Seven Deadly Virtues
Where to begin when talking about Penelope. Over the past several novels that I’ve read for this class, my opinions towards Penelope have been like a roller coaster. Most of the time, I have disliked her. While reading The Penelopiad, my feelings were... all over the place.
Yes, I feel bad for Penelope. There, I said it. No one, even in Greek and Roman times, deserves to be neglected by their family, married off to a random man, and isolated from everyone except their husband (and eventually child). I know I should expect it, coming from those myths, but it’s still such an awful fate. Not to mention the burdening thought of losing your husband in war, with your only child following after him. Penelope had nothing but hope in that situation and at times, I doubt she even had that.
Yes, I feel bad for Penelope. There, I said it. No one, even in Greek and Roman times, deserves to be neglected by their family, married off to a random man, and isolated from everyone except their husband (and eventually child). I know I should expect it, coming from those myths, but it’s still such an awful fate. Not to mention the burdening thought of losing your husband in war, with your only child following after him. Penelope had nothing but hope in that situation and at times, I doubt she even had that.
However (and this is a big however), we come to the fate of the Twelve Maids. Regardless of Penelope’s past and current struggles, there is no reason for her to put the Maids through that. I’m almost convinced that Penelope knew no one would believe the Maids and this was all a cleverly devised plot to kill them off. Maybe she was tired of the Maids and saw them only as play-things? I don’t know.
One thing I couldn’t help noticing as I read this novel was a thread of opposites between Penelope and the Twelve Maids. For example, Penelope speaking about her abusive, but royal parents. Meanwhile the Maids talk about their slave and peasant ancestors. Later, when Penelope recounts the contest to marry her when she was 15, the Maids talk bitterly about the situation because they aren’t allowed to marry. Penelope weaves and unravels her shroud for nights on end, her own way of fending off the suitors. The Maids help her even though the outcome doesn’t affect them either way and Penelope didn’t ask for their help in the matter. The Maids act as spies for Penelope by sleeping with the suitors. And yet, after all of their hard work, Penelope allows Telemachus and Odysseus to hang the Maids, without a trial, without a second thought, nothing.
While I can’t assign a specific deadly sin to each thing the Maids did throughout the novel, I do want to address the matter nonetheless. The Maids have every right to be bitter, sour, and hateful towards Penelope. They worked as slaves, were never allowed to marry, became her ladies-in-waiting, helped her fend off the suitors, and were rewarded with death. They acted as gifts and were thrown away by an ungrateful child. So, my stance on Penelope rests: disliked.