The Odyssey Essay

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Lauralee Jacks
Mr. Herter
Seminar
10/12/09
Odyssey
In Homer’s The Odyssey, there are two principal women, Clytemnestra and
Penelope. Clytemnestra is married to Agamemnon, and Penelope to Odysseus. The
moral character and actions of these two women are in stark contrast to one another.
Clytemnestra is the faithless wife who takes a lover and kills her husband, while
Penelope is the kind-hearted devoted wife who gives her heart only to Odysseus.
Clytemnestra’s treachery completely destroys all faith in the virtue of women for
Agamemnon, while Penelope’s kindness and faithfulness redeems her in the eyes of
Odysseus. In line two hundred and twelve of book twenty-four of Homer’s The Odyssey,
Agamemnon makes a comparison between his wife, Clytemnestra, and Odysseus’s wife,
Penelope. According to him, Clytemnestra brings down the race of women, “and even
honest ones yet to come, (Homer p.474) yet women like Penelope will “lift a song for all
mankind” (Homer p.474) Indeed, the comparison between faithless Clytemnestra and
faithful Penelope are mentioned throughout The Odyssey. Therefore, because
Agamemnon’s view of Clytemnestra is the view that he bestows on all womankind, then
no woman—not even Penelope, who in his words all mankind should sing—can achieve
redemption. Clytemnestra has singularly painted all women with a tainted brush.
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Homer mentions the treacherous deeds of Clytemnestra, of how she took a lover
and killed her husband. Not only was it because she killed her husband that made her a
disgrace in society, but it was the fact that she took a lover while her husband was away
fighting wars. By not doing what she should have done, which was to remain faithful to
her husband, meant that she was faithless, and that she should deserve to be branded in
the eyes of all men.
On the other hand, Penelope remained faithful to Odysseus. She had forty suitors
coming to seek her hand, but she had not been tempted as Clytemnestra had been, to take
a lover and rule by her side. Instead, she was crying and eagerly awaiting the arrival of
her husband Odysseus. She had waited twenty years for Odysseus to arrive and no one
had ever been with her. The justification of Penelope’s great virtue and trust is proven
when she asks Odysseus about the great rooted bed. This not only mentions that
Odysseus is alive and with her, it proves her faithfulness. If she was faithless, then her
suitors would talk about the great rooted bed, and Penelope would not have asked it of
him to see if it was her true husband because it would be common knowledge. Therefore,
because of Penelope’s devotion to Odysseus, she should be “a song for all mankind.”
However, she has not redeemed the race of women, even for “honest ones yet to
come.” Her reputation is as tainted as Clytemnestra according to Agamemnon as he
points out to Odysseus:
“So even your own wife never indulge her too far. Never reveal the whole truth
whatever you may know; just tell her a part of it, be sure to hide the rest. The time for
trusting women’s gone forever!” (Homer 263-264).
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It is this mistrust of all females that Agamemnon told Odysseus about. Odysseus
listened to what Agamemnon said, and he used it when he was about to slaughter the
suitors. Breaking trust is the main reason why Clytemnestra has tainted the blood of
womankind. Agamemnon had trusted his wife so blindly that he didn’t see his own
downfall coming. He expected his wife to come give him a bath and feast, and for
Clytemnestra to be happy that he came home and remain the loyal and faithful spouse
that she was supposed to be. By trusting his wife, he must have realized what was his
downfall was. When Clytemnestra killed him, he had completely lost his trust for her and
viewed every woman the same way as Clytemnestra, that they were devoid of honesty
and were devious in their hearts.
On the other hand, although Odysseus did trust his wife, he still had to test her to
prove that she was trustworthy. Trust had to be earned and not given, and while he
believed in her faithfulness he was cautious to test it. Agamemnon gave Clytemnestra his
trust even though she did not earn it. Therefore, it was Agamemnon’s own misjudgment
and failing that led to Clytemnestra’s downfall. Penelope had earned Odysseus’s trust.
She was not only faithful, but she was kind. She treated everyone as her equal, as it was
in the case when Odysseus pretended to be a beggar. Penelope had seen how the suitors
treated the disguised Odysseus, and she could not see him being treated badly. Because
Penelope could not tolerate cruelty in her kingdom to people below her status, Odysseus
came to her instead of her maids. She treated him kindly by bathing him. After the
meeting, Odysseus turned to her and said:
“Before that crew can handle that polished bow, string it taut and shoot through
the axes Odysseus man of exploits will be home with you!” (Homer p.409)
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Odysseus must have trusted her enough to tell her this piece of information about what he
was going to do without giving himself away. Odysseus tested her to prove that she was
trustworthy. Therefore, unlike Clytemnestra, Penelope earned her husband’s trust, where
as Clytemnestra did not. Whatever trust Agamemnon had given her, she had lost it.
Penelope on the other hand had gained it.
Agamemnon’s statement that “the time for trusting women is gone forever,” may
seem like a bitter man wanting vengeance on his wife, but there must have been a
significance to the reason why Clytemnestra had branded all women for generations in
the eyes of men. When Clytemnestra is being described as taking a lover and killing her
husband, she seems like a Gorgon lusting for blood. However when Orestes, her son,
killed her, he seemed like a hero who deserved praise for killing his mother for what she
had done to his father. What Clytemnestra had done to her husband was done of pure
treachery. Agamemnon did not forget Clytemnestra’s deed even in death. This shows that
Agamemnon forgot the good things his wife had done and remembered only the evil
deeds of Clytemnestra.
An example of how Agamemnon remembered the evil things his wife had done is
shown in the way Odysseus treated the suitor Amphinomus. Amphinomus had treated the
disguised Odysseus well, and Odysseus warned him to leave or else he would be
slaughtered among the other suitors. Yet when it was time for Odysseus to slaughter him,
he made a justification of why he should kill him:
“You never imagine I returned from Troy, so cocksure that you bled my house,
ravished my women, and wooed my wife, your doomed is sealed!” (Homer p. 441)
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Because of these evil doings, Odysseus neglected Amphinomus’s good deeds and used
the bad for his purpose of killing him. Similarly, like Odysseus, because of one evil act
Clytemnestra had committed, Agamemnon never forgot and used it as an excuse to brand
all womankind for generations.
When people like Penelope are linked with people like Clytemnestra, it is hardly
impossible for someone to overlook the good instead of the bad. For the “honest ones yet
to come” are forever tainted with the brand of evil. According to Agamemnon there is no
middle ground for women, no characteristic that is good. They are forever branded with
evil because of what Clytemnestra had done. When Penelope is being praised as virtuous,
devoted, and loyal to her husband, Agamemnon cannot help but remember what
Clytemnestra had done to him, and mistrusted all the women of her kind. Penelope was
just one of the few people who happened to be like Clytemnestra, even though her actions
did not justify the comparison. Penelope still should be rewarded and praised for her
virtues, but Agamemnon cannot forget the crimes of what Clytemnestra has done.
Because there is no middle ground in Agamemnon’s book, Agamemnon will praise her
and “make her a song for all mankind.” She did not redeem the race of womankind, but
she should still be honored in the eyes of men. Therefore, even if there were more women
like Penelope, they would still have the scar of Clytemnestra’s treachery, and
Agamemnon sounds the warning to men that their wives have the capability to do the
same to them as Clytemnestra had done to him.
Another reason why Agamemnon was so judgmental about women and “honest
ones yet to come” was his own expression about his own failings, and how he could not
foresee what his fate would be. Agamemnon’s judgment was a way that he could look
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back on his life and think of a way he could avoided his fate, if only he had not made
mistakes. By not taking any of the blame for his own mistakes, he had focused all of his
condemnation on Clytemnestra and all women, even honest ones like Penelope. By
shifting the blame from himself and onto someone else’s shoulders then he could be
innocent for all his crimes and show that his death was sad and blameworthy. It may not
have given him the vengeance that he wanted, but it would compensate that he was not in
the wrong.
In closing, the actions of two women, Clytemnestra and Penelope, affect
Agamemnon and Odysseus in different ways. The naiveté of Agamemnon, and his
subsequent betrayal, causes him to condemn all women of all generations to come. Even
the kindly Penelope, whom he acknowledges as being a woman fit to be sung of for all
ages, is still tainted in his eyes by Clytemnestra’s wickedness. All women were
inherently evil. The goodness, however, that Penelope showed to Odysseus, in remaining
faithful to him and treating him with kindness even when she did not recognize him as a
beggar, justified her in his eyes. Odysseus acknowledged her goodness and was able to
trust her, unlike the bitterness of Agamemnon. Agamemnon had trusted Clytemnestra
faithfully and his trust was betrayed. Odysseus trusted Penelope also, but was more
cautious and put her trustworthiness to the test. If Agamemnon had done what Odysseus
had done then he would not have made the trip to the underworld so quickly. He might
also have been able to see that there was some goodness in women, as evidenced by
Penelope, and not have his views prejudiced against all women for all time.
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