The Penelopiad Chapters xiv & xv Summary & Analysis

Chapters xiv & xv

Summary: Chapter xiv. The Suitors Stuff Their Faces

Penelope relates that while in the fields of Asphodel, she ran into Antinous, the first Suitor that Odysseus killed. Upon seeing Penelope, Antinous assumed the form of his corpse, with an arrow through his neck. He told Penelope the arrow was a symbol of his love for her, but he took it out at Penelope’s request. Penelope asked him why he and the other Suitors risked their lives by behaving as they did toward her, despite prophecies foretelling their doom, especially as she was not particularly attractive and past the age of childbearing. Antinous answered that they desired the kingdom and its wealth and that, with Penelope being older, they could have hastened her death and married a younger, more beautiful princess. Penelope thanked Antinous and told him to put the arrow back in his neck because the sight now gave her pleasure.

Penelope resumes her story about the long years of Odysseus’s absence. The Suitors began arriving at the palace when Odysseus’s whereabouts were unknown, installing themselves as permanent guests and taking advantage of the food and the Maids. Penelope did enjoy the attention, although she knew their compliments and declarations of love were not sincere. The Maids would report to Penelope the often unflattering remarks that the Suitors made about her. Penelope had no way of controlling the Suitors or of throwing them out of the palace. However, she remembered her mother’s advice about being like water, flowing around an obstacle. Penelope acted amenable to the Suitors’ advances but insisted that she had to be sure of Odysseus’s death before choosing one of them.

Summary: Chapter xv. The Shroud

As the months went by, Penelope felt more pressure, including from Telemachus, who began to look at her as if she was throwing away his inheritance. Penelope did not believe Odysseus was truly dead, as he had not communicated with her from the Underworld. She eventually came up with a plan that she would later credit to the goddess Athena so that she could not be accused of pride. Penelope set up a piece of weaving on her loom, claiming that it was the funeral shroud for Laertes, her father-in-law. As soon as the shroud was complete, she would select a new husband. All day, Penelope would work on the shroud, only to unravel the day’s work at night.

Penelope selected twelve young maids to help her with this task. The Maids and Penelope bonded while undoing the weaving at night, though one of them eventually betrayed Penelope’s secret. Penelope still does not blame whoever it was, though the Maids continue to avoid her in the Underworld. Penelope had asked the Maids to spy on the Suitors for her, using whatever tactics they could. Her request led to the Maids being raped or seduced. Though such sexual behavior was customary for most palaces, it was considered thievery when there was no master of the house to grant permission. However, there was nothing Penelope could do. She comforted the Maids but encouraged them to pretend to be in love with the Suitors to get to know their plans. Penelope told them to speak badly of herself, Odysseus, and Telemachus so they’d appear to be on the side of the Suitors. When the Suitors discovered Penelope’s trick, they were furious, especially as they had been tricked by a woman. Penelope promised to finish the shroud as quickly as she could.

Analysis: Chapters xiv & xv

In these chapters, the value of women based solely on their beauty and youth is reflected both in Penelope’s reaction to the Suitors and in the ordeal experienced by the Maids. Even as a spirit, and even admitting that she was not known for her looks, Penelope is offended when Antinous lets on that she was not beautiful or young enough to attract the Suitors. She doesn’t want his blunt honesty because it confirms her insecurities. Penelope admitted she enjoyed the Suitors’ attention, even if she knew their ulterior motives. Though Penelope likes to think she values deeper qualities rather than superficial ones, she longs to be seen as beautiful, the ultimate mark of femininity.

Penelope also sees the power in feminine beauty, using it to her advantage but to the detriment of the Maids. Knowing that the Suitors see the Maids as nothing more than the property of the palace, Penelope encourages the Maids to put themselves in harm’s way in order to get information from the Suitors. Though she sees the Maids almost as her daughters, she seemingly has no qualms about putting them in situations where they will be raped. The Maids’ continued avoidance of Penelope in the Underworld after thousands of years shows that they do not feel the same affection for her as she does for them.

Although Penelope does not look out for the Maids, she continues to look out for herself, showing how the early traumas of her life made her self-sufficient. Penelope again shows the subtle powers of women when she takes her mother’s advice to emulate water by flowing around obstacles instead of butting up against them. Rather than directly opposing the Suitors, Penelope finds a way around their demands. As weaving is seen as a women’s craft, the Suitors do not think anything of it. However, its very innocence and the apparent piety of the act allow Penelope to deceive the Suitors. More than the deception, it is being deceived by a woman that angers the Suitors. They view women as inferior in all regards, not believing them capable of outsmarting a group of men. The deception also damages their male egos.

Even in the original version of her story, Penelope gave credit for the idea of the shroud to Athena rather than claim it herself. While she might have done so to avoid angering the Suitors further, her deflection of credit also allowed her to continue to embody the feminine quality of humility. It suggested that Penelope could never have come up with such a clever idea on her own. It also shows how even once the Suitors were gone, Penelope attempted to portray herself as having the qualities of an ideal woman, as any other portrayal would not have served her kindly.

As Telemachus grows older while the Suitors make their home in the palace, his treatment of Penelope extends the theme of the oppression of women. Though Penelope is Telemachus’s mother and the only family member in his life, Telemachus saw her as a vessel for fortune rather than as a person with intrinsic value. Instead of being concerned that his mother may betray his father, or that one of the Suitors may harm his mother, Telemachus was solely worried about his inheritance. Again, the story is one in which men view women as property.

Previous section Chapters xii & xiii Next section Chapters xvi–xviii