The Penelopiad – Margaret Atwood (2005)

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, published in 2005, reimagines Homer’s Odyssey through the lens of Penelope and the twelve hanged maids. Set in Hades, it explores their stories, offering a feminist and satirical critique of the original epic. Atwood gives voice to overlooked characters, delving into themes of loyalty, power, and justice with dark humor and sharp wit.

Plot Summary

In the shadowy depths of Hades, Penelope surveys the tales woven about her life, tales that render her the quintessential faithful wife waiting for Odysseus’s return. Yet beneath the surface lies a world of contradictions, whispered rumors, and veiled truths. From her semi-divine birth as the daughter of a Naiad to her place in the palace of Sparta, Penelope’s life is marked by resilience and cunning, traits she honed to navigate a world ruled by men. Her childhood was riddled with rejection; her father, fearing a prophecy, sought to drown her, but a flock of ducks saved her, forever branding her as “Penelope the Duck.” These early scars shaped her mistrust and self-reliance.

At fifteen, Penelope was married to Odysseus, who won her hand through cunning rather than strength. Her cousin Helen, whose radiant beauty often overshadowed her, mocked the union, predicting a dull and provincial life for Penelope in Ithaca. Helen’s vanity and penchant for chaos linger like a specter over Penelope’s life, her actions later igniting the war that would tear families and kingdoms apart.

When Penelope arrives in Ithaca, she finds herself a stranger in a rugged land of rocks and goats. Odysseus’s palace is modest, its people unpolished, and her place within the household tenuous. Her mother-in-law, Anticleia, greets her with cold formality, while Eurycleia, Odysseus’s loyal nursemaid, assumes control over household affairs, leaving Penelope with little influence. Still, she adapts, her sharp intellect and quiet demeanor earning her a measure of respect, though never affection. When she bears Odysseus a son, Telemachus, her position becomes somewhat more secure, but her isolation remains.

Helen’s elopement with Paris of Troy shatters the fragile stability of Penelope’s life. The oath sworn by Helen’s former suitors binds Odysseus to join the Greek forces in the Trojan War. Promising a swift return, Odysseus departs, leaving Penelope to manage Ithaca in his absence. The years stretch into decades, and rumors of his death grow louder. Penelope must fend off the greed and ambitions of Ithaca’s noblemen, who seek to claim her hand and Odysseus’s throne. These suitors descend upon the palace, feasting on its wealth and mocking her authority.

Penelope devises a plan to delay remarriage: she promises to choose a new husband once she finishes weaving a shroud for Laertes, Odysseus’s aging father. Each night, she secretly unravels her day’s work, stalling the suitors and maintaining a fragile hope for Odysseus’s return. Meanwhile, Telemachus grows restless, asserting his independence and disdain for his mother’s apparent passivity.

Among the palace staff, the twelve maids become Penelope’s confidantes. Bound to her by loyalty and their shared disdain for the suitors, they act as her spies, gathering information and carrying out her secret tasks. Yet the maids are also victims, exploited and abused by the suitors, their suffering overlooked by those in power. Their plight becomes a haunting refrain, their voices woven into the fabric of Penelope’s story.

Unknown to Penelope, Odysseus’s journey is fraught with trials and temptations. He battles monsters, outwits gods, and succumbs to the allure of goddesses, delaying his return but enhancing his legend. When he finally arrives in Ithaca, disguised as a beggar, he finds his home in disarray. Telemachus is a young man struggling to claim his place, Penelope is beleaguered by the suitors, and the maids are caught between loyalty and survival.

Odysseus’s return sets the stage for a violent reckoning. With Telemachus’s aid, he slaughters the suitors in a gruesome display of vengeance. Penelope, unsure if the man before her is truly her husband or another trickster, devises a test. She orders a servant to move their bed, a bed rooted in the earth itself. When Odysseus protests, revealing his knowledge of its immovable nature, Penelope accepts him as her long-lost husband.

But the joy of reunion is short-lived. Odysseus orders the execution of the twelve maids, accusing them of betraying the household by consorting with the suitors. The maids are hanged without trial, their loyalty to Penelope ignored, their voices silenced. Penelope is left to grapple with the injustice of their deaths, her complicity in their fate, and the hollowness of Odysseus’s triumph.

In the afterlife, Penelope reflects on her story and the myths that have defined her. She is haunted by the maids, whose spirits accuse her of betrayal. Their choral laments echo through eternity, a testament to the injustices endured by those without power or privilege. Penelope acknowledges the contradictions in her tale—the gaps between truth and myth, between her actions and their consequences. As she spins her thread of memory, she seeks not vindication but understanding, reclaiming her voice from the shadows of history.

Main Characters

• Penelope: The queen of Ithaca and wife of Odysseus. Penelope recounts her life, revealing her intelligence, resilience, and frustrations with the patriarchal myths surrounding her. Her perspective challenges her depiction in the Odyssey as a passive and virtuous wife.

• The Twelve Maids: A chorus of hanged servants who narrate their own tragic experiences. They serve as a Greek chorus, providing poignant commentary on class and gender injustices.

• Odysseus: Penelope’s cunning husband, celebrated for his intelligence and heroics. Penelope admires and resents him for his deceitful charm and lack of accountability.

• Helen of Troy: Penelope’s cousin, whose beauty sparks the Trojan War. She is vain, manipulative, and a source of Penelope’s insecurities and envy.

• Eurycleia: Odysseus’s loyal nursemaid. She represents the old order of Ithaca, devoted to maintaining traditional power structures.

Theme

• Feminism and Gender Roles: Atwood critiques the patriarchal lens of mythology, exploring how women’s stories are suppressed, distorted, or misrepresented. The maids’ tragic fate highlights systemic misogyny.

• Power and Justice: The book interrogates power dynamics, particularly Odysseus’s unquestioned authority. The execution of the maids raises moral questions about justice and retribution.

• Storytelling and Truth: Penelope and the maids challenge the dominant narrative of The Odyssey, suggesting that truth is subjective and influenced by who tells the story.

• Class and Exploitation: The maids’ perspective underscores the cruelty and exploitation of servitude in a rigid class system, contrasting with Penelope’s privileged but constrained position.

• Betrayal and Loyalty: Penelope’s relationships reveal the fragility of trust—she is betrayed by Odysseus’s infidelity and the rumors that cast doubt on her own fidelity.

Writing Style and Tone

Margaret Atwood employs a distinctive blend of lyrical prose, sardonic humor, and sharp irony. The narrative alternates between Penelope’s first-person account and the maids’ choral interludes, creating a layered storytelling style reminiscent of Greek tragedy. Penelope’s voice is reflective, self-deprecating, and occasionally bitter, while the maids’ songs and chants are raw, rhythmic, and haunting.

The tone is a juxtaposition of wit and solemnity. Atwood uses humor to undermine the grandeur of the epic, but the underlying tragedy of the maids’ plight imbues the story with a somber resonance. By weaving modern sensibilities with ancient myth, Atwood crafts a narrative that is both timeless and strikingly contemporary.