In fact, in her introduction, Atwood specifically states that the Odyssey is “not the only version of the story” and discusses how, because of its nature, oral myth is inherently made up of many different voices. Moreover, to write her revision, Atwood relied on other contemporary Greek texts besides the Odyssey, suggesting that the Odyssey is not the only authoritative account of the myth. Atwood’s revision also undermines several major plot points of the Odyssey, including the idea that Penelope did not recognize Odysseus when he arrived back at Ithaca in beggar’s clothing. The Penelopiad’s very existence implies that Homer’s version of the story is somehow misleading or incomplete. Penelope then furthers this idea by frequently connecting storytelling to fiber work and her own weaving, which she uses for deceptive purposes.įurthermore, Atwood’s decision to write the novel itself could also be taken as a criticism of the idea of textual authority (the concept that the text is sacred, final, truthful, and cannot be questioned). In this chapter, Penelope also describes many of the stories invented about her infidelity following the circulation of the Odyssey as “scandalous gossip,” again linking storytelling with untruth.

The concept of storytelling is highly important from the very beginning of the novel, when in Penelope’s first chapter she talks about why she is finally telling her own story and discusses how she had previously remained silent because she “wanted happy endings.” Penelope clearly implies that the normal narrative arc towards a happy ending, or narrative structure in general, has silenced her side of the story. In her retelling, Atwood actively engages with questions of mythology and invention, self-reflexively investigating the relationship between storytelling and truth. Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad reinvents the myth of Homer’s Odyssey, retelling it through the eyes of Penelope, Odysseus’s wife.

The penelopiad amazon