content in a nutshell.
Thesis statement:
This thesis statement of this essay focuses on the facts in the narration of Penelope and
finds out several reasons that may prove the version of the narration of Penelope less reliable.
Hence, it can be said that, the thesis statement for this essay argues that the narration by
Penelope cannot be considered reliable, and there are chances that her interpretation of the
incidences are influenced by her emotion.
Research questions:
The first research question focuses on the reliability issues of the narration of Penelope,
in this narration, Penelope has talked about her life before her marriage as well as her life after
she tied knot with Odysseus, the renowned Greek emperor, the king of Ithaca. Penelope depicted

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that she had to stay alone, when her husband went for Trojan War. According to her narration, in
spite of the existence of several suitors, Penelope protected her chastity and fidelity. She kept on
delaying, the courtship which is offered to her by those suitors; by applying different tricks, so
that the suitors as well as the Hence, the first research question attempts to find out whether the
narration of Penelope is biased or not. This study does not only focus on the biased or
exaggerated part of the narration The second research question focuses on finding out the facts,
which provide the evidences that Penelope can be considered as reliable narrator. In this context,
this essay provide evidences from articles, that threw more lights on the attempts of Penelope to
protect her fidelity, and also showed how, using her wits, she had become successful to save
herself from the suitors, and trap designed by the suitors as well as disloyal servants, for
receiving her love as well as grabs the assets of her husband. Hence, this can be said that,
Penelope is considered to be an embodiment of faithfulness and fidelity. Again this article has
also compared the activities, narration as well as the character of Penelope with those of the
Odysseus and attempted to show the substantial difference between the characters in terms of
faithfulness and fidelity. The third as well as the final research question focuses on the
identification of the facts that raise questions on the reliability of Penelope, as a narrator.
About Penelope:
Prenelope was the daughter of Icarius, the emperor of Sparta. Sparta was one of the
famous city-states in the ancient Greece. The name Sparta was given after the main settlement
occurred at the bank of the river named Eurotas, in South-Eastern Peloponese. Penelope has
faced several challenging situation during her entire life. Before her marriage, she brought up in
Sparta where she did not receive love as well as affection from her parents. Her mother Periboea,
was an absent-minded and was not careful enough towards her. Her father Icarius, attempted to

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kill her when she was an infant. The evidence of which can be found in his act of throwing
Penelope in the sea. Later, through Penelope’s narration it was evident that her father Icarius, had
realized his mistakes and had become overly affectionate to Penelope. Again, through the
narration of Penelope it was also clear that, Penelope had faced many challenging situation both
before as well as after her marriage. Before her marriage, she had to face negligence of her
mother and due to several complications in the daughter-father relationship and also the news
Icarius attempts to kill baby Penelope, Penelope could never indulge into a normal father-
daughter relationship. In other words, she was never able to be frank with her father. Through
her narration the readers come to know that Penelope used to think that she was devalued as a
child. According to the narration of Penelope, when she grew up, due to the wealth and reaches
of her father she was valued by prince and kings of several states of contemporary times.
Penelope has also pointed out a vital point through her narration, that, she was considered to be a
‘prize’ to her husband, for being a wealthy princess of one of the popular city-state of that time
The narration through the perspective of Penelope, depicted the fact that, all through her life
Penelope was treated as an object not as a human,. To her father, who wanted to kill her just after
she was born, Penelope was a burden initially. Later she was thought to be the the path to the
vast treasure of Sparta, by her husband. Again, when her husband Odysseus went for the Trojan
War, she was considered to be the ‘treasure trove’ to several suitors, who also offered her their
love. Finally, she has also elaborated, how she escaped the traps designed by the suitors as well
as the twelve disloyal servants for the purpose of fulfilling their greed for the assets of Odysseus.

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Reliable or not:
It was true that Penelope waited for Odysseus, for twenty years. While, Odysseus,
indulged into several relationship at the time conquering many states of Ancient Greece,
Penelope kept her fidelity intact. In other words, as per the narration of Penelope, it can be said
that, though Penelope was the victim of Patriarchy, and all through her life she was ostracized,
she had to stay without her husband; she was loyal to her husband. She protected herself from
several lustful suitors, who did not only demand her love, but also tried to trap her, for the
purpose of grabbing her husband’s wealth.
There are some authors who did not considered Penelopes’s narration to be true.
According to some, Penelope represented herself as a pure soul, who was completely devoted to
her husband, but, in reality, this was only an attempt to highlight the image of Penelope as a
heroin of Odyssey. Her perspective of describing her own character was just a trick to elevate her
image, so that not only Odysseus, but also the character of Penelope can acquire popularity and
considered to be the embodiment o chastity. According to some, in reality, Penelope had just
utilized her wit and escaped all the predicaments like a sly, she was not a dedicated wife, though
she saved her wealth from the betrayers. Some considered her to be a ‘cunning pretender’.
According to some she was the trickster heroin, who is lustful, amorous but tricky to save her
riches and reputation in front of the world.

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Secondary source 1:
Baig, Mirza Muhammad Zubair. "The Suitors' Treasure Trove: Un-/Re-inscribing of
Homer's Penelope in Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad." NUML Journal of Critical
Inquiry 12.1 (2014): 65.
The article “The Suitors’ Treasure Trove: Un‐/Re‐inscribing of Homer’s Penelope in
Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad”, depicts how Penelope confronts with her “nobler” image
designed by Homer. In other words, it can be said that, this article has considered Penelope’s
ostracized life, how she became the victim of Patriarchy and later how the immense wealth of
Penelope made her a ‘prize’ to her husband and ‘treasure trove’ to the suitors, how did she
protect herself, her husband’s estate as well as her son, by applying the trick of ‘weaving of
Laertes’ for her father-in-law. Hence, it can be said that, this article looks at the story of “The
Odyssey” from the perspective of Penelope, and consider her narration to be reliable.
Secondary source 2:
Bottez, Monica. "Another Penelope: Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad." University of
Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series 01 (2012): 49-56.
This article delves deep into the narration of Penelope as well as her life as a victim of
Patriarchy, her ostracized life and attempts to find out the factors that raise question on the
patience as well a fidelity of Penelope. With a little focus on the facts of Penelopes’s turning into
the victim of Patriarchy and later, a ‘prize’ to her husband, for being a wealthy woman as well as
her transformation to a ‘treasure trove’ to the suitors, it has also been described how Penelope
utilize her wit and escaped all the predicaments like a sly. In other words, this article tried to find
traces that may highlight the other side of Penelope a ‘cunning pretender’. In other words, the

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lights thrown on the unseen parts of the character of Penelope, by Monica Bottez, have projected
her as a trickster heroin.
Secondary source 3:
Maver, Igor. "Penelope as a Desperate Housewife: Margaret Atwood's Retelling of
the Penelope Myth in The Penelopiad and Some Other Modern Penelopes." Textus
27.3 (2014): 135-150.
This article focuses on the empowerment of a female voice in reinscribing the character
of Penelope and highlighting the dreadful impact of patriarchy on the life of Penelope. In this
context this article has attempted to analyze the narration of Penelope. Thus this articles finds out
the disrespect as well as dishonor faced by Penelope by the twelve maids of fifty servants,
conspiracy against her as well as her son by the suitors and also by her disloyal servants. Also
the question of violence as well as the hanging of Penelope’s maid due to sexual betrayal are
highlighted in this article for the purpose of the exemplifying the negative impacts of patriarchy.
Secondary source 4:
Massoura, Kiriaki. "Space, Time, and the Female Body: Homer’s Penelope in Margaret
Atwood’s The Penelopiad (2005)." Contemporary Women's Writing 11.3 (2017): 391-411.
According to this article, the character of Penelope can be considered as one of the oldest
female narrator who is dependable. Penelope’s image has been highlighted as a woman who can
go far to protect her chastity. This article also projects Penelope as a brave narrator to elaborate
how, using her wits, she had become successful to protect herself from the suitors, and trap
designed by them as well as disloyal servants, for receiving her love as well as grabs the assets of
her husband. Hence, this can be said that, Penelope is considered to be an embodiment of

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faithfulness and fidelity. Again this article has also compared the activities, narration as well as
the character of Penelope with those of the Odysseus and attempted to show the substantial
difference between the characters in terms of faithfulness and fidelity. Hence, this article depicts
Penelope as a trustworthy narrator and wife as well.
Conclusion:
Hence, in the conclusion, it can be said that, some critics considered Penelope to be a true
narrator and devoted wife, who waited for her husband Odysseus, for twenty years. In spite of
being the victim of Patriarchy, she was loyal to her husband, which was not true about Odysseus,
as he had indulged into multiple affairs during the period of Trojan War.There are seberal critics
who consider Penelope not only a dedicated wife, but also an witty woman who was able to
protected herself from several lustful suitors, who did not only demand her love, but also tried to
trap her, for the purpose of grabbing her husband’s wealth. There are some authors who did not
considered Penelopes’s narration to be true. According to some critics, in reality, Penelope had
just utilized her wit and escaped all the predicaments like a sly, she was not a dedicated wife,
though she saved her wealth from the betrayers. Some considered her to be a ‘cunning
pretender’. According to some she was the trickster heroin, who is lustful, amorous but tricky to
save her riches and reputation in front of the world, without being completely loyal or faithful to
her husband Odysseus. Hence, the authenticity of Penelope as a narrator can be judged through
several critical angles and considered to be controversial by Muhammad Zubair Baig, Mirza,
Monica Bottez and others.

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Reference
Baig, Mirza Muhammad Zubair. "The Suitors' Treasure Trove: Un-/Re-inscribing of Homer's
Penelope in Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad." NUML Journal of Critical Inquiry 12.1 (2014):
65.
Bottez, Monica. "Another Penelope: Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad." University of
Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series 01 (2012): 49-56.
Irshad, Shaista, and Niroj Banerji. "Deconstructing Gender and Myth in Margaret Atwood’s The
Penelopiad." ANGLISTICUM. Journal of the Association-Institute for English Language and
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Atwood's The Penelopiad According to Mikhail Bakhtin's Concept of" Heteroglossia"." Theory
& Practice in Language Studies 4.12 (2014).
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Penelopiad Through the Lens of Social Justice." Notes On American Literature 22 (2013): 20-28.

9RELIABILITY OF PENELOPE AS A NARRATOR
Massoura, Kiriaki. "Space, Time, and the Female Body: Homer’s Penelope in Margaret
Atwood’s The Penelopiad (2005)." Contemporary Women's Writing 11.3 (2017): 391-411.
Maver, Igor. "Penelope as a Desperate Housewife: Margaret Atwood's Retelling of the Penelope
Myth in The Penelopiad and Some Other Modern Penelopes." Textus 27.3 (2014): 135-150.
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