Penelope

• situation at the beginning provides an urgency of O's return
• the faintest possibility that he could arrive too late adds to the excitement
• daughter of Icarius, brother of Leda; cousin of Helen and Clytemnestra
• comes from a family of heroic stature
• Athene (bk 1) - 'with Penelope as your mother, I cannot think that your house is doomed to an inglorious future'
• portrayed as a weeping wife faithful to her husband
• fidelity emphasised by the Agamemnon and Clytemnestra story
• frequently seen crying but not weak - Odysseus and Eumaeus too
• Penelope crying and going to bed is a formulaic scene
• bk 1 - draws a fold of her shining veil and stands at a pillar with maids either side
• later dismissed by T
• weaving strong - introduces Calypso and Circe, Athene = supreme weaver
• weaving represents the first of her attempts to outwit the Suitors
• spinning a yarn is Odysseus' skill too - figurative
• skilful weaving of the net of Hephaestus in the bard's song
• often expresses her distress at marrying one of the Suitors
• suitors are the source of her kleos
• bk 1 - T tells Athene that his mother cannot bring herself to reject them all or marry one
• first thing he asks Eumaeus when he returned is if P has remarried
• whether she is staying at home out of respect for O or to go away with the most generous suitor
• comments on how much the household's wealth is being squandered by the Suitors
• Athene tells her to go before the Suitors, 'enhancing her value'
• Eurynome tells her to wipe her tears but P is reluctant to do so - mark of sorrow
• quick-thinking - mocking the Suitors for consuming her food rather than providing banquets
• desire for acquiring treasure - suitors'.gifts
• described as looking like Artemis and Aphrodite when meets the beggar
• pray to Artemis for a sudden death
• lives up to her 'cautious' epithet and cunning of her husband
• shooting the bow - strength, confidence and good eye
• P still alert to any trickery after suitors' deaths
• has her own test for O
• bed test shows she is equal to her husband in guile
• provoked Ody into an angry outburst
• couple perfectly matched in cleverness and love of stories
• Ody is moved to comment on her desire for his stories
• character is open to conjecture
• no one is really sure of her intentions