In the classic version of the Odyssey, Penelope is a character that rarely appears and her image is constructed around this spectrum of a good and submissive wife who waits patiently for her husband to return. Atwood, however, subverts this spectrum by showcasing two complementary narratives: a first-person narrative by Penelope as she walks through her Hades – and her memories – and a third-person narrative made by the twelve slaves (who were murdered by Odysseus when he returns) that follows our main character and act as choir, appearing in many parts of the story, what brings a twist to the novel, since those apparitions were made in verses (as is done in the Classic story) through the prose. 

Is in this revolutionary way of writing that Atwood breaks the stereotype of a loving and caring wife by adding layers to Penelope and making her as intelligent and wit as her husband. Odysseus leaves the “hero” status and it’s described as someone not so virtuous, who is motivated by his own interest and not the “greater good”, leaving Penelope to handle all the aftermaths of his inconsequential acts. Helena also is put under a different light, being described as a “attention seeker” and a constant nuisance to our main character.

Penelope, besides being an intelligent woman, also carries the stigma of being a resentful person, repeating wails and grievance, trapped in a competition with her cousin Helena - who she blames for almost everything that happened – that is motivated by envy. Unfortunately, this resentful personality spins around mainly in the fact the Penelope’s constant feeling of being abandoned, be that manifested in a direct way as her resenting Odysseus for leaving or in a indirect way as believing that she’s always have been overlooked and had her feelings ignored. 

It’s clear that Atwood doesn’t make the main character a perfect “hero”, quite opposite actually, Penelope’s constant grievance makes the reading a bit harder. By writing this tragedy, the author brings the drama and the melancholy in every chapter and it’s groundbreaking – especially if we considered that the novel was released more than 15 years ago – to read a version of the Odyssey that goes beyond a hero journey, showing the consequences of Odysseus departure.

Nevertheless, Penelopiad can be a difficult reading to new generations because, even breaking a patriarchal image of “the perfect wife”, Margaret Atwood falls into two other patriarchal notions: a) a woman can only be happy and feel joy if she is loved by a man; b) women are always resenting each other and competing for attention, constantly attempting to the “malegazing”. All the melancholy can be understandable - the novel is, indeed, a tragedy – but it could be more centered in the drama of her scaping the pretends, exploring what is to be a woman in charge of kingdom and the to keep the throne to herself, without the need of a king to validate her rule, instead of being so deep in the resents about Helena.