Humanities Homework Help

Discuss the scene when Penelope reveals her plot to foil the suitors to Odysseus (lines 137-184). Things to think about, but you can really talk about anything else if you’d like:

–What does this reveal about Penelope and her cunningness? Does this make her an appropriate match for Odysseus?

–Why does she reveal this to him, a complete stranger? Do you think it’s at all possible that she sense it’s him? If so, why and how?

–What does this say about the plight of women at the time? What does Penelope’s ability to outwit the suitors say about her as a woman? Does she conform to the stereotype of how women are described in the literature of the period?