Penelope's Role In The Odyssey

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Imagine raising your child and having to play both roles. In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, Queen Penelope of Ithaca is left to take care of her newborn child and her kingdom alone after her husband, Odysseus leaves for war. Penelope struggles to raise her child and rule Ithaka along with other hardships as she waits for her husband’s return. Ten years were how long the soldiers were expected to take, and when the soldiers returned, Odysseus hadn’t. The Odyssey shows the difficulty of raising a child alone. Playing two roles is difficult, especially for a woman in power. Queen Penelope looked vulnerable as she puts together her kingdom while it collapsed because of the war and the absence of the king. According to “Happy Father’s Day, Mom” …show more content…
Before Odysseus left, he made a law that you had to show hospitality to anyone and everyone. If an old woman came and knocked on your door, you had to invite her in and offer her food or something of such sort. Since Penelope is a queen, she is expected to follow, allowing 108 suitors in her palace. “I felt hurt that they didn’t seem to understand my needs” (Foerstner 3). The suitors raided the palace, ate all the food and disturbed the maids, but the law stated that you are not allowed to make your guests leave. Penelope could not make them leave so she kept making them wait. She had to pick a suitor if Odysseus hadn’t returned and after 10 years when Odysseus didn’t return she finally had to pick a suitor. She held them off for 12 years. 12 years of damage in her home, 12 years of facing disgust everyday, and 12 years of Telemachus’s childhood torn away. With her husband gone and the palace raided and abused, she felt desperate and began to rely on the kindness of others. “She needed a network of people, not just family, to fill the father’s absence” (Foerstner 3). Being a single mother makes you feel alone and that you have to carry a burden twice the weight, but being a single mother and a queen is being all by yourself and nothing help you. It’s like having to carry the burden of a whole country because literally you have a whole country looking up to you. Since years have gone by and Odysseus hasn’t come back, people believe he is dead and Telemachus could become king, which puts Telemachus’s life in danger by the 108 suitors in his home. Being a single mother and being a queen at the same time is a lot of risks and you have a lot to lose from it. Penelope struggled to live with her burdens for 22 years but she still had Telemachus and for most single parents, their children are the most important thing to them and they find joy in
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