43 pages • 1 hour read
Margaret AtwoodThe Penelopiad
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Mishearing the Supernatural
Gods, oracles, and the dead are constantly being misheard or misinterpreted. Penelope explains that, when the dead try and communicate with the living, she “can’t make [herself] understood, not in your world, the world of bodies, of tongues and fingers…those of you who may catch the odd whisper, the odd squeak, so easily mistake my words for breezes rustling the dry reeds, for bats at twilight, for bad dreams” (4). She assumes her own father misheard the prophecy regarding his own death, or else the oracle herself did, as “the gods often mumble” (8). The Suitors declare that the prophecy of Odysseus’s return must have been misinterpreted, and even Penelope began to doubt.
Penelope’s Veil
Penelope frequently uses her veil to disguise her true feelings and to shield her from her surroundings. During the contest for her hand, she doesn’t look directly at the contestants, but rather peeks from behind her veil, keeping her from “shamelessly” staring at the men, but also enabling her to stay separated, at a distance. She uses the veil once again to hide her laughter at the question of whether she’d like to stay with her would-be murderer father, an act that is taken as a modest inability to articulate her desire for her husband. Once more, the veil obscures her true intentions, and communicates a more ambiguous reaction. She also says that, though she cries frequently, her veil allows her to hide her tears. Keeping a calm façade is important for a woman of her station, but it also symbolizes her inability to get truly close to anyone, and underlines the loneliness she feels in Ithaca.
Narrative Dissonance in the Choral Chapters
While the content of the chapters narrated by the maids is quite dark, often describing their rape or murder, the varying forms are nearly all taken from more lighthearted art forms. The Chorus sings a sea shanty and an idyll; a love song and a popular tune. Often, they bow, or pass around a hat for change. While they accuse Odysseus of cold-blooded murder and call him a hypocrite, they are performing songs that typically have sickly-sweet content. It’s unnerving and we, as the reader, are amused because of the dissonance, but also off-put.
Related Titles
By Margaret Atwood
