Of all the themes intertwined in The Odyssey, the one that stands out among the others is Odysseuss struggle to return to Ithaca. There are many reasons why Odysseus continually fights to return home. Ithaca is his native land; his roots are there and he is homesick for the country where he grew up. He also has a son in Ithaca, Telemachus, who has grown into a man without ever knowing his father. Odysseus also longs to return and continue ruling his people as king. Odysseuss strongest desire, however, seems to be to return to his wife, Penelope, who has remained in Ithaca awaiting his return for many years.
Odysseuss desire to return to Penelope is so strong that the poem is in essence a journey to bring Odysseus back to a wife. Penelope is not the only woman that wants to be with Odysseus. On his journey he encounters other female characters, including the goddesses Circe and Calypso, and the princess Nausicaa. All of these women are willing to wed Odysseus. Until Odysseus has chosen a wife his journey is technically incomplete. Therefore the poem cannot end until this goal has been reached. By looking at the characterization of the women Odysseus encounters on his journey we can see that they serve as possible wives for Odysseus; in other words, possible endings to the poem, yet in the end he chooses Penelope because of the strength of their marriage.
The first woman that Odysseus meets that could serve as a possible wife is Circe. Circe is a nymph who casts spells on her visitors, turning them into wild animals that guard her palace. When Odysseus and his men landed on her island, his men were turned into pigs. With some help from Hermes, Odysseus broke the spell. He became Circes lover, remaining on her island for a year, forgetting their journey home and all that he had left behind in Ithaca. At this point in the story, Odysseus has found a partner. She is a goddess, which definitely makes her worthy of him.
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... has set before him and continues his journey onward. At last Odysseus, king of Ithaca has returned to his native land, bearing many fine ... is content to be on the way to the only woman he has ever truly loved and the land of his ... plots how to take his ultimate revenge. At last, Penelope, wife of Odysseus accepts the belief that her husband is dead and ...
She can also offer him immortality. If Odysseus had chosen this option, if he remained with Circe forever, his journey would be over. Circe would become his wife or partner. Yet when his men remind him of their journey home to Ithaca, he is anxious to leave. He is not satisfied with this; this is not the way he wants his journey to end. As Odysseuss journey continues, he then finds the goddess Calypso. Odysseus arrives on Calypsos island shipwrecked and alone. He also becomes Calypsos lover and remains on that island with her for the next nine years.
He spent only one year with Circe, and during that time he did not think of Ithaca and of what awaited him there. His nine years with Calypso, however, were spent thinking about returning home. Odysseus would weep during the day for the life he would never return to and at night would go to bed with Calypso. Calypso seems like the most tempting offer for Odysseus aside from Penelope. In the poem she even questions Odysseus as to why he did not chose her. She is young, beautiful, and she is immortal and could offer him immortality as well.
She says, Much as you long to see your wife, the one you pine for all your daysand yet I just might claim to be nothing less than she, neither in face nor figure. Hardly right, is it, for mortal woman to rival immortal goddess? How, in build? In beauty?(Homer, 5.234-5.236).
Odysseus knows this is true, and he replies, Look at my wise Penelope. She falls far short of youNevertheless I long-I pine, all my days-to travel home and see the dawn of my return(Homer, 5.237-5.243).
Odysseus doesnt want this perfect woman as his wife. He admits that Penelope has flaws but he has grown to love them; her little imperfections help to make her who she is.
He would rather suffer through more hardships to return to Penelope than remain in this paradise with Calypso. After leaving Calypsos island, Odysseus meets Nausicaa, a Phaeacian princess and daughter of King Alcinous. After Odysseus is released from Calypsos island, his raft is destroyed by Poseidons storm and he is forced to swim for shore. Not knowing what land he was in or what type of people lived there, Odysseus was completely vulnerable. Luckily the first person he met was kind Nausicaa. Despite her youth, Nausicaa was extremely wise and beautiful.
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The Odyssey: Book 23, The Great Rooted Bed Tone: The tone in the beginning of this book is very frantic; it starts out with Eurycleia rushing through the hallways and into Penelope's room to inform her of the good news. The old nurse tells Penelope that Odysseus is indeed back home to Ithaca. At first Penelope couldn't believe it but when she was reassured she cry tears of joy. The tone then ...
She helped Odysseus and brought him to see her father, who would eventually provide the means for his return home. Although Odysseus barely sees Nausicaa during his stay with the Phaeacians and they are never sexually involved, King Alcinous does offer Odysseus the chance to marry her. This also would provide an acceptable ending to the poem; Odysseus marrying the young princess and living out his life in the prosperous nation of the Phaeacians. He would have been considered royalty and would have had a young, beautiful bride. Nausicaas youth was not tempting to Odysseus; the Phaeacians had offered him passage home and reaching Ithaca and Penelope were truly first in his mind. Finally at the end of The Odyssey, Odysseus reaches Ithaca thanks to the Phaeacians, and he is reunited with his wife. Penelope represents the completion of Odysseuss journey.
Penelope is the wife that Odysseus chooses out of all the women that tempt him on his journey. It is impossible to rival the beauty and gifts of the goddesses and the youth of Nausicaa, yet Odysseuss decision makes so much sense when you look at Penelopes character. She truly is the perfect match for Odysseus. She is wise, clever, and manipulative. She managed to dissuade the suitors that plagued her palace for all the years that Odysseus was gone. One of her schemes was that she said she would chose her husband when she completed weaving a funeral shroud.
She sat weaving all day, yet she would undo her days work at night when the suitors could not catch her. Also, when Odysseus finally revealed himself to Penelope, she was wise enough to give him tests to prove himself. In Book 23, Odysseus calls her a strange woman, for he is amazed that Penelope has become so hard and questions why she does not welcome him and prepare a bed for him. She replies, Strange manIm not so proud, so scornfulCome, Eurycleia, move the sturdy bedstead out of our bridal chamber-that room the master built with his two hands.(Homer, 23.193-23.200).
The Essay on Odyssey Odysseus Home Women
The legend of The Odyssey tells the fortunate homecoming tale of the Trojan war hero, Odysseus. In the poem, there were similarities, yet many contradictions. There were many great women that had conflicting personalities and adverse motives, but also they were alike. There were many great men that hold successful fortune, but here were also ones that failed. With these oppositions they helped ...
Penelope and Odysseuss bed is carved out of the trunk of a tree and no human could ever move it. When Odysseus protests and states that this task is impossible, Penelope knows that this man is indeed her husband.
This bed, which is immovable and unbreakable, is not unlike their marriage. Even though they have been apart for so many years their bond will never break; it is as strong as the bed carved from wood. That night when Penelope and Odysseus go to bed together, Odysseus tells her all of the hardships that he encountered on his trip and they weep together at their misfortune. In this way the reestablish their marriage after their years of separation. Penelope and Odysseus are indeed a paradigm for successful marriages in The Odyssey. In the poem Homer juxtaposes the marriage of Penelope and Odysseus to that of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Agamemnon and Clytemnestra had many problems with their marriage.
Agamemnon had sacrificed their daughter, Iphigenia, in order to sail to Troy. He had tricked Clytemnestra by telling her that he was taking their daughter to marry Achilles. Also, Clytemnestra was unfaithful to Agamemnon while he was away, which shows the weakness in their marriage. Penelope was never unfaithful to Odysseus. Odysseus, although he did not remain sexually faithful, he did remain emotionally faithful. Clytemnestra was ambitious and hurt by Agamemnons betrayal, which is why she kills him upon his return.
When Odysseus visits the underworld, he talks with the ghost of Agamemnon, and the ghost warns him to be careful of his wife on his return home. Penelope, even though suitors pursue her, remains ever faithful and never abandons the role of proper wife and mother. By comparing these two marriages, it is obvious how strong the bond between Odysseus and Penelope is. This bond is what enables Odysseus to deny the proposals of Calypso, Circe, and Nausicaa. Along his journey, Odysseus meets many different people, all with interesting stories of their own to tell. The most interesting people, however, are the women that he encounters.
These women offer Odysseus a peaceful life and an end to his difficult journey. There is one woman, however, that does not offer to be Odysseuss wife and she still has a great influence on him in the poem. This woman is Athena. Zeuss daughter has watched over every move that Odysseus has made since before the Trojan War began. She has fought for him among the gods and guided him on his journeys. Athena is not interested in Odysseus sexually, she thinks of them as equals.
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They are both intelligent and wily, and she holds Odysseus in great respect. Athena can almost be considered a man with her role in the poem. The men serve as guides for Odysseus on his journey. One must think that, if she had pursued Odysseus in that way, he still would have chosen Penelope. Their bond is strong enough to withstand almost twenty years of hardships. These women that pursued Odysseus were so important to the movement of the narrative because they reinforced the central theme of the poem, which was to get Odysseus back to Ithaca. Without them, Odysseuss character would have had little depth.
By adding these women, the reader gets to see the conflict in Odysseuss mind. Will he remain with one of these women? Will the poem end without him reaching home? These woman do not only serve as obstacles, they serve as temptations. The fact that Odysseus can resist these temptations shows how incredibly strong his marriage with Penelope is, and this is why he chooses to live out the rest of his life with her..
