The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood: Different Perspectives on The Odyssey

Zoe

‘The Penelopiad’

The Penelopiad was written in 2005 by Margaret Atwood as part of the Canongate Myth series, in which various writers rewrote old myths from a new perspective. In The Penelopiad, the events of The Odyssey - particularly the ending - are rewritten from Penelope’s perspective as she ruminates in the Underworld, now dead. Her tales are interrupted by the twelve maids, hung in The Odyssey for being traitors but who act here as a Greek chorus. The book contains strong themes on the way in which women were treated, as well as highlighting the way women of different classes were treated, emphasised through the alternate perspectives of Penelope and the maids. The story follows Penelope’s life, from her birth to the king of Sparta to her marriage to Odysseus to her struggles while he does not return home after the Trojan War. She weaves a funeral shroud for her grandfather Laertes, telling the suitors that she will marry one of them when she is finished, but secretly unravels it with her maids in the night, delaying this decision and having faith that Odysseus will return home to her. Eventually, he does, disguising himself as a beggar, and eventually killing over 100 suitors in order to save Penelope. The twelve maids who assisted Penelope are hung on account of their fraternisation with the suitors - an act which is also told from a new angle in The Penelopiad.

The Perspective of Penelope

In The Odyssey, Penelope is only introduced in relation to Odysseus, when he finally returns home. Despite Odysseus’ various expeditions and adventuring delaying his return to Ithaca by 10 years, Penelope is portrayed as completely devoted to him. Many suitors pester her over these 10 years, yet she remains wholly faithful to her husband, epitomising the Greek views on the ideal, unwavering wife. However, she is also depicted as a sly character, as she is able to trick the suitors with her plot to delay a decision about remarrying. This cleverness is acknowledged in The Odyssey as well as The Penelopiad. In spite of this, the characterisations of Penelope are very different in each version of the story. As Penelope tells her own story in The Penelopiad, her biases clearly permeate through the tale, especially in the way she portrays herself, often expressing contrasting ideas or views. She resents the fact that she is viewed as a perfect wife, yet consistently tries to characterise herself as blameless. Her negative qualities also shine through in the way that she talks about other characters in the book. She views her cousin Helen with extreme jealousy, pointing to her vanity as the cause for the Trojan War. She has no qualms about the Maids taking the fall for her, despite seeking out the suitors under her encouragement. She has no issue with Odysseus’ massacre of the suitors, which was arguably unnecessary. In moments like this, a more complex and flawed version of Penelope is visible. This perspective, which is far more layered than that of The Odyssey, allows the reader to gain a far deeper understanding of Penelope’s personality and also develops her character into a three-dimensional one.

The Perspective of the Maids

The perspective of the Maids, whose occasional chapters are scattered throughout the book, also provides an interesting insight into a previously unexplored experience within The Odyssey. The perspective of the Maids also serves many purposes within the storyline. Their main role is to express the contrast in the way women of different classes were oppressed. Although Penelope is unhappy, and often struggles with the way she is treated, the Maids can only dream of her freedom and status. Born and raised as slaves, they are seen as objects - expendable and simply a means to an end. Penelope’s negative qualities are once again seen as she encourages the Maids to seek out the suitors in order to gain information about them and allow her to develop her plan further. When this results in the Maids being assaulted or mistreated, Penelope is sympathetic, but still prioritises her plan over their wellbeing, showing the divide between the two classes of women. The perspective of the Maids on Penelope’s actions also helps highlight her bias, as they show a different view on the events of the book and occasionally expose Penelope as an unreliable narrator. Above all, the Maids are symbolic, reflecting how little women are valued. Their deaths are widely unnoticed and unpunished in both The Odyssey and The Penelopiad, but during their lives inside The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood allows them to reclaim ownership over their stories, and provide a deeply necessary angle of viewing both Odysseus’ and Penelope’s actions.

Conclusion 

Overall, The Penelopiad adds an incredible amount of depth and complexity to the overlooked women in The Odyssey, who simply exist to further his storyline. The perspectives of both Penelope and the Twelve Maids allow them to tell their own stories, and provide important context about both the beliefs at the time and their characters. The use of multiple perspectives within the story also allows the reader a more comprehensive view of the events, as Penelope is an unreliable narrator herself. Margaret Atwood’s use of perspective cleverly prompts the reader to reconsider the narration of the end of The Odyssey, and think more critically about the perspectives shown in general across both stories.

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org

sparknotes.com

‘The Penelopiad’ by Margaret Atwood

‘The Odyssey’ by Homer