The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus (Myths, The)

"Atwood doesn't exactly give her a makeover, but she gives her a voice, at once plaintive and wise." - Elizabeth Hand, The Washington PostAs portrayed in Homer's Odyssey, Penelope - wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy - has become a symbol of wifely duty and devotion, enduring twenty years of waiting when her husband goes to fight in the Trojan War. As she fends off the attentions of a hundred greedy suitors, travelling minstrels regale her with news of Odysseus' epic adventures around the Mediterranean - slaying monsters and grappling with amorous goddesses. When Odysseus finally comes home, he kills her suitors and then, in an act that served as little more than a footnote in Homer's original story, inexplicably hangs Penelope's twelve maids."The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood is formally daring. (...) Despite the jokiness,., anachronism and rumbustiousness, Margaret Atwood's Penelope is coherently and persuasively imagined; a heroine transplanted from contemporary Toronto to the Elysian Fields." - Carolyne Larrington, Times Literary SupplementNow, Penelope and her chorus of wronged maids tell their side of the story in a new stage version by Margaret Atwood, adapted from her own wry, witty and wise novel.

“Homer’s Odyssey is not the only version of the story. Mythic material was originally oral, and also local -- a myth would be told one way in one place and quite differently in another. I have drawn on material other than the Odyssey, especially for the details of Penelope’s parentage, her early life and marriage, and the scandalous rumors circulating about her. I’ve chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged maids. The maids form a chanting and singing Chorus, which focuses on two questions that must pose themselves after any close reading of the Odyssey: What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? The story as told in the Odyssey doesn’t hold water: there are too many inconsistencies. I’ve always been haunted by the hanged maids and, in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself.” -- from Margaret Atwood’s Foreword to The Penelopiad

The New York Times - Caroline Alexander

Here, amid the moon cults and palace of women and the returned king, "spattered over with gore and battle filth," as Homer tells us, is fabulous Atwood territory. Unfortunately, she does not grasp this thorny nettle, but chooses instead to blow feather-light dandelions…Each Odyssean landmark is inverted with a broad wink.

Now that all the others have run out of air, it's my turn to do a little story-making. In Homer's account in The Odyssey , Penelopewife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troyis portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife, her story a salutary lesson through the ages. Left alone for twenty years when Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan War after the abduction of Helen, Penelope manages, in the face of scandalous rumors, to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son, and keep over a hundred suitors at bay, simultaneously. When Odysseus finally comes home after enduring hardships, overcoming monsters, and sleeping with goddesses, he kills her suitors andcuriouslytwelve of her maids. In a splendid contemporary twist to the ancient story, Margaret Atwood has chosen to give the telling of it to Penelope and to her twelve hanged maids, asking: "What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to?" In Atwood's dazzling, playful retelling, the story becomes as wise and compassionate as it is haunting, and as wildly entertaining as it is disturbing. With wit and verve, drawing on the story-telling and poetic talent for which she herself is renowned, she gives Penelope new life and realityand sets out to provide an answer to an ancient mystery. Homer's Odyssey is not the only version of the story. Mythic material was originally oral, and also local -- a myth would be told one way in one place and quite differently in another. I have drawn on material other than the Odyssey, especially for the details of Penelope's parentage, her early life and marriage, and the scandalous rumors circulating about her. I've chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged maids. The maids form a chanting and singing Chorus, which focuses on two questions that must pose themselves after any close reading of the Odyssey: What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? The story as told in the Odyssey doesn't hold water: there are too many inconsistencies. I've always been haunted by the hanged maids and, in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself. The author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin presents a cycle of stories about Penelope, wife of Odysseus, through the eyes of the twelve maids hanged for disloyalty to Odysseus in his absence. Introduction A Low Art The Chorus Line: A Rope-Jumping Rhyme My Childhood The Chorus Line: Kiddie Mourn, A Lament by the Maids Asphodel My Marriage The Scar The Chorus Line: If I Was a Princess, A Popular Tune The Trusted Cackle-Hen The Chorus Line: The Birth of Telemachus, An Idyll Helen Ruins My Life Waiting The Chorus Line: The Wily Sea Captain, A Sea Shanty The Suitors Stuff Their Faces The Shroud Bad Dreams The Chorus Line: Dreamboats, A Ballad News of Helen Yelp of Joy Slanderous Gossip The Chorus Line: The Perils of Penelope, A Drama Helen Takes a Bath Odysseus and Telemachus Snuff the Maids The Chorus Line: An Anthropology Lecture Heart of Flint The Chorus Line: The Trial of Odysseus, as Videotaped by the Maids Home Life in Hades The Chorus Line: We're Walking Behind You, A Love Song Envoi Notes Acknowledgements In Homer's Account, Penelope's Story Is The Salutary Tale Of The Constant Wife. It Is She Who Rules Odysseus's Kingdom Of Ithaca During His Twenty-year Absence At The Trojan War; She Who Raises Their Wayward Son And Fends Off Over A Hundred Insistent Suitors. When Odysseus Finally Returns – Having Vanquished Monsters, Slept With Goddesses And Endured Many Other Well-documented Hardships – He Kills The Suitors And Also, Curiously Twelve Of Penelope's Maids. In A Splendid Contemporary Twist, Margaret Atwood Tells The Story Through Penelope And Her Twelve Hanged Maids, Asking: 'what Led To The Hanging Of The Maids, And What Was Penelope Really Up To?' It's A Dazzling, Playful Retelling, As Wise And Compassionate As It Is Haunting; As Wildly Entertaining As It Is Disturbing. This is a playful retelling of the story of Penelope and Odysseus ... Left alone for twenty years while Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan War, Penelope manages, in the face of scandalous rumors, to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son, and keep over a hundred suitors at bay. When Odysseus finally comes home after enduring hardships, overcoming monster, and sleeping with goddesses, he kills her suitors and - curiously - twelve of her maids. "What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to?" The story of Odysseus' return to his home kingdom of Ithaca following an absence of twenty years is best known from Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus is said to have spent half of these years fighting the Trojan War and the other half wandering around the Aegean Sea, trying to get home. But what of his wife, Penelope? The author has chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged Maids "In a splendid contemporary twist to the ancient story, Margaret Atwood has chosen to give the telling of it to Penelope and to her twelve hanged maids." -- BOOK JACKET A retelling of the story of Penelope and her husband Odysseus and the events that followed his return from the Trojan War