?Penelope? By Dorothy Parker Essay, Research Paper
?Penelope?
The poem ?Penelope? by Dorothy Parker describes the relationship between Odysseus and his
wife, Penelope. The manner in which Penelope, the narrator, speaks of her husband and his
journey is somewhat sarcastic and resentful. This poem shows her perceptions of Odysseus, and
also the role women have played in the past. Penelope describes her life and how she perceives
her husbands life to be. The one-worded title gives the impression of a plain, simple woman and
prepares the reader for her thoughts.
The first half of the poem describes Penelope’s perception of Odysseus? journey. She paints a
picture of a golden sea and an endless blue sky. She makes his daily tasks seem effortless. This
is, of course, a false statement. Odysseus had to deal with many obstacles; for instance, angry
gods and goddesses, mental and physical temptation dealing with women (which he failedhorribly), and battles with natural elements. Penelope perceives her husbands? life to be far more
glamorous than it really is.
The second part of the poem focuses on Penelope and her life at home. She speaks of how she
waits and waits for Odysseus and portrays the seconds as endless. She talks about ?snipping the
thread,? describing the blanket she was making that was to be completed, and upon that date she
was to pick a suitor. At night she would take it apart to give her husband more time to return. She
describes all her chores and makes them out to be more difficult than Odysseus? voyage. She has
a tremendous amount of responsibility in running the kingdom and raising a son without a father.
The last line expresses Penelopes? sarcasm. She thinks that the people of her country will praise
her husband as brave and wonderful, when she feels her job is just as important and that if she
had the same opportunities as he, she would also be so brave. Dorothy Parker has the reputation
for taking stabs at semi-serious issues and making them comical. This is an example of such
humor. The role of women at that time was to stand behind the man in whatever he does and to
not voice any opinions.
In this poem, Dorothy Parker alludes to the work The Odyssey to spark a sense of recollection of
the story so she can make a point in these ten lines that other works take hundreds of pages to
make. Penelope describes Odysseys? journeys to the best of her narrow knowledge of the world.
She compares her job to his and implies she has more responsibilities and gets less recompense.
Penelope encompasses all women of that time. This deep symbolism is reflected through our
knowledge of society in the 1930?s and our education in The Odyssey.
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