The Odyssey - Book 23 - Penelope
Odysseus's recourting of Penelope [Discussion question 1]
- Follow the steps by which Odysseus "recourts" or renegotiates his marriage relationship with Penelope. The book begins with Penelope choosing not to recognize Odysseus. He must re-win her.
- One critic talks of "Penelope's psychological reluctance to recognize Odysseus--a reluctance born of her twenty-year vigilance against deception and the protective freezing of her own sexuality" (Amory).
- Imagine any couple or parent and child reuniting after 20 years' absence--what would the initial time together be like? What specifically do you see in Odysseus's and Penelope's mutual recognition?
- Does Odysseus recognize that Penelope has preserved his kingdom?
- Remember how other men like Agamemnon have provided a warning of what women do when men are away.
- Does Penelope want the Odysseus she said goodbye to--a young man? How does she accept the older, more experienced man who has returned?
- Are there any signs that Odysseus must reacclimate from a warrior-adventurer to a husband? After all, his slaughter of the suitors is reminiscent of his warrior ways.
- Reflect on the why and the wherefore of the test Odysseus and Penelope put each other to in the recognition scene. [Discussion question 2]
- Penelope talks about their bed and orders it moved (200).
- Odysseus counters with his version of what the bed is like (205-230).
- Do you see any special significance in their bed?