Expert Answers
In Book 19, Penelope does not recognize Odysseus for who he is because he is disguised as a beggar. He expresses that he knows Odysseus and Penelope tests the validity of the alleged Odysseus sighting the “beggar” had by asking about Odysseus’ appearance.
Does Penelope recognize Odysseus despite his disguise?
In gratitude, Penelope offers this “beggar” a foot bath at the hands of an old maidservant named Eurycleia. As the old woman washes Odysseus’ feet, “she immediately knew the scar Odysseus had received from a white-tusked boar” (A.S. Kline translation). Thus, she recognizes Odysseus and calls him by name.
Does Penelope really love Odysseus?
In a word, her love for Odysseus was true and it showed in her faithfulness. When it comes to Odysseus. His twenty years was a bit more complicated. He stayed with Calypso for seven years as a love slave – somewhat willingly.
Does Penelope cheat on Odysseus?
Pausanias records the story that Penelope had in fact been unfaithful to Odysseus, who banished her to Mantineia upon his return. … Other sources report that Penelope had sex with all 108 suitors in Odysseus’ absence, and gave birth to Pan as a result.
Who did Odysseus cheat on his wife?
After that Odysseus traveled to Calypso’s island. Not only did he cheat with Calypso in addition to Circe, but he stayed on her island for seven years until Zeus ordered her to release him.
Why does Penelope talk to the beggar?
Penelope is a fair and kind person and she is horrified at how the beggar was treated. She invites the beggar in because he wants to give him food and ask him about Odysseus. … Penelope reveals to the beggar that she does not like the suitors invading the castle and she is loyal to Odysseus and will wait for him.
How does Penelope finally recognize Odysseus?
When Odysseus returns, Penelope doesn’t recognize him and cannot be sure that Odysseus is really who he says he is. She tests Odysseus by ordering her servant Eurycleia to move their marriage bed. … His anger, and the fact that he knows the story of the bed, proves his identity.
What does Penelope take out of the storage room?
Penelope gets Odysseus’s bow out of the storeroom and announces that she will marry the suitor who can string it and then shoot an arrow through a line of twelve axes.
What did Penelope do to trick her unwanted suitors for so long?
Penelope said that before she married, she had to weave a burial shroud for Lord Laertes. At night, she would in weave what she had done during the day to hold off the suitors. After three years they discover her trick, and she is forced to finish the shroud.
What test does Penelope devise for her suitors?
What contest does Penelope devise to test the suitors? She remembers a contest which Odysseus used to set up, where he would send a narrow through the iron of twelve axes. She decides whoever can string the great bow of Odysseus and repeat this feat shall be her husband.
Why does Odysseus continue to hide his identity from his wife?
Why do you think Odysseus continues to keep his identity hidden from his wife? He wanted to find out if she was faithful to him while he was gone. … & Because, they were the only two man who were praying & wanting Odysseus to return back home to Ithaca.
How did Penelope trick the suitors?
Many suitors had come to woo “the widow”. … She put them off with a ruse, persuading them to wait until she had finished a funeral shroud for Laertes, Odysseus’s father, which she wove by day and secretly unravelled by night. In this way she managed to deceive them for three years.
Who betrayed Penelope in the Odyssey?
Odysseus betrays Penelope through his sexual affairs with Calypso and Circe. Calypso, a goddess, keeps Odysseus with her on her island for seven years, until Zeus demands that she release him.
What finally convinces Penelope that Odysseus is her husband?
What finally convinces Penelope that Odysseus is her husband? He is able to describe in detail how he made the bed. Whom does Penelope believe is responsible for the murder of the suitors?
How will Penelope choose her husband?
Penelope Timeline and Summary. For three years, Penelope has put off choosing a husband among the suitors by saying that she must first finish weaving a shroud for Laertes. Each day she weaves and each night she unravels her day’s work.
Which God helps Odysseus the most?
Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, and was also the patron goddess of heroes. Odysseus was a great hero among the Greeks, and so had Athena’s favor and aid in many of his exploits.
What is the secret between Penelope and Odysseus?
A cautious Penelope, sought after by many clever suitors, uses the bed that she and Odysseus shared for so many years to trick Odysseus into proving his identity. The bed, carved from a tree that has its roots in the foundation of the house itself, is immovable, much like Odysseus and Penelope’s loyalty to each other.
What qualities does Penelope reveal about herself?
What qualities does Penelope reveal about herself through her actions on page 933? She displays generous hospitality, loyalty to her husband, discretion, kindness, and love for her son.
How does Penelope treat the beggar?
How do the suitors treat the beggar? Why is Penelope nice to him? They taunt him. Penelope is nice to him because she was told that the beggar had news about Odysseus.
How does Penelope avoid marrying any of the suitors for 3 years?
Penelope stalls the suitors for three years by saying that she would marry when she is finished weaving a shroud for Odysseus’s family. She would weave during the day and undo her work at night, so she would never finish.
Why is Odysseus a bad husband?
As a husband, Odysseus could be considered unfaithful because he spends time with both Circe and Calypso, but he claims he never gave consent in his heart, he was taken captive.
Did Odysseus sleep with Circe and Calypso?
In Homer’s the Odyssey, Odysseus is justified in sleeping with the sweet nymph Calypso and the witch Circe. However, with what Odysseus had stacked against him, he was certainly justified in straying from Penelope. Circe was equally as compelling. Odysseus was even more justified in sleeping with the witch Circe.
What bad things did Odysseus do?
Negative characteristics of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey include unfaithfulness to his wife, poor leadership, selfishness, and recklessness.