Though it may seem that The Odyssey is largely about the adventures and trials of its eponymous hero, there yet is significant evidence that real hero of this epic is Penelope who represents the values of home and family. The most telling evidence for this surprising claim comes when Penelope takes on the role that Odysseus usually assumes as the one who tests the character and loyalty of others. Indeed, in Book 23 Penelope tests Odysseus directly concerning their marriage bed. When Odysseus is outraged that she has apparently cut the olive tree that serves as one of the bed’s posts and so anchors it to the ground, she knows that only the true Odysseus would know this secret. In addition, that he is outraged reveals to her that Odysseus still cares for her and their marriage. Having tested her husband and proving herself his equal, Penelope leaps into Odysseus’ arms and clings to him just as a castaway on the sea would cling to land:
Land is a welcome sight to men swimming
For their lives, after Poseidon has smashed their ship
In heavy seas. Only a few of them escape
And make it to shore. They come out
Of the grey water crusted with brine, glad
To be alive and set foot on dry land.
So welcome a sight was her husband to her. (23.240-247, Lombardo)
This description of Penelope’s joy in being reunited with her husband is, of course, told in terms that would apply more naturally to Odysseus himself. Indeed, the simile does at first appear to be about Odysseus:
This brought tears from deep within him,
And as he wept he clung to his beloved wife.
Land is a welcome sight to men swimming
. . . (23. 238-240, Lombardo)
That the simile can be effectively said to be describing both Penelope and Odysseus suggests that Penelope’s years of private suffering and delaying tactics are being held up as equivalent to the escapades and escapes of Odysseus during those same years. Perhaps it is not too much to say that Odysseus’ homecoming is also that of Penelope. That Odysseus will soon come home to stay after planting his oar where men know nothing of ships and sea argues for the final triumph of family and home of which the heroic symbol is Penelope.
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