Homers Penelope
In her essay "Penelope as Moral Agent," Helene Foley attempts to discuss Penelope, a major character in Homer's the Odyssey, in terms of Classical Athenian portrayals of women and, as her title suggests, in terms of what she calls a "moral agent." In her introductory paragraph she lays out guidelines as set down by Aristotle and his contemporaries that constitute a moral agent: the character must make an ethical and moral decision "on which the actions turns...without critical knowledge of the circumstances" (Foley 93). To this end, Foley ultimately decides that Penelope meets these standards and adds that her social, familial and personal responsibilities play integral roles in making that decision. Foley's examples and her in-depth analysis of the Odyssey all support her thesis as I have interpreted it to be. There are, however, problems in her comparison of the Odyssey and outside texts (especially that of Carol Gilligan), inconsistencies in citations and style, and examples that either have little or nothing to do with her thesis.. The largest problem with this essay that I could find is the ignorance of a few facts that could possibly be construed as being in opposition to her findings.
Although Homer never formally recognizes it in the text, I interpret this scene to be yet another web woven by the ingenious Penelope. Although in her essay Foley treats it as a given that she believes him to be dead and ultimately rejects hope in favor of practicality, I would argue that it is much more debatable than she admits. Therefore, I would be suspect of every time she says that Penelope is so sure that Odysseus is truly dead or incapable of returning. For instance, she sometimes uses the Greek word in the sentence and puts the English word in parentheses, but sometimes does the opposite. To this, I would not discard the option that Penelope can be just as cunning and devious as Odysseus is in his guise as a beggar. Her point here is somewhat redundant because she is simply restating what she writes on page ninety-five:On the surface at least, the Odyssey's women are [sic] endowed with the same moral capacities [sic] as men. Even Eumaios, a suitor, admits, "I do not think/ that this well-positioned bow can ever be strung so easily. Furthermore, the question of fidelity to Odysseus is a moot point since they believe him to be dead and therefore his authorization of Penelope's remarriage should be of foremost concern. are not applicable in any simple sense to the Odyssey" because of "the formulaic nature of oral epic (Foley 107). She neglects to explain why she would compare Penelope to Aristotle's ideas on the woman's role in society, or in what respect the biological findings of Hippocrates could have possibly have influenced or been influenced by Homer's epic. When it comes to who should make the decision and whether or not his mother is acting in the interest of the household, Telemachos is not at all consistent in his opinion. The same formulas are used to describe the way [men and women] reason about questions of strategy or moral dilemmas. Also, on page 101, there is a direct comparison between Aristotle's Oikonomika and Politics and Greek tradition with Penelope as the "paradigm of a virtuous wife" that explains the relevance a bit better.
Common topics in this essay:
Classical Athenian,
Foley Gilligan's,
Ithaka Homer,
Politics Greek,
Pallas Athene,
Troy Homer,
Odysseus Homer,
Hades Greek,
Foley Penelope,
Aristotle Hippocrates,
outside texts,
moral agent,
classical athenian,
direct comparison,
question fidelity,
assumptions women moral,
decision mother,
penelope's remarriage,
husband foley,
set aristotle,
introductory paragraph,
odyssey outside texts,
women moral agents,
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Acceptance Essays
