P E N E L O P E

Painting of Penelope by John William Waterhouse, 1912.

The Odyssey also tells the story of Penelope, wife of Odysseus, and their son, Telemachus. While waiting for the return of the lost one, they are besieged by a gang of suitors for Penelope's hand in marriage: for her wealth, in other words. Penelope, as resourceful as her missing husband, cunningly devises various reasons for delaying her decision, which by custom, the suitors will enforce if the choice is not made. These ruses include a plan involving the weaving of a tapestry as pre-condition to finally choosing another husband. Penelope's tapestry takes her through three years of the suitors' drunken parties and worse excesses.