Jordan-Leigh

* You have no idea how much was against me trying to write this thing! I couldn't think of anything to write and then when i was nearly finished my power went out and i lost the whole thing!!!! But woooop here it is finally... better late than never... doubt it was worth the wait tho lol! *




'The Penelopiad' - Margaret Atwood

'The Penelopiad' by Margaret Atwood is part of the myths series. The myths series is a set of novels written by famous authors which tell a common myth in a new and up to date way. 'The Penelopiad' tells the tale of Odysseus (told in Homer's "The Odyssey") from the perspective of his wife Penelope and the maid's who he killed. Giving the masculine tale a feminine narrative creates a new level of understanding to the novel and is effective in presenting a new side to the story. But how does Margaret Atwood create this feminine narrative and how does it effect the reader's view of Odysseus?

The main form of narrative is simple first person told by Penelope. It is through this narrative that the characters are created, both Odysseus and Penelope herself. The frequent interjection of the maids conveys a contrasting view and creates a new form of narrative; verse. It is through these two types of narrative that the title of the novel originates - 'The Penelopiad' - being a mixture of both Penelope and maid.

Opening the novel with "Now that I'm dead I know everything" the witty character of Penelope begins to unfold. Resentment, loyalty, jealousy, insecurity and love are among many of the characteristics we witness in Penelope throughout the novel, and it is with these characteristics that Margaret Atwood creates a strong, feminine narrative through Penelope. Describing herself as "nothing special to look at" we see the insecure side to Penelope; one of her characteristics many women can relate to. Her insecurity is also shown through the jealousy she feels towards her cousin 'Helen of Troy' and the way that Penelope constantly compares herself to her. "A women who'd driven hundred's of men mad with lust" here Penelope talks of Helen in comparision to herself "a plain but smart wife" to depict the beauty of Helen and the power she has over men. In the novel Helen is also the figure of Penelope's resentment, Penelope blames Helen for Odysseus' departure from Ithaca "Helen the septic bitch, root cause of all my misfortunes." but this resentment can also be interpreted as Penelope's love for Odysseus. Loyal to Odysseus while he is in Troy, Penelope wards of the suitors - reluctant to leave without her hand in marriage, by using her wit. Most known for being smart Penelope cunningly weaves a shroud and tells the suitors she will not marry until the shroud is complete - secretly she undoes all of the weaving she has done at night while the suitors sleep. It is through this plan that we see Penelope form a strong bond with the maids, "I was spoiling them" - Penelope treats the maids in a way that is frowned upon. When Odysseus returns and kills the maids for 'playing about' while he was away we see Penelope grieve for them but still, she remains loyal to Odysseus.

Odysseus is portrayed in many ways by Penelope.At the begining of the novel, now that she knows what he has done, she resents him and he is portrayed as cunning and evil. "What a fool he made of me..It was a specialty of his, making fools.. I knew he was tricky and a liar.." Here we see how Penelope really feels about Odysseus while she reflects upon her time on earth. "Hadn't I been faithful? Hadn't I waited, and waited, and waited - despite the temptation?" This quote shows Penelope's hurt and resentment towards Odysseus. This tone towards Odysseus is not carried on throughout the novel however as when Penelope begins to tell us the story she talks of him fondly and lovingly, as she felt for him at the time. "Odysseus was not one of those men who, after the act, simply roll over and begin to snore...No Odysseus wanted to talk." This shows that Odysseus was loving and kind towards her and this is one of the traits that won Penelope over in the end, as it was an, in a way, arranged marriage Penelope and Odysseus took their time to get to know eachother and grew to love one another. Odysseus is portrayed as cunning when Penelope talks of his plan to get out of going to Troy and when she talks of his plan to get back into the palace unknown to the suitors. The interpretation of Odysseus in 'The Penelopiad' is different to in 'The Odyssey' because in 'The Odyssey' the story is told by him and is very masculine.

The maids' narrative creates a totally contrasting veiw of the events and the characters. The maids' narrative is presented in the form of verse and each of the different poems depicts a different part of the story and their feelings throughout. The maid's decribe Odysseus as a hypocrit:
"with every goddess, queen, an bitch
from there to here
you scratched your itch

we did much less
than what you did
you judged us bad"
The maids are talking about Odysseus while he was on his trip and they are presenting their case of unfair judgement upon them when he kills them. The maids depict Odysseus as cruel and unkind and Penelope as the woman who let them down. This narrative gives the reader a further version of events to listen to and compare.

The different feminine narratives are effective in telling this myth from a new perspective. They create a new version of events which are non-bias to Odysseus and allow Penelope's side of the story to be heard. The maids' input allow a further perspective to take into account and allow the reader a choice of who to sympathise with. Penelope can be seen as a heroine as she is just a typical woman trying to do right by her husband without being seen as having no mind of her own. The reader can sympathise with her as we see all of the hardship she is faced with and the way she feels within herself. Without her husband Penelope has to stand on her own two feet and make her own choices. 'The Penelopiad' is also a contrasting view of Penelope from 'The Odyssey' as she is given her own voice and is not just seen as "the plain wife." 'The Penelopiad' portrays the story of Odysseus in a way many people can relate to with humor throughout which is up to date and enjoyable, the perfect example of 'there are two sides to every story.'