As a loyal and dutiful wife, Penelope valiantly resists the small army of suitors who invades her palace as they attempt "to win" her in marriage. She outwits all the suitors by saying she cannot marry or take any of them until she has finished sewing her father-in-law's shroud. She sews by day; and at night, in her bedroom, she undoes the stitches she had done that day. She also outwits them even after they had learned about her deception. She devices a contest, and whoever can string the great bow and shoot through the twelve holes of the axes will be her husband; a feat that they were unable to complete. .
In short, Homer is sympathetic to Odysseus when he should be sympathetic to Penelope who is truly faithful to Odysseus throughout his twenty-year absence. There is a double standard written into The Odyssey, Homer seems to "applaud" or at least accept Odysseus and his manly needs while he views Penelope's chaste actions for twenty years as a true example of womanhood. Thus, homer presents a clear double standard between a male and female behavior in his epic poem, The Odyssey.
The Odyssey: Faithfulness vs. Unfaithfulness.
In The Odyssey, Homer presents a double standard to the reader. While the author really applause the men who are unfaithful to their wives, the women remain faithful to their husbands. This concept is shown through the epic's two main characters, Odysseus and Penelope.
Odysseus is unfaithful to his wife Penelope. Calypso, a goddess has captured Odysseus, the hero of Homer's epic poem, when his ship is blown off course. For seven years, she "keeps" him as her lover on her island, Ogygia. Although Odysseus longs for home, he does not truly resist nor object to her detaining him. Even when he knows he will be returning home the next day, he spends the time with Calypso, " .and now, with drawing into the cavern's clear recesses lay in each others arms they lost themselves in love.
The Odyssey: Faithfulness vs. Unfaithfulness In The Odyssey, Homer presents a double standard to the reader. While the author really applause the men who are unfaithful to their wives, the women remain faithful to their husbands. ... The Odyssey: Faithfulness vs. Unfaithfulness In The Odyssey, Homer presents a double standard to the reader. ...
