Penelope and Telemachus

A family whose household is under pressure

Penelope is Odysseus’ wife and queen in Ithaca; Telemachus is their son. Odysseus has been absent since leaving for the Trojan War, and describes his return as occurring in the twentieth year. Meanwhile, men seeking to marry Penelope occupy his palace and consume its resources. His absence therefore threatens more than a marriage: it leaves the family’s household and authority vulnerable.

In Books 19 and 21, Odysseus is present disguised as a beggar. This creates dramatic irony: the audience knows that the apparently powerless stranger is the household’s returning master. Penelope’s treatment of him reveals her values, while Telemachus’ actions show his growing ability to stand beside his father.

Penelope as a wife: grief without helplessness

Penelope’s attachment to Odysseus appears through both her words and her actions. At the end of Book 19, she describes her marriage bed as a ‘bed of tears’, wet with her weeping since he left. An ordinary place of rest has become a reminder of separation. Her grief is enduring, not a passing reaction to disappointing news.

Earlier in Book 19, Homer compares her tears as she hears the stranger’s account of Odysseus to melting mountain snow that fills streams and rivers. The comparison conveys the abundance of her tears and the strength of her feelings. There is particular poignancy in her weeping for a husband who is actually sitting beside her, unrecognised.

The bow gives that grief a concrete focus. In Book 21, she takes her husband’s bow from its case and weeps aloud. It is an object associated with the absent man, so handling it brings her loss vividly into the present. When she announces the marriage contest, she also speaks of leaving the house where she became a bride, which she will remember in her dreams. Her attachment is to their shared life and home as well as to Odysseus himself.

Yet Homer does not make sorrow the whole of her character. After crying over the bow, she carries it into the hall and issues her challenge. Private suffering is followed by purposeful public action. The repeated epithet ‘wise Penelope’ encourages us to recognise intelligence and judgement alongside emotion.

Penelope’s intelligence: delaying marriage and testing claims

In Book 19, Penelope explains how she resisted the pressure to remarry. She told the suitors that she must first finish a burial shroud for Laertes, Odysseus’ father, ready for his eventual death. She appealed to a respectable family obligation: a wealthy man should not be buried without a shroud. By day she wove it, but at night she secretly unravelled her work by torchlight.

The deception succeeded for three years. In the fourth year, her maids betrayed her and the suitors caught her unravelling it, forcing her to finish. This shows sustained ingenuity and loyalty rather than simple indecision. She uses the domestic work expected of her as a means of resistance. Its eventual discovery also reveals the limits of her control: her strategy depends on secrecy within a household she cannot fully trust.

Her caution appears again when the stranger claims to have entertained Odysseus. Although his story moves her to tears, she does not accept it without examination. She asks him to describe her husband’s clothing and companions. Odysseus describes a purple cloak, a golden brooch depicting a hound holding a fawn, and his companion Eurybates. Penelope recognises the clothing because she herself provided it and fastened the brooch.

Her questions show that grief has not destroyed her judgement. She seeks specific, checkable details rather than trusting comforting words alone. However, confirming that the stranger knows about Odysseus is not the same as recognising him as Odysseus. The audience understands why his answers are convincing; Penelope still believes she is questioning another man.

Penelope as queen: managing possessions and confronting abuse

In Book 19, Odysseus compares Penelope’s fame to that of a king who fears the gods, upholds justice and brings prosperity to his people. His praise associates her reputation with good leadership, not merely beauty or marriage. Penelope’s own response is more troubled: she says that the suitors ruin her house and that her longing for Odysseus has distracted her from strangers and public visitors. Homer therefore presents a respected woman whose responsibilities are made difficult by prolonged grief and pressure.

Penelope’s handling of the storeroom in Book 21 shows her practical authority. She takes the bronze key with its ivory handle, opens the doors confidently and retrieves the bow from among her husband’s treasures. She has access to valuable household possessions and directs the servants: she orders Eumaeus to set out the bow and axes.

Her appearance in the hall combines dignity with confrontation. She stands beside a pillar, veiled, with a loyal maid on either side. This formal presentation marks her standing within the palace. But she does not merely appear before the suitors; she accuses them of having ‘battened on this house’, eating and drinking endlessly under the excuse of wanting to marry her. The accusation exposes the difference between their stated aim and their damaging behaviour.

Her contest requires a man to string Odysseus’ bow and shoot an arrow through the rings of twelve axes. It measures the would-be husband against an achievement associated with Odysseus, rather than allowing the suitors’ demands alone to determine the outcome. It also puts the bow into circulation, making possible Odysseus’ recovery of his weapon.

There are different levels of knowledge here. Athena prompts Penelope to introduce the contest, and the narrator describes it as a means to the suitors’ destruction. Penelope herself announces it as a marriage test. The audience can see its dangerous significance without assuming that she knows the stranger’s identity or the full plan.

Penelope as host: protecting a guest’s dignity

Xenia, the obligations of hospitality, helps explain why Penelope’s response to the stranger matters. In Book 19, she rebukes Melantho for abusing him. She also orders her maids to wash his feet and prepare a comfortable bed with blankets and rugs, then to bathe and oil him in the morning before he breakfasts beside Telemachus. Her own distress does not prevent her from attending to a guest’s needs.

Penelope links kindness to reputation: guests spread the fame of a good-hearted host, while a harsh person is condemned. Hospitality is therefore both practical care and a demonstration of moral judgement. At the end of the book, she again provides for the stranger’s sleeping arrangements in the hall.

In Book 21, Antinous insults the stranger and threatens him for asking to try the bow. Penelope intervenes because it is ‘neither right nor just’ to deny a guest his due. Her argument is about appropriate treatment, not simply about whether the man might succeed.

She makes clear that allowing him to try does not mean offering herself to him as a wife. Instead, she promises a cloak and tunic, sandals, a spear and sword, and help with onward travel if he strings the bow. These are practical provisions that would equip and protect a traveller.

When Eurymachus objects that the suitors will be shamed if a beggar outperforms them, Penelope replies that they already dishonour a king’s house. This reveals moral confidence: their concern for reputation cannot excuse their conduct. Her hospitality is not passive acceptance of everything happening in her home; she distinguishes a guest deserving fair treatment from men abusing the household.

Telemachus as a son: admiration, obedience and partnership

In Book 19, Telemachus helps Odysseus remove the weapons from the hall so that the suitors cannot readily use them. He follows his father’s instructions and gives Eurycleia an innocent explanation about protecting the weapons from smoke. His contribution requires cooperation and secrecy, not just strength. Eurycleia welcomes his care for the household’s possessions, reinforcing the importance of his developing responsibility.

In Book 21, Telemachus speaks warmly of Penelope, declaring that she has no equal in Achaea. He also presents his father as the standard he hopes to reach: success with the bow would show that he is a man capable of winning prizes like Odysseus. His developing identity is closely connected to his parents.

His attempt at the bow reveals both ambition and obedience. He makes three strenuous attempts, and Homer says he might have succeeded on the fourth. Odysseus then shakes his head, and Telemachus stops. The action shows promising strength, but also willingness to follow his father’s direction rather than pursue personal success at the expense of their plan.

His subsequent claim to be a ‘coward and a weakling’ is therefore not a reliable summary of his ability. The audience has just been told that success was possible. His words preserve the appearance of failure while the contest continues.

At the end of the book, Odysseus gives a signal. Telemachus puts on his sword, takes his spear and stands beside his father. This final position makes their relationship visible: he is not merely a son hoping for Odysseus’ return, but an armed partner ready to act with him.

Telemachus as a developing hero: skill and authority

Heroic potential appears before Telemachus takes up his weapons. He sets the axes in a straight line in a trench and stamps the earth around them. The onlookers are amazed that he arranges them correctly despite never having seen them set out before. Homer establishes practical competence as well as physical promise.

Telemachus also claims control over the household’s affairs. When Penelope supports the stranger’s request, he asserts that no Achaean has more right than he does to give or refuse the bow. He sends her to her quarters, to the loom and spindle, declaring, ‘I hold the authority in this house.’ Penelope withdraws in wonder and takes his words to heart.

The speech reflects a gendered division of responsibilities: Telemachus assigns weaving and supervision of the maids to his mother, while claiming the decision about the weapon for himself. His growing authority therefore has a forceful side. He is not simply being affectionate or polite; he is publicly asserting his position as the household’s son and heir.

That authority still faces resistance. When Eumaeus is frightened into dropping the bow by the suitors’ threats, Telemachus orders him to continue and threatens punishment if he obeys them instead. His intervention enables the bow to reach Odysseus. However, the suitors laugh at him, showing that his claim to power is not yet secure in their eyes.

Book 22: courage, initiative and an inexperienced mistake

In the battle against the suitors, Telemachus turns his promise into action. When Amphinomus rushes towards Odysseus with a sword, Telemachus kills him with a thrown spear from behind. He then leaves the spear in the body rather than risk being attacked while pulling it out. His decision combines protection of his father with awareness of immediate danger.

Telemachus also recognises that their small group needs better equipment. He proposes fetching armour for Odysseus, himself, Eumaeus and Philoetius. With his father’s agreement, he brings four shields, eight spears and four helmets from the storeroom. This is initiative in service of the group: he does not merely wait for every instruction, but identifies a need and acts on it.

However, he leaves the storeroom unlocked. Melanthius gains access and supplies the suitors with armour, making the fight much more dangerous. When Odysseus suspects a servant’s involvement, Telemachus admits, ‘It is my fault, and no one else’s.’ He then tells Eumaeus to close the door and investigate. The mistake shows that he is still inexperienced; his response shows honesty and a willingness to take responsibility rather than shift blame.

His continued fighting confirms his courage. He kills Euryades and later Amphimedon, who has grazed his wrist with a spear, and attacks Leocritus at close range. Athena assists the defenders, but their own fighting ability is also tested. Telemachus’ heroism involves action under danger, cooperation and endurance, not effortless success.

Together, these moments create a developing rather than a finished hero. Telemachus has skill, courage and increasing command, but still works under his father’s direction and makes mistakes. Penelope likewise combines qualities rather than representing only one: she is a grieving and resourceful wife, an active queen and a principled host. Their actions help preserve the family and prepare for the restoration of its household.