The Woman Who Waits No More

Citation

Redmond, Heidi (2024) The Woman Who Waits No More. Other, California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/rct8-dd11. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechThesis:07162024-223943867

Abstract

[Introduction] Homer’s epic poems are stories written mostly about men and the intricacies of their roles in Ancient Greece, choosing to focus on grief and masculinity and exploring the consequences of hubris and plays for power. As a result, the stories about the inner lives of the women of ancient epic are often overshadowed by the roles they play in forwarding and motivating the narratives of men. One such story is the narrative of Penelope, the faithful, ever-waiting wife of Odysseus. The accounts of her longing for her husband and the peril she and her household face at the hands of the suitors are largely responsible for creating the sense of urgency for Odysseus’s return home which underpins his misadventures at sea. But the Odyssey lacks a fuller exploration of who Penelope became over the twenty long years of Odysseus’s absence during which time she raised a son, ruled over a nation, and weathered the onslaught of the suitors. Though outside of the scope of the Odyssey, Carol Ann Duffy and A. E. Stallings in their poems “Penelope” and “The Wife of the Man of Many Wiles” are able to explore Penelope’s character in more depth, especially regarding her portrayal as a woman who is passively waiting for change. Duffy’s poem develops Penelope as a character who decides that she would rather take control of her narrative than spend her days waiting upon a husband who may never return. The focus of the poem centers on her development largely during the time before the arrival of the suitors, and when they come, focuses on her ability to deceive them without masculine aid – a narrative which is similar to the one which already exists within the Odyssey. On the other hand, in “The Wife of the Man of Many Wiles”, Stallings focuses directly on Penelope’s battle with the suitors, criticizing her perception as a woman who waits by implying that there was no stalemate for Odysseus to break between the desiring suitors and the “faithful” Penelope after all, that by the time he arrives he is too late to save her from being undone by the suitors, no matter what he chooses to believe.

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