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After Odysseus and Telemachus slaughtered all of the suitors, Eurycleia, the nurse, went to get Penelope and tell of Odysseus' return. Penelope was disturbed by this news because she thought she was mocking her. The nurse had proof that king of Ithaca had returned. When she helped Odysseus clean up after the battle, she saw the scar he had got from a wild boar. When Penelope went to see for herself she was very cold towards Odysseus and he told Telemachus to leave them to work things out.
Penelope's Test
Epic Simile: ''The housekeeper Eurynome washed and anointed Odysseus in his own house and gave him a tunic and cloak, while Athena made him look taller and stronger than befor; she also made the hair grow thick on the top of his head , and flow down in curls like hyacinth blossoms.
Conflict- Penelope did not embrace Odysseus as soon as she was told by her nurse that he had returned because she had been ''shuddering all the time through fear that someone might comer here and decieve me with a lying story; for there are many very wicked people going out.''
indirect Characterization - Penelope is portrayed as loyal, faithful, respectful, strong, and smart. One example when she portrays these qualities is when she tests Odysseus with the bed. ''If really he is Odysseus, truely home, beyond all doubt we two shall know each other better than you or anyone. There are secret signs we know, we two. ''She is telling the reader that if this is actually her wedded lord that he will know things that no other man will know.
Odysseus is seen as an epic hero because he demonstrated many important qualities, He demonstrated wisdom of an understanding father as well as caution in his treatment to Telemachus. He also knows that the intruders belong to some of the most influential families in the area who will try to get revenge. He then asked his son to stage a fake wedding so no one would know that the suitors were killed. Giving that task to Telemachus, not only gave Odysseus time alone with Penelope, but it also demonstrated his faith in the maturing prince.
Foreshadowing- When you read ''then he roused up Telemachus, Philoetius,and Eumaeus, and told them all to put on their armour also.This they did, and armed themselves. When they had done so, they opened the gates and sailed forth, 0dysseus leading the way.'' This shows forshadowing because you know they will be in some sort of battle because they put on armor and got their weapons.
To assure herself of Odysseus' identity, Penelope tests him. As he listens, she asked Eurycleia to move the bedstead out of the couple's chamber and spread it with blankets. The king himself had carved the bed as a young man, shaping it out of a living olive tree that grew in the courtyard. he built the bedroom around the tree and knew that the bed couldn't be moved. When Odysseus got angry that the orginal bed may have been destroyed, Penelope is releaved and accepts him.
When Odysseus asked Telemachus to leave he also wanted him to gather the servants and the bard and stage a fake wedding feast so that any people passing by would not expect the slaughter that took place.
Symbolism- One of Penelope's test of Odysseus is to refer to their bed as moveable, which it was not which symbolized their strong and enduring marriage. ''There is not man living, however strong and in his prime who could move it from its place, for it is a mrvellous curiousity which i made with my very own hands.''Odysseus lovingly crafted their bed around a great olive tree that symbolized the strength of their spiritual marriage.
Epithet- ''you, who are the wisest of mankind.
