How did Penelope delay choosing one of the suitors?

How did Penelope delay choosing one of the suitors?

She has devised tricks to delay the suitors, one of which is to pretend to be weaving a burial shroud for Odysseus’s elderly father Laertes and claiming that she will choose a suitor when she has finished.

Why does Penelope have to remarry?

Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, has suitors because she is physically attractive and possesses great wealth. So, another reason Penelope has suitors is because she is expected to remarry. At the beginning of the story, we are told that Penelope has not made her intentions clear to the suitors.

What tactic did Penelope use to delay her choosing a husband?

Penelope told the suitors that before she could choose a husband, she would do one last thing; weave a burial shroud for her father in law. They were satisfied with this until three years had passed and she still wasn’t finished.

How did Penelope intend to choose her husband to take the place of Odysseus?

She tells Odysseus, when he is disguised as a beggar, that she can no longer avoid it: Her parents are pressuring her, and Telemachus is “galled as [the suitors] squander his estate.” To determine which man she will marry, she devises a contest: Whoever can string Odysseus’s old bow and shoot an arrow through the …

What does Penelope tell the suitors about Odysseus instructions to her about choosing a new husband if he doesn’t return?

Penelope declares that she has no idea what this dream means. Rising to the challenge, Odysseus explains it to her. But Penelope decides that she is going to choose a new husband nevertheless: she will marry the first man who can shoot an arrow through the holes of twelve axes set in a line.

Why didn’t Penelope choose a suitor even though her husband had been gone for so long?

Penelope didn’t have a choice. She may have been Queen of Ithaca, but she had little actual power. All men loyal to Odysseus had followed him to Troy, she simply had no way of forcing the suitors to leave the palace. And of course she feared that antagonizing the suitors in any way would put Telemachus’ life in danger.

How does Penelope show that she and Odysseus are well matched?

In The Odyssey, Penelope and Odysseus make a good match because they share many of the same character traits, such as strength, cleverness, and courageousness. Many times Odysseus outwits his opponents and escapes a terrible fate, as seen with the cyclops, Circe, and the Sirens.

What did Penelope promise to Odysseus?

Before Odysseus embarks upon his journey to go fight in the Trojan War, he makes Penelope promise that she will re-marry and leave behind their home if he does not return by the time Telemachus (their son) has sprouted a beard (in other words, by the time he has reached puberty).

How did Penelope delay the decision to marry Odysseus?

Odysseus, king of Ithaca, is gone for twenty years. After a certain amount of time, it’s assumed he is dead. Penelope, his wife, finds herself with 108 suitors. She holds to her faith, however, that her husband will return. She doesn’t want to marry any of these suitors, so she devises strategies to delay having to make a decision.

Why did Penelope kill her husband’s suitors?

When he returns in disguise, she offers him the challenge. After he is successful, he kills his wife’s suitors. Because she resists remarriage and does everything she can to avoid it, Penelope is considered a symbol of faithfulness in marriage.

Why is Penelope a good mate for Antinous?

Although unassuming, Penelope has a cunning that indicates she is a good mate for her wily husband. Antinous complains of it at the assembly in Book 2. He claims — rightly, by the way — that she has misguided the suitors for nearly four years, leading on each man with hints and promises but choosing no one.

Who was Penelope married to in the Trojan War?

Penelope is married to the main character, the king of Ithaca, Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman mythology), and daughter of Icarius of Sparta and Periboea (or Polycaste ). She only has one son with Odysseus, Telemachus, who was born just before Odysseus was called to fight in the Trojan War.