Loyalty is the glue that holds marriages or friendships together. Without loyalty there would be no trust in one another, and all of these relationships would be broken. Loyalty is quite simple to fulfill, but at times can be even easier to fail. Specifically, in marriages, loyalty is not just remaining married to one’s spouse, but is also staying true to all the promises one made, and putting oneself before the other. Loyalty plays a key role in Odysseus’ and Penelope’s marriage in the epic poem “The Odyssey” by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, but it is debatable if Odysseus is truly loyal to his selfless wife, Penelope. In the epic poem, the main character Odysseus leaves behind his loving family to battle in the Trojan war. After his …show more content…
To point out, while Odysseus was gone, Penelope stayed loyal by not marrying any of the suitors, and not having any affairs with other men, unlike her husband. For instance, Odysseus has an affair while he was in Circe’s palace. When he was at her palace, his men got turned into swine, and Odysseus is forced to save them. Although, something that was not pointed out was that Odysseus was protected by a magic potion given to him by Hermes. Because of the potion, he was incapable of turning into a swine when confronting Circe and took advantage of it. When Odysseus got his men back, he made it seem as if sleeping with Circe was a sacrifice to get them back, but this is not true. Despite what he wanted us to think, the real story was he had her under his control before the affair, and Circe would have surrendered and freed his men- affair, or no affair. With no regard to his wife back at home, he spends a year in her “gorgeous and luxuriant bed” as he calls it: “She began to swear the oath that I required—never, she'd never do me harm—and when she'd finished, then, at last, I mounted Circe's gorgeous bed...” (Fagles 10.384-386). When Fagles uses the words “at last” it makes Odysseus sound like he was waiting for this moment. Another situation where Odysseus breaks his loyalty with Penelope by having an affair was on Calypso’s island. Calypso is a beautiful sea nymph with braids that wants Odysseus to become her husband. Odysseus is trapped on her island for seven years where he cries his days away while at night he goes against the whole reason he cries: “they found him sitting still, weeping, his eyes never dry, his sweet life flowing away with tears he wept for his fouled journey home, since the sea nymph no longer pleased. In the nights, he'd sleep with her in the arching cave—” (Fagles 5.168- 171). If Odysseus is truly loyal to Penelope then he would
Odysseus remained on the island for one year, sleeping with Circe and eventually impregnating her. By sleeping with Circe, Odysseus honoured the hospitality granted by Circe, who showed mercy towards Odysseus and his men. She transformed some of his men into pigs where she could’ve as easily killed them and potentially Odysseus too. In an almost perverted way, by having intercourse with Circe, Odysseus showed his respect towards the hospitality that Circe was providing. However, after a year, his crew begs him to leave Circe and go home.
Penelope and Penny are both Strong Independent Women and deep thinkers. Penelope spent twenty years alone with her son when Odysseus left and she had to be loyal the entire time. In addition, Penelope had to think about everything very thoroughly during the time when Odysseus was away. For example, she thought of the great idea of weaving a loom and when it was finished she would
Odysseus’ men didn’t want to leave because all the good food keep them always coming back for more, but Odysseus didn't want to leave for another reason, Circe. After a whole year had passed Odysseus’ men came to him pleading to leave and return home. Odysseus came to his senses, finished things with Circe and they started their voyage home. What Circe revealed in Odysseus was a weakness that he has with women who aren't his wife, she proved that when things involve women especially women that he isn't married, he lets temptation get the best of him. After all the main reason he didn't want to leave was because he was attracted to
Odysseus, a mythological Greek hero, displays his familial bonds throughout his journey at sea. He is away from his family, and is ultimately held captive on an island by the goddess Calypso for seven grueling years. Once he is freed from the island, he must face further trials at home, where his wife and child reside. Throughout his epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer deliberately conveys that Odysseus returns home due to familial
Even when Odysseus was away from home, she still was devoted to him and long awaited for him to return back to Ithaca. Throughout the Odyssey, Penelope is seen wishing for Odysseus to come home. Penelope asks Telemachus if he has heard any news about Odysseus and Telemachus tells her about his trip to Menelaus. Penelope states that when Odysseus left, her beauty was lost and if he came home her reputation would be greater than it was. When Odysseus returns home in disguise and tells Penelope that he has returned, Penelope offers gifts if he actually comes home.
Everyone falls in love in their lifetime. Whether that’s with another person, their career, their hobbies, it happens to everyone. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus, and his wife Penelope are the main couple. Odysseus does not truly love Penelope because he does not have loyalty to her, respect her, or trust her. Odysseus indicates no loyalty in regards to Penelope.
Odysseus is a man of pride and commitment, even though that commitment he has sometimes gets him in trouble. When Ceres the Greek Goddess who wants Odysseus to sleep with her, he then refused which led to her changing his men into animals. Odysseus has to break his commitment to Penelope and sleep with her. Odysseus meets many gods which help him find his way home.
The Odyssey, the basic standards of loyalty and faithfulness are varied depending on the individual’s gender and relationships. Females are to devote their bodies, souls, and lives to their husbands, while males aren’t looked down upon if they do not return the same courtesy. Penelope is expected to stay celibate while Odysseus is not expected to reciprocate the same actions. Servants are also required to stay loyal to their masters even if they are
Even though he was often unfaithful, most of the Greek gods and goddesses still wanted to help Odysseus return to Ithaca . “Athena began, recalling Odysseus to their thoughts,... Think: not one of the people whom he ruled remembers Odysseus now, that godlike man,” (The Odyssey, Book 5, pg 314,lines 5 and 12-13.) Athena was the goddess who advocated for Odysseus and the other divine beings agreed with her. It is important to note that Athena describes him as “godlike,” but she never mentions his lack of sexual fidelity.
Penelope proves herself to be a “mistress of her own heart” by (1) exercising commitment and loyalty to her departed love and (2) employing deceit and pity to manipulate her suitors, buying her time to remain independent from men other than Odysseus although she fears for the possibility of never reuniting with Odysseus and faces constant temptations from the suitors. To be a “mistress of her own heart” means that she is in control of her emotions. Penelope controls her emotions by remaining loyal to Odysseus, despite the many challenges presented to her. Penelope exercises commitment and loyalty to Odysseus by demanding the respect for Odysseus and his counterparts and being skeptical of his return.
From the onset of the book, death is a recurring event, persistent throughout the entire poem. In many ways, the Odyssey is the story of the death of all of Odysseus’ friends and fellow fighters during their return home from conquering Troy. These deaths are particularly heartbreaking to Odysseus because, normally, one would expect that all dying would conclude with the end of the war against Troy. In this case, however, the anticipation of his return to his family at home became a series of tragedies. This sequence of events changes his view and molds Odysseus’ character in regard to his surviving friends and family.
Imagine landing in a difficult situation... getting stranded from home, encountering beautiful woman at the same time, but you have a wife. You have to choose your wife, or a beautiful woman. This is exactly what happened to Odysseus on his travels in The Odyssey, by the Greek poet Homer. In this epic poem, Odysseus is married to his wife Penelope and has a happy family, who lives in Ithaca. Even though Odysseus has been stranded from home for many years, he still remains loyal to his wife.
In both Homer’s Odyssey and Valmiki’s Ramanyana, Penelope and Sita are both held up to be role models for their separate cultures. If it is true mythological heroes are to be ideal people whom men should model themselves after, their wives must be examples of perfection for our women to look up to. While they are both fiercely loyal to their husbands, they each possess qualities that their separate cultures held up as the most important. In the Odyssey, Penelope suffers twenty years of separation from her beloved husband, in which she must hold off over a hundred suitors with no tools but her cunning.
This sets off many emotions in Odysseus all at once, causing him to weep due to the euphoria of finally holding his wife once again. Odysseus’ persistence in returning home throughout a period of twenty years fulfilled his longing for love and to be reunified with his
Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, chronicles the homeward bound voyage of the main character, King Odysseus of Ithaca. After Trojan War which lasted ten years, Odysseus sets foot on another adventure, which also spans ten years, to return to Ithaca. Odysseus is gone from his home for a total twenty years, but upon his arrival back to Ithaca, he finds that his title has been defended by his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus, who have been awaiting his return this entire time. Odysseus and Penelope are meant to be a model couple, so people often argue about which of the two is more admirable. To be admirable is to have faced a struggle with honor and dignity.