Penelope

Penelope is a character in Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey¹. She is the wife of the hero Odysseus, who left for the Trojan War and did not return for 20 years. During his absence, Penelope was besieged by 108 suitors who wanted to marry her and take over Odysseus' kingdom. Penelope remained faithful to her husband and devised various cunning strategies to delay the suitors. One of them was to pretend to be weaving a burial shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes, and claiming that she would choose a suitor when she finished it. Every night, she secretly unraveled part of the shroud, until her trick was exposed by a maidservant. Another strategy was to propose a contest of shooting an arrow through the handles of 12 axes, which only Odysseus could accomplish. She also tested Odysseus' identity when he returned disguised as a beggar, by asking him to move their bed, which he had built around an olive tree and could not be moved. When Odysseus revealed the secret of their bed, Penelope recognized him and embraced him joyfully. Penelope is regarded as a symbol of marital fidelity and loyalty in Greek culture. She is also praised for her intelligence, cunning, patience, and endurance. She is one of the most prominent female characters in classical literature and has inspired many works of art and literature. Some examples are Dante's Divine Comedy, Shakespeare's The Two Noble Kinsmen, James Joyce's Ulysses, Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad, and Madeline Miller's Circe.