In this passage, Penelope makes the announcement to the suitors and Odysseus that she intends to marry any of them who can string the bow of her beloved dead husband, and shoot an arrow through twelve axes. All of the suitors, especially Antinous, expect that they will be the one to string the bow and shoot the arrow. Telemachus then announces that he too will partake in the contest to win Penelope. If Telemachus is to win, his mother will not have to marry one of the suitors she desperately has been trying to avoid.
This passage brings all of the central themes and conflicts, of The Odyssey, into one scene. It demonstrates hospitality as a theme, Penelope’s sly intelligence, the growing of Telemachus into a man, and the significance of Odysseus’ bow. This passage occurs after Penelope meets with Odysseus and he explains her dreams to her. She announces her plan to marry the suitor who can complete a task that only Odysseus could possibly complete. Following this passage, the suitors all try and fail to complete the task. Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, is then allowed to attempt the task, which he successfully completes without effort. He then must prove who he is to Penelope a second time, for she does not fully believe he is Odysseus, based on his appearance.
Passage:
"Listen to me you suitors, who persist in abusing the hospitality
of this house because its owner has been long absent, and without
other pretext than that you want to marry me; this, then, being the
prize that you are contending for, I will bring out the mighty bow
of Ulysses, and whomsoever of you shall string it most easily and
send his arrow through each one of twelve axes, him will I follow
and quit this house of my lawful husband, so goodly, and so abounding
in wealth. But even so I doubt not that I shall remember it in my
dreams."
As she spoke, she told Eumaeus to set the bow and the pieces of iron
before the suitors, and Eumaeus wept as he took them to do as she
had bidden him. Hard by, the stockman wept also when he saw his master's
bow, but Antinous scolded them. "You country louts," said he, "silly
simpletons; why should you add to the sorrows of your mistress by
crying in this way? She has enough to grieve her in the loss of her
husband; sit still, therefore, and eat your dinners in silence, or
go outside if you want to cry, and leave the bow behind you. We suitors
shall have to contend for it with might and main, for we shall find
it no light matter to string such a bow as this is. There is not a
man of us all who is such another as Ulysses; for I have seen him
and remember him, though I was then only a child."
This was what he said, but all the time he was expecting to be able
to string the bow and shoot through the iron, whereas in fact he was
to be the first that should taste of the arrows from the hands of
Ulysses, whom he was dishonouring in his own house- egging the others
on to do so also.
Then Telemachus spoke. "Great heavens!" he exclaimed, "Jove must have
robbed me of my senses. Here is my dear and excellent mother saying
she will quit this house and marry again, yet I am laughing and enjoying
myself as though there were nothing happening. But, suitors, as the
contest has been agreed upon, let it go forward. It is for a woman
whose peer is not to be found in Pylos, Argos, or Mycene, nor yet in Ithaca nor on the mainland. You know this as well as I do; what
need have I to speak in praise of my mother? Come on, then, make no
excuses for delay, but let us see whether you can string the bow or
no. I too will make trial of it, for if I can string it and shoot
through the iron, I shall not suffer my mother to quit this house
with a stranger, not if I can win the prizes which my father won before
me."
Works Cited
Bastin, Scott. "Penelopes Cleverness." Penelopes Cleverness. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.
Biggs, Cory, Melissa Joseph, Mollie Bennet, Dustin Manning, and Jonas Schrodt. "The Value of Hospitality." The Value of Hospitality. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2014.
Croley, Chad. "Hidden Themes from Homer's Odyssey." Layers of Meaning in the Odyssey. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
Friske, Casey, Lindsay Grossheim, JT Dominick, Liz Weyerbacher, and Andy Payne. "Telemacheia." Telemacheia: Story of the Development of an Adolescent Becoming a Basileus. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
"The Internet Classics Archive | The Odyssey by Homer." The Internet Classics Archive | The Odyssey by Homer. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.
"Map of Ancient Greece." Map of Ancient Greece. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.
"Odyssey's End?: The Search for Ancient Ithaca." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.
"Penelope." Penelope. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.
