Atwood, The Penelopiad
The Penelopiad rewrites Homer’s The Odyssey, in part from the perspective of Odysseus’ wife, Penelope. In this lecture, Jill Fellows discusses how Atwood’s Penelope responds to and questions Homer’s interpretation of her life, while the twelve hanged maids respond to and question Penelope’s own version of events.
The Penelopiad and The Twelve Maids
Margaret Atwood used an interesting approach to revisit The Odyssey and remake the legendary story. She starts off the book claiming the narrator is Penelope herself in Hades’ world. As the book title suggests, The Penelopiad is supposed to be a book revealing the story of The Odyssey in Penelope’s side. Penelope should be the […]
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The Art of Fibbing: A brief discussion of The Penelopiad
As soon as Jill mentioned that Penelope’s story (as well as that of Odysseus, the maids, etc.) could not be trusted, I immediately thought of Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby. Not only is it one of my favorite books, it goes to show that not all narrators can be deemed honest. Furthermore, is this […]
I Haven’t Made Up My Mind About The Penelopiad
I have mixed feelings about Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad. I appreciate that it wasn’t a time consuming epic nor was it a complex interpretation of the bible, and I did enjoy reading it. I liked how nicely it fit the theme of repetition compulsion, and how it added an alternate interpretation of Penelope and the […]
The Penelopiad
This book was certainly an entertaining read. Unlike the Penelope presented in The Odyssey, Penelope in The Penelopiad has a witty personality not quite emphasized in the former work. Unexpectedly, despite not having a form or a voice, as Penelope states herself, her narration is filled with humorous twists and turns, one that gives insight […]
The Penelopiad
I re-read The Penelopiad today after listening to Jill Fellows lecture on it and came to realize how much I’d missed in my initial readings. The length of the work is deceptive, and is not representative of its density; next time, I will take notes while reading! Let me just briefly introduce myself; I am […]
Becoming a Member of the Club
In highschool, I once had an English teacher who was known throughout the school for her love of cats and Margaret Atwood. I’m serious, her bookshelf was guarded by kitten plush dolls and her window had written in stickers, “MARGARET ATWOOD FANCLUB”. Now, I’m probably the farthest thing from a crazy cat lady (I’m allergic), […]
The Anti-Penelopiad?
Everything was perfect. Odysseus was a hero, a master of cunning and diguise. Telemachus was a brave young man following his father’s footsteps. Penelope (thanks to Toph Marshall) was a loyal, clever and incredibly lovable character. I loved The Odyssey, it was a book with an ending that left me completely satisfied until Margaret Atwood […]
Big, Bad, Penelopiad
Firstly, thank you Atwood for condensing your lovely Canadian writing into a slim book with large margins. You are now almost at a Neil Young-tier of Canadian awesomeness.I like the modern perspective on it all – in the Odyssey, the soldiers of Troy ar…
Penelopiad-Blog Post 1
Even though I really did enjoy reading Homer’s telling of The Odyssey, I was extremely excited to read Margaret Atwood’s version of events, through Odysseus’ wife, Penelope. Penelope struck me as a complex character, who is not given enough attention in the Odyssey. She is clever and resourceful, yet is still expected to listen to […] Continue reading →