Penelope In Homer's Odyssey

Penelope, Odysseus's wife, is an exemplar of marital fidelity through her loyalty towards her husband for twenty years. During the absence of her husband, she ensures that Ithaca remains under Odysseus’s ruling, yet when he returns she doesn’t immediately accept him; rather, she treats him with distrust and aloofness In book 23 of “The Odyssey "Penelope is portrayed as a unique character, she is a hero herself despite not leaving home because she goes on a mental quest to rediscover her husband and remains strong and steadfast in her actions regardless of the judgements that are imposed on her. Penelope show strength in the beginning of her quest because she did not just accept Odysseus to be who he claimed to be, and because of that

17). It isn’t clear to the people she is doing it for but “[her] deeds [are] marked by a nobility of purpose, and [she] must be willing to risk [her] life for [her] ideals” (Campbell 1). She had to act as if she had a heart of iron but it’s marked by nobility of purpose which was to protect her son and her husbands’ kingdom even if it meant risking her own life by rejecting the suitors hands in marriage or being judge by her son and husband the same man in her life that she is risking it all for. Nevertheless she doesn’t stop her quest she continues and she decide to test Odysseus by Her cunning request to Eurycleia to move the wedding bed that Odysseus made himself to see his response “Ulysses was very angry and said,… who could move it from its place…, I made with my very own hands. There was a young olive…tree at its roots" (Homer Par.19).In Using her bed as the finale test of Odysseus true identity shows her strong mindedness, she didn’t just give him an easy test, she gave him the test, that only Odysseus would be able to answer in such detail. This shows that she still wouldn’t be willing to marry him even