Characters 

. The 12 maids

. Telemachus 

. Three sisters of fate 

. Penelopiad

. Odysseus

. Helen

. Paris

. Menelaus 

. Agamemnon 

. Thesus

. Perthous 

Chapter 10 

1.       Sailing oceans, also a metaphor for the birth of Telemachus

2.       Odysseus voyage to Ithaca 

3.       Odysseus joins Telemachus and his mother and father 

4.       Introduces a female and male prospective 

5.       Boat used as a metaphor of the mothers whom

Chapter 11   

1.       Penelopiad daid her life was ruined by Helen 

2.       Killing of 12 maids and 100 suitors 

3.       Penelopiad survives and Helen’s plan goes on that would leave Penelopiad alone for 20 years.

4.       Thesus  and Perthous abduct young Helen

5.       They discuss which one of them would marry her when she was old enough

6.       Her brothers rescued her 

7.       There are two different stories of how the abducting happened but Helen’s story tells of her beauty being to intoxicating and she had both of them bowing before her feet. And this leads to her being able to memorise men.

Impact

There was a lot of metaphors and foreshadowing in the two chapters. This was highlighting the Trojan War and the birth of Telemachus. This also includes the involvement of Helen and what she did and how she is responsible for it. 

This shows Helen as someone that uses her beauty to control others and this has an impact on the current Trojan war.

This also shows Penelopiad being held hostage by Helen and her actions that could leave her to be alone for 20 years. There were also other consequences, the 12 maids where killed in the actions of Helen and thus exposing the truth about Helens nature. But we also follow the voyage of  Odysseus and how he is being stopped by deadly obstacles. But he joins up with Telemachus and his mother and father. But we know the boat was a metaphor for his birth and we have an male and female prospective.

 

Also in chapter 10 we know that with the birth of Telemachus that he will be ordered by his father to kill the 12 maids. And this is all that ipacts the war the maids and the life of Odysseus and Penelopiad.   

 

-       Penelope 

-       Helen 

-       Penelope recounts a recent time when she ran into Helen who was being followed by a group of men while on her way to take a bath

-       Helen invites Penelope to join her and Penelope states that they are now spirits and don’t need to take baths 

-       Helen announces that it is tiring having men fighting over her all the time and tells Penelope that she wouldn’t know what it was like

-       Penelope asks if Helen is going to take her robe off, and she replies that she prefers to bathe naked as swell as stating that Penelope id too modest and would keep the robe on to bathe. Penelope replies ‘that would explain the unusually large crowd of spectators you have attracted”

-       Helen continues to call Penelope ‘negative’ and ‘vulgar’ as Penelope is blaming Helen for causing so many deaths 

-       Helen responds with asking how many men Odysseus killed for her, Penelope replies with “quite a lot”.

-       Helen then states that it probably made her feel more important and prettier

-       Then Helen leaves calling Penelope “little duck” as the men follow her.

 We learn that Penelope’s and Helen’s rivalry seems to have continued into the afterlife and how according to Helen and Penelope, a princess needs men to actually die for her.


chapter 23
Who are the characters involved? 

-       Penelope

-       Odysseus

-       Eurycelia

-       Telemachus

-       The Suitors

-       It begins with Penelope stating ‘she slept through the mayhem’ of the suitors being killed in the women’s quarters. Questioning if Eurycleia had put something in her drink to make her sleep through it all.

-       Eurycleia later described the whole thing to Penelope. Telling her how Odysseus was disguised as a beggar watched the suitors try to string his bow for the archery contest. They all had failed, then Odysseus successfully completed the archery challenge.

-       Then Odysseus shot Antinous in the throat and then continues to kill all the suitors with the help of his son and two herdsmen, while the women listened at the door of the women’s quarters

-       Odysseus then asked Eurycelia to tell him who were the disloyal maids. He made them bring the bodies of the suitors to the courtyard and wash the blood off of the floor.

-       Odysseus then told Telemachus to kill the maids. Telemachus decided to hang them even though his father told him to cut them into pieces.

-       Then Odysseus and Telemachus cut up a goatherd who had betrayed him.

-       Penelope cried asking which maids he had killed. Eurycleia told her he killed the twelve maids who had been rude. Penelope corrected her stating they were the rape victims. Stating that she didn’t add that they were also her spies.

-       Eurycleia then sent Penelope downstairs to see Odysseus. Penelope biting her tongue telling herself that she would say prayers for them in secret.

-       Penelope speculates that Eurycelia may have known the maids were spying for her and killed them because she felt left out.

The impact this chapter has on the novel is that it tells us the story of the events leading up to the 12 maids’ deaths, how Odysseus killed the Suitors and that Penelope speculates Eurycelia for the deaths of those 12 Maids.

Impact: 
We learn Penelope is loyal despite the rumours indicating her husband is not. Also, she is smart and a quick learner. She takes control of the palace and is so far successful which is unusual for the time in which the story is set.  The way the rumours are written and how Margaret Atwood has created a simple and more realistic explanation for each of the extreme stories told make Odysseus seem more human and less of a hero. 

·         Provides background information on marriages and weddings

·         Looking over the men that are competing to get her, maids gossiping

·         Describes Odysseus and his background

·         Helen comes and insults Penelope

·         Odysseus wins race by cheating

·         Wedding Ceremony takes place 
What impact does this chapter have on the overall story e.g. what do we learn about the characters, is an important decision made, etc. 

We learn about the role that marriage plays in this time period and how it is arranged. We also learn who Odysseus is and that he marries Penelope. We are also introduced to the rudeness of helen.
CH7
Who was in the chapter? Penelope, Odysseus, King(penelopes dad)
What happened in the chapter? 

·         The post ceremony wedding feast

·         Mum gave a speech

·         Penelope and Odysseus go to the bridal chamber

·         Odysseus convinces Penelope to let out a few screams so they will be left alone

·         They consummate the marriage and then Odysseus begins telling stories and wants to become friends with Penelope

·         Penelope and Odysseus leave for Ithaca and her father chases the chariot begging her to stay
What impact does this chapter have on the overall story e.g. what do we learn about the characters, is an important decision made, etc. 

We learn that Odysseus isn’t like most men and was respectful of Penelope. We also learn that Odysseus and Penelope are going back to Ithaca.

·         Odysseus has returned but in disguise as a beggar, Penelope knows that it is her husband but doesn’t let on for his safety

·         Penelope sent her faithful maid Eurycleai to go clean his feet. She noticed his scar and couldn’t be happier

·         Penelope then set the challenge to the suitors (and odysseus) to shoot an arrow through 12 axe handles

·         This is a challenge that Penelope knew only Odysseus could win
Impacts:

This chapter showed the return of Odysseus after 20 years. This impacted the story by Penelope demonstrating her cleverness and independence of coming up with the plan. She made the important decision not to selfishly ruin her husband’s identity.

Impact: 
We learn the exact events that supposedly happened to Odysseus on his trip home from Troy. We also learned he isn’t loyal to Penelope and that he is in no hurry to make it home to her.   

This chapter is all about the maids and it is in the form of a song about how they want a hero to marry them. They are sick of slaving and feel that hope is the only thing that is keeping them afloat and sinking to their death.

Chapter 9- The Trusted Cackle-Hen

Characters- Penelope, odysseus and his mother (Anticleia), eurycleia (nurse) Telemachus (son) , her maid actoris (dies) 
Helen

-Penelope moves to ithica and is unhappy there

-Odysseus’ mother is cold and distance towards her

-Eurycleia Is highly possessive towards odysseus 

- Gives birth to Telemachus

Penelope does a lot of weeping while concealing from odysseus but eventually grows more fond of him

Eurycleia eventually becomes helpful and friendly towards Penelope 

 

Impact:
We learn that the Suitors are killed by Odysseus at some point and despite the warnings of this from the gods, the suitors continued to pester Penelope. We also learn the real intentions of the suitors and how they are only fighting for the palace and its gold, not for Penelope herself.         
It is also reiterated that Penelope is alone without Odysseus because she suspects that even the maids exaggerate the hurtful stories the suitors tell and that she feels she must pretend to like the attention she is given to delay anger in the suitors. 

Penelope tells her story from the time she was alive and mentions characters such as:

·         Odysseus (in terms of Penelope talking about his failed return from the war at Troy)

·         Telemachus 

·         King Icarius

·         Clytemnestra (Penelope’s cousin)

·         The Suitors trying to take Penelope’s widowed hand.

·         12 of her youngest maidservants 

·         Maid Eurycleia  

·         With the suitors wanting Penelope’s believed-to-be widowed hand in marriage, she aims to find a way to postpone her inevitable decision.

·         She comes up with the idea to weave a shroud – saying when the shroud is finished, she’d make her decision on which suitor to choose.

·         By day she works at her loom – by night she undoes everything she’d woven, causing the shroud to stay incomplete. 

·         She got 12 maids – choosing her youngest as they would be more reliable for her tasks – to help with the undoing of the shroud and to get close with the suitors to sus out their plans. 

·         This came with a lot of rape for those maids and in the end, the suitors found out of Penelope’s scheme. 

·         She promised to finish the shroud as quickly as possible and then would without fail, choose a husband.

Effect on overall story
This was the chapter that, for the reader, pushed the idea that Odysseus was indeed dead or never returning home. Because the suitors were pushing Penelope into choosing a new husband, it made it seem to the reader that everyone in the kingdom either knew or believed that Odysseus was gone for good. Only Penelope still believed he was out there and prayed for him every night. This chapter also gave an insight into how royal women were treated in those times – in that the man was the only one who was allowed to pull the reins. And if the women became widowed (like Penelope), than it was thought they simply couldn’t run the kingdom like a man and therefore needed to remarry.