The Penelopiad
Margaret Atwood
October 2005
216 pages
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Yo, FTC: I bought this one a few years ago, before there were even these disclosure laws. But I’m still telling you that I bought it. Brownie points to me.
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This actually works for two challenges, the Women Unbound Challenge and O.A.T.E.S. I just love multitasking.
Do you know Penelope? Most of us do, even if we haven’t read The Odyssey (I haven’t…have you?). Penelope was Odysseus’s patient wife, who sat at home weaving and fending off suitors while her husband was off fighting in the Trojan War, and then gallivanting and carousing his way home.
The Penelopiad is Penelope’s take on things. She starts with her childhood. Although she was the daughter of a king and a naiad, things were often a little tense at home after her dad tried to drown her. There was also her bitchy cousin Helen (you know, the one who started a war) to deal with. Helen liked to drop by and make insulting comments. After Penelope’s marriage, she had to deal with an overbearing mother-in-law and a husband who was a bit self-centered. Then there was the whole 20 years of waiting for her husband to come home. Think how you’d feel stuck at home with the in-laws and a bunch of hungry suitors while you heard stories about your husband’s adventures (especially those adventures of a sexual nature).
There is a quote on Wikipedia (that I can’t find anywhere else), in which Atwood rebuts the idea that this is a feminist work. “I wouldn’t even call it feminist. Every time you write something from the point of view of a woman, people say that it’s feminist.” It’s cited from an interview in the National Post, and I hope it’s true, because I love it. It reminds me of when guys call women feminists when they speak their mind. And that’s all Penelope is doing in this book…she’s speaking her mind and telling us that she is way more than just the epitome of the patient wife who sat at home waiting for her hero-husband to return to her.
Wonderful review.This looks like a good read! I’m going to have to remember it for later.
Colette´s last blog ..Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
I have read both the Illiad and the Odyssey and often though of poor but clever Penelope. I’ve read Atwood too — but not this one. Perhaps I’ll pick it up one of these days.
Beth F´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday 62
Great review. I’m putting this one on my list for the Once Upon A Time challenge in March.
Gavin´s last blog ..Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
I loved this book! I LOVE that quote, too.
I didn’t know Atwood had tried to dissociate this book from feminism, though I did know she made some similar comments about her work in general recently. I don’t know, I just don’t see the line between “feminism” and “not-feminism” she’s trying to draw. For me, feminism is the belief that women are human beings too, and so anything that asserts that fact and tries to make the rest of the world see it falls under the label.
Maybe I need to switch my Atwood for O.A.T.E.S. to this; it appeals to me much more than The Handmaid’s Tale.
You’ve really piqued my interest on this one!
Whoa! I had no idea this one existed. I love the story of Odysseus and all the classic legend that goes along with it. Now to find out the Margaret Atwood wrote a story about the leading lady?! Amazing. Library hold list, here I come!
As usual, your FTC comments just amuse me.
And I love that quote too … it is annoying that anything viewed from a female’s point of view is therefore “feminist.”
One day, I would like to read this, but perhaps after I read The Odyssey.
I love that quote! I’ve been wanting to read this forever too.
I read The Odyssey in high school, but I’ve been wanting to reread it.
I thought the concept of this book was great and I love Atwood. I wasn’t really a fan of this one though. Thus far, it has been the only Atwood book that I didn’t enjoy.
I’ve only ever read Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood, but this one sounds like something I’d really like. Thanks for the heads up! (Oh, and I totally love that quote, too.)
Melissa (Book Nut)´s last blog ..My Most Excellent Year
Like the cover, dislike Atwood. Oh well!
I didn’t know about this Atwood book. It sounds really awesome! The whole Odysseus story always annoyed me a little bit, but this sounds like a fun way to revisit that story.
Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness)´s last blog ..Review: Dream Girl
Maybe I should read this one! I have signed up to read one of Atwood’s books for a challenge but I have yet to pick which one. There are so many to choose from! This one sounds great!
Amused´s last blog ..Favorite Unknown
Oh well, I have to make a confession – i didnot know who Penelope was, until i read this post… **i m feeling very bashful ** LOL!
But I do know who HELEN was, the one who started the war, ad because of whom my dear Hector (Eric Bana in the movie Troy) died **tears rolling down**
I am sure I want to read this one, I hated HELEN anyway, more reasons to hate her! And Atwood said it right, a book from a woman’s point of view can not at all times be feminist
veens´s last blog ..Marley & Me!
I’ve got this one on my shelf and I think I will take a break from The Blind Assassin ( which I’m enjoying but finding a tad heavy atm) and give it a go.
I remember hearing some lectures Atwood gave (maybe 10 or 15 years ago) where she discussed her early books being labeled as feminist works even though she hadn’t intended them to be. From what I understood her writing was supposed to present a view of the every-woman.
I love this quote of hers too:
“Does feminist mean large unpleasant person who’ll shout at you or someone who believes women are human beings. To me it’s the latter, so I sign up.”