The Penelopiad Chapters xxii–xxiv Summary & Analysis

Chapters xxii–xxiv

Summary: Chapter xxii. Helen Takes a Bath

In the fields of asphodel, Penelope sees Helen coming toward her, followed by a group of male spirits. When Helen invites Penelope to join her for a bath, Penelope reminds her that they do not need baths because they are spirits. Helen replies that her reason for bathing has always been spiritual, as she finds it relaxing after the turmoil of having men fight over her. She adds that Penelope has been spared the burden of divine beauty. Penelope asks if Helen will take off her spirit robes, and Helen retorts that while Penelope would likely keep her robes on, Helen was not gifted with Penelope’s modesty. When Penelope comments on the men following Helen, Helen replies that as so many of them died for her, she feels she owes them something in return. She then asks Penelope how many men Odysseus killed for her. Penelope knows they both know the number is nothing compared to the men who died for Helen. Helen says that she hopes it made Penelope feel prettier and leaves, accompanied by the male spirits.

Summary: Chapter xxiii. Odysseus and Telemachus Snuff the Maids

Penelope returns to her narrative, saying she slept through the competition and Odysseus’s murder of the Suitors. She suspects Eurycleia drugged her to make sure she did not interfere. Eurycleia told Penelope that, while Odysseus was still dressed as a beggar, he watched the Suitors attempt to string his bow. Once Odysseus got a hold of the bow, he strung it, won the competition, and then ripped off his disguise and killed the Suitors with the help of Telemachus. Odysseus then ordered Eurycleia to identify the Maids who had been disloyal. Odysseus first forced the Maids to move the Suitors’ bodies and clean their blood off the floor. Then he ordered Telemachus to chop their bodies into pieces. Telemachus, however, wanted to assert himself and so hanged the Maids. Odysseus and Telemachus then cut off the ears, nose, hands, feet, and genitals of a treacherous goatherd who had supplied the Suitors with weapons and fed them to the dogs.

As Eurycleia gleefully recounted these events, Penelope cried, asking which Maids were hanged. Eurycleia said she had pointed out the Twelve Maids who had been rude. Penelope corrected Eurycleia, saying they were the ones who had been raped and were young and beautiful. While Eurycleia insisted that the Maids let these qualities go to their heads, Penelope lamented and blamed herself for their deaths. She resolved to pray for them, though she knew she must keep it a secret from Odysseus, or he would suspect her of betrayal as well. Penelope also suspected that Eurycleia was aware of Penelope’s agreement with the Maids and was angry that she had been excluded from it. However, Penelope has never been able to ask her in the Underworld, as Eurycleia is always busy tending to dozens of dead babies.

Summary: Chapter xxiv. The Chorus Line: An Anthropology Lecture

The Maids begin their lecture by analyzing the significance of the number twelve, connecting the twelve months to twelve moons. They suggest they were the maidens of the goddess of the moon, Artemis, used for ritual sacrifices by sleeping with the Suitors. When someone points out that there are thirteen lunar months, the Maids answer that the thirteenth maid was Penelope, the incarnation of Artemis. In this way, their rape and hanging represent the overthrow of a woman-led moon-cult by a group of patriarchal barbarians. Odysseus was able to claim his power by marrying the head of the moon-cult, Penelope. The Maids say that before the patriarchy, the winner of the archery contest would have been declared king for a year before being hanged and having his genitals torn off to ensure the fertility of crops. However, Odysseus did not die at the end of his term. He found a way around the ritual by tearing off the goatherd’s genitals and hanging the Maids. The Maids say that they will no longer go on and that thinking of them as symbolic rather than as real will be less upsetting.

Analysis: Chapters xxii–xxiv

Penelope’s jealousy of Helen and the rivalry between the two women continue in the Underworld after both are long dead. Helen still obviously defines herself by her beauty and attraction to men. Her claim that her baths are “spiritual” is somewhat nonsensical and certainly untrue. She obviously uses her nudity to attract male attention, and she succeeds, given that a group of male spirits is following her. The two women continue to exchange passive-aggressive remarks throughout their encounter, displaying the competition that women feel they need to engage in because of their lower status. Both women seem to equate men dying for them—even men murdering for them—as a legitimate measure of their worth. This “value” reflects a violent culture. It also places women in the category of property, as something to be fought for and fought over.

The murder of the Maids by Odysseus and Telemachus dramatically underscores the oppression of women, which has also been a recurring theme. Yet it is not only men who are the oppressors. Eurycleia is instrumental in the Maids’ death because she is the one who identifies them as disloyal to Odysseus. As Penelope resents Helen, Eurycleia seems to resent the Maids for their youth and beauty, again showing how women might turn against each other in societies with systemic oppression. Eurycleia either was not aware of Penelope’s affection for the Maids, or she was jealous of it, as she was not brought in on the plan to deceive the Suitors. Eurycleia even seems to blame the Maids for being raped by the Suitors, another example of how women, especially of the slave class, are valued as no more than sexual objects. Eurycleia accepts this status. By identifying the Maids, Eurycleia has betrayed both her sex and her class.

However, in their anthropology lecture, the Maids do not blame Penelope or Eurycleia, but rather Odysseus. In doing so, they are placing the blame on the patriarchal society that leads to issues between women. Rather than being killed as Penelope’s scapegoat, as they suggested earlier, or because they mocked Odysseus when he appeared as a beggar, they propose a reading of events that goes beyond their own story. With the Maids and Penelope working together, the only possible way to detract power from Penelope was to murder her followers, thus restoring power to Odysseus and men in general. Portraying the Maids’ murder as only symbolic of the systemic oppression takes away their humanity, something men have attempted to do for a long time.

Although Penelope’s story has been leading up to the killing of the Maids, she does not see it firsthand but rather learns about it from Eurycleia, again showing how tricky perspective can be. Can Eurycleia be believed? The fact that Penelope believes Eurycleia drugged her to prevent her from interfering suggests Eurycleia may have planned to point out the Maids as disloyal. Eurycleia, whose slave status has prevented her from ever sharing her side of the story, may have asserted her power by making sure her version of the story was the one Penelope heard. Meanwhile, Penelope, who was absent from the scene and therefore has no firsthand knowledge, feels powerless upon hearing this story. People use narratives to claim authority.

With the murder of the Maids and the Suitors, the subjectivity of justice becomes a question. Upon returning home to find Suitors who have made themselves at home in his palace, as well as Maids mocking his appearance, Odysseus feels that he must punish both for these transgressions. Especially because the Maids are considered Odysseus’s property, his actions are justified in the eyes of the law. However, Penelope knows that the Maids were working on her behalf and were only following her orders by speaking negatively about her, Odysseus, and Telemachus. Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether Penelope welcomed the Suitors’ advances. Odysseus’s killing spree and Penelope’s reaction show how, when exacting justice without due process, there are often two sides to a story.

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