Wilde woman
06-15-2010, 07:35 PM
Just as it sounds, the Penelopiad retells Homer's Odyssey from Penelope's (and, in general, the women's) point of view. Atwood brings a feisty new side to a female character who is often no more than a symbol of faithfulness in the original. The novel begins with Penelope dead in Hades and finally able to tell her side of the story (because the gods no longer listen to the blasphemous voices of the dead). We find out early in the tale that Penelope is carrying around a guilty burden - she believes the death of her twelve most beloved maids - is her fault. In the Odyssey, the story goes that after Odysseus fought and killed all Penelope's suitors, he ordered the execution of all the traitorous maids who'd slept with the suitors. Penelope's story is, of course, quite different. Throughout the novel are sprinkled chapters narrated by the maids themselves, as a Greek chorus. Most of the time, they sing songs which comment on the action (like their irreverent attitude towards their masters, their reaction towards the birth of Telemachus), but sometimes they assert their own voices, as in Chapter 26: The Trial of Odysseus, as Videotaped by the Maids.
Since Atwood is widely known as a feminist, it's not surprising that she lends the primary narration to female characters. But it is interesting to me that they're all dead in Hades and can only go about reliving - in agonizing detail - their mistakes in life. Throughout, there's quite a bit of humor dealing with the rivalry between Penelope and Helen. And Atwood takes a jab at the feminist babble of certain literary critics in Chapter 24: An Anthropology Lecture.
A quick, easy, and irreverent must-read for all fans of Homer.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention that this is part of Canongate's Myth Series (http://www.themyths.co.uk/), an ongoing collection where writers from all over the world are recruited to write revisionist versions of different myths. Among the names I recognized were Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Chinua Achebe, and Michael Faber. I'm definitely checking out some of other titles.
Since Atwood is widely known as a feminist, it's not surprising that she lends the primary narration to female characters. But it is interesting to me that they're all dead in Hades and can only go about reliving - in agonizing detail - their mistakes in life. Throughout, there's quite a bit of humor dealing with the rivalry between Penelope and Helen. And Atwood takes a jab at the feminist babble of certain literary critics in Chapter 24: An Anthropology Lecture.
A quick, easy, and irreverent must-read for all fans of Homer.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention that this is part of Canongate's Myth Series (http://www.themyths.co.uk/), an ongoing collection where writers from all over the world are recruited to write revisionist versions of different myths. Among the names I recognized were Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Chinua Achebe, and Michael Faber. I'm definitely checking out some of other titles.