Published: 2005
Length: 192 pages
Source: Library
Challenge/Event: Readalong
Personal Enjoyment Factor: 3.5/5
Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.
At last we get to hear the other side of the story of faithful Penelope, self-described (in Atwoods's account) "goody-goody" with a thing for bad boys. And anyone female who has read The Odyssey knows that Odysseus is the quintessential cad--he lies, he cheats, he shacks up with goddesses...
How does Penelope deal with it all? She acts like water. This is advice from her Naiad mother. Just like water, "if you can't go through an obstacle, go around it." Penelope encounters many obstacles. Unloving parents? Go to backwater Ithaca with your new hubby who probably would have rather wedded your cousin Helen. Unfeeling husband? Fantasize that he will be impressed with your housekeeping skills when he returns from seven years of sleeping with Calypso. Pesky suitors? Pretend you like them. Better yet, tell them you will marry one of them when you finish weaving the shroud that you unravel each night. That'll show 'em! Be the water. Become the water.
Unfortunately, this does seem to be the only survival strategy for Penelope given her situation and time. I yearned for Atwood to make it something different, but that would involve skewing the circumstances, and I got the idea from the notes at the end that she was trying to stick to established mythology rather than rewrite Homer. At least she gave Penelope a voice, a back story, and a dry sense of humor. Helen got a good slamming, which I greatly relished. As for Odysseus, I actually felt sorry for him in the end, still running away to take on another identity. The story of the maids is haunting and tragic, but they sure know how to put on a good show!
Thank you Bellezza and Col for hosting this readalong. I'm a day late and writing quite haphazardly, which is usually how it goes for me with group reads! I'm looking forward to reading others' thoughts, but that will have to wait for tomorrow when my eyes aren't crossed.
I would really love to read this, it sounds so brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI liked the water paragraph, but think Atwood could have used that strategy in a more intriguing way. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best parts of a read-along, to me, is that each participant seems to pick out a different thing from the novel read. I love how you dwelt on the water issue, which I'd rather overlooked in my reading and review. Loved Helen getting a 'good slamming' as you put it! Thanks for reading along, posting and commenting. XOXO
ReplyDeleteFeel sorry for Odysseus, huh? Hard to imagine after having read The Odyssey last fall and seeing what a jerk he could be. ;) I wanted to read this one with you all but was mistaken in my thought that I owned a copy. One day...
ReplyDeleteFeel sorry for Odysseus, huh? Hard to imagine after having read The Odyssey last fall and seeing what a jerk he could be. ;) I wanted to read this one with you all but was mistaken in my thought that I owned a copy. One day...
ReplyDeleteI liked the water paragraph, but think Atwood could have used that strategy in a more intriguing way. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best parts of a read-along, to me, is that each participant seems to pick out a different thing from the novel read. I love how you dwelt on the water issue, which I'd rather overlooked in my reading and review. Loved Helen getting a 'good slamming' as you put it! Thanks for reading along, posting and commenting. XOXO
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your review of Atwood's The Penelopiad. I enjoyed it, and very much enjoyed Atwood's satirical revisiting of The Odyssey. Interestingly enough, I've just found a book (on Amazon) by Jane Rawlings entitled The Penelopeia that also tells the tale from Penelope's perspective. It is done in Homericly-styled verse too!
ReplyDeleteThe The New Yorker Magazine said this about the book--
"Rawlings has had the marvellous idea of presenting Penelope's perspective on the Odyssey by giving her a narrative poem of her own, written in long unrhymed lines reminiscent of Richmond Lattimore's Homer translations. Homeric legend isn't big on psychology or equal time for women, so new twists are added to the old story. It turns out that when Odysseus left, Penelope was pregnant with female twins, and she and these now mature beauties go on their own odyssey to the Pythian oracle. Along the way, they are nearly raped and killed by relatives of Odysseus, and are kidnapped by Penthesileia, Queen of the Amazons. Penelope even comes close to abnegating the marital fidelity that in Homer is her most salient attribute. "The Penelopeia" will probably not manage to revise classical heroism in favor of the values of the distaff side (handiwork, conversation, and personal affection), but it is an engaging, and ingeniously rendered, curiosity." (Copyright © 2005, The New Yorker)
I can't wait to receive and read this!
Great posting, and thanks for sharing your thoughts about this little book. Cheers! Chris